Finally, LA Knight can feel cemented in WWE.
Earlier this month, after beginning his wrestling career 22 years ago, the 41-year-old finally won his first WWE singles title, beating Logan Paul at SummerSlam.
It was a fantastic moment, but he admits he is still ‘paranoid’ and ‘always looking over his shoulder’, even after his storied career.
In an exclusive interview with Mail Sport, he reflects on his journey and his appearance at the Royal Rumble, diving into what that means for his status.
He also talks about what the future holds and makes a vow to his fans. You’ll have to read on for that.
LA Knight is fresh off his first WWE singles title and opens up to Mail Sport about his career
He may well have defeated Logan Paul to claim the US title, but he still feels ‘paranoid’
AM: You’ve finally won the title in WWE, my man. That was a long time coming. How did it feel to scratch that itch?
LAK: Man, there isn’t really a bigger place you could do it than SummerSlam in a giant stadium with almost 60,000 people losing their minds. So, pretty damn big deal. Last night, I was actually hanging out on the back porch, just smoking a cigar with my US championship. So, all good over here.
AM: Is it one of those where, yes, it’s amazing the way it’s happened, and it feels great now, but in the two years plus heading towards that, are you thinking, “Oh, it should have been by now”? And obviously, you get impatient as a talent. But then when it does come, I guess you think, “Ah, maybe it was right.”
LAK: There was definitely a point last year where I felt like now was probably the right time to make it happen. There’s no real way to know what’s right or wrong. But at this point, whether it was late or on time, it feels right. I think, whether it happened last year or this time, the onus was on me to prove that I could stay afloat and remain as popular as I have for the last year.
I think that that was really weird. I don’t know what it is about me, and maybe it’s with everybody, or maybe it’s just me because of how quickly things happened and picked up. The popularity grew last year, and there was a lot of thought about whether it would last or if it was just a flash in the pan. You’ve heard those promos—flash in the pan, flavour of the month, etc.
I think there was some genuine concern about that, to the point where it was like, “Alright, well, we pulled the trigger on this guy, and if things flounder, what do we do?” Well, guess what? Nothing ever floundered. Yes, things ebb and flow, they go up and down. But as things cooled off a little bit in the winter of early 2024, all of a sudden, boom! We get into the spring and summer, and things are bigger, super bigger, and on track more than they’ve ever been.
AM: I remember being at Money in the Bank in London. You were super over with everyone. I thought that might be the one for you. There have been plenty of instances where you’ve remained red hot during that period. Is Triple H saying to you at those points, “Keep doing what you’re doing, it’s coming”?
LAK: Kind of. I mean, I don’t really ask a whole lot, like, “Hey, what are we doing? Where are we going?” because I know how much things can change. Plans can always change at any point. If you plan something for next week, it could change by then. If you plan something for six months out, it can absolutely change. For me, it’s just about showing up and making sure I’m doing what’s needed from me, and also what’s needed from myself.
‘The popularity grew last year, and there was a lot of thought about if it was just a flash in the pan… well, guess what? Nothing ever floundered’
This business is like, I am my own business, if that makes sense. I have to tend to my own business to make sure I’m doing things that work not only for the company and everyone else but also for me. So in that regard, I show up, do my thing, and I can’t really worry about it. I’ve never worried before, like, “Are they going to make sure everything works out for me? Should I check in and ask when things will happen?” I just show up, do my thing, kick ass, and do it as well as I can, which has been pretty damn good.
I’ve never been a politician; maybe I need to learn that because I’ve never been very good at it. I just show up and do my thing. There were maybe some reassurances here and there because I’m sure Triple H can tell, and I’ve said as much before, that I’m always looking over my shoulder, thinking someone’s going to try and bop me in the back of the head and take it all away.
But I think that’s just me being a paranoid wrestler. I don’t know if that’ll ever go away, no matter where I am in my career, even if I’m at the top of the mountain with millions and millions of dollars. I don’t think that feeling will ever go away.
AM: A quick word on working with Logan Paul – did you have expectations going into that? Obviously, he’s fairly new to the business but has taken to it extremely well. What was it like to work a programme with him?
