Many wrestling fans are ready to see L.A. Knight at the top of the WWE's ranks, but it would seem the people calling the shots for the organization are not on that same page. Despite being the overwhelming crowd favorite to win the Money In The Bank contract, Knight ultimately fell short to Damian Priest, and was recently relegated to a pre-show segment on the latest episode of SmackDown at Madison Square Garden. WWE's lack of interest in giving Knight big opportunities to further himself in the company is frustrating, but wrestling legend Booker T thinks it's the best move for his career in the long run.
Booker T spoke at length about L.A. Knight on a recent episode of his podcast, Reality of Wrestling. WWE viewers may think that Knight's loss at Money In The Bank may be the latest in a long history of the WWE not giving the crowd what they want, but the Hall of Famer had different thoughts on the matter. Booker T spoke at length about the loss and his reasoning for believing it will ultimately be better for Knight in the long run:
Did we miss a moment as far as him not winning? Because, you heard the pop when he came out. One thing about the fans, they would've popped if he would've won. They would've popped huge. But you remember when Kofi Kingston won the title? Did they continually pop for him on a regular basis after that one night?...You want L.A. Knight to literally be able to walk on water. You want this dude to be untouchable when you do finally put the rocket on him.
Booker T's comparison to Kofi Kingston's "KofiMania" movement is a good point, and there have been plenty of other wrestlers who the WWE fandom loved that flickered out once they were finally given the chance to thrive. The question is if L.A. Knight is just another one of those wrestlers, or he'll be one of those few that causes the WWE to shift its long-term plans and give him a shot to be at the top of the roster.
That remains to be seen, and Booker T thinks that the WWE will be watching L.A. Knight closely in the coming weeks to see if he can still command the fans when he's not actively in the hunt for a major title. As for whether or not the up-and-comer will rise to bigger challenges, King Booker has high hopes it'll happen:
Do I believe L.A. Knight can hold that spot and stay in that spot? Hell yeah. I believe it. I believe it 100%. And I believe not winning Money In The Bank, he's going to prove it even more why he should be in that spot.
Booker T feels good about L.A. Knight's future in the WWE, and while the superstar was absent from the most recent episode of SmackDown, there was a video uploaded of his pre-show segment taking on Hit Row. That video is quickly making its way to over a million views in the span of a couple of days, perhaps showing that the fans want more of L.A. Knight however they can get it:
Not everyone in the wrestling world is as big of a fan of L.A. Knight as Booker T. Hall-of-Famer Kevin Nash stated on his podcast he felt Knight was just a ripoff of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and there was nothing original about his character. Love him or hate him, there are a lot of people with opinions on Knight, so we'll see if he can use those frequent conversations about him to elevate his status on the main roster in the coming months.
Catch the replay L.A. Knight's match at Money In The Bank with a Peacock Premium subscription. Normally, readers will be able to catch him on SmackDown, which airs on Fox on Fridays starting at 8:00 p.m. ET.