LAK: You’re talking about someone who is dynamic in many ways – a hell of an athlete. He’s not super experienced in the business, but he’s experienced enough to not just make things work and be presentable, but to put on a hell of a show.
He’s worked with some of the best guys – Roman, Seth, Cody, Miz, and now me – and every single time, it’s been a banger, as the kids say. It’s all been good. The guy’s a hell of an athlete, and to go into your own hometown and get booed out of the building – my God, that’s a hell of a talent there, if you want to call it that.
AM: I guess, though, the question remains, you must be a better representative for the US title than Logan Paul.
LAK: “Better” is subjective, but yeah, I’d say better. Some people might not agree. Who knows? I don’t want to speak for everybody. But the way it goes down is, yeah, I’m clearly going to be around a lot more. I’ll be available for a lot more challenges. So with that being the case, I imagine you’ll see the US title showing its face and being defended probably a good bit more than it has been in the recent past.
Despite his bursting popularity, he admits he still ‘looks over his shoulder’ from time to time
Logan Paul is a ‘hell of an athlete’ and and a ‘hell of a talent’ even if he lacks experience
AM: I’m glad you brought up Roman, because many of us were clamouring for you to get your world title shot or programme in WWE. We got that at the end of last year and at the Rumble this year. It must have been something you’d thought about for a long time. Now that you’ve had it and were in that moment, how do you look back on working with Roman at that time?
LAK: That’s a hell of a spot to be in, and definitely not one I expected to be in at that point because you’re talking about maybe a year from the time LA Knight reared his face on SmackDown. It was probably October 2022 when I showed up in that iteration, and by the very beginning of November 2023, I was in the WWE Championship match in Saudi Arabia, headlining the event. That’s a pretty crazy jump, a pretty crazy climb in a very short amount of time.
There were a lot of adjustments to be made. There were definitely some battling thoughts inside my head between, “Do I belong here?” and, “Hell yeah, you belong here.” It all happened so quickly that there was definitely an adjustment period.
But now, with the US Championship and walking into SummerSlam, you never know where that could lead. And when you’re talking about the WWE Championship, World Heavyweight Championship, this and that, this is a hell of a stepping-off point. Picking up the US title, there’s not that question anymore of, “ah, it this my spot? Do I belong here?” For damn sure, I belong!
AM: Absolutely. Speaking of SummerSlam, I don’t know if you’ve seen this, but Kevin Nash said you guys had a friendly coming together backstage.
LAK: Did he? It’s funny because he came up while I was sitting in catering, talking to a couple of guys, and he came up, and I felt this hand on my back, and he said hello and we talked for a minute.
He was asking about the match, and everything was cool and hunky dory. I am a mirror in a lot of ways – I give back whatever I receive. We could talk trash, and whatever he says on the podcast or what I say here and there, it could go either way. If he had come in talking, you know, craziness or whatever, I’d have probably responded in that regard. But he was a sweetheart, and I was a sweetheart right back.
AM: That sounds cool. Just a couple more questions before I let you go. I loved the Rumble, working with Orton, Roman, and AJ. How was that Rumble, working with so much talent in that match? Did you feel like working with those guys for an extended period of time helped you learn some stuff? Was it cool getting closer to them as talents and friends?
He felt like the ‘sore thumb of the group’ among the likes of Roman Reings in the Royal Rumble match (pictured at SummerSlam)
LAK: I think that was probably one of the main times where I was just like, “Oh, hell yeah, I belong in the sense of, here’s the one sore thumb of the group, because you’ve got Roman who’s been there forever, Randy, who’s really been there forever, AJ, who’s been there forever. And then there’s this one outlier, new guy, this LA Knight, guy who is kind of the sore thumb of the group, and how’s he going to hold up with these guys?
I think if you go back and you watch that match, man, I think I shot him like hell on that match. So in that regard, I think that there was no question at all my mind of, well, hell yeah. There is not any question beyond that, does this guy belong?
Yeah, I think it’s pretty clear and obvious at that point. So I think if there’s anything that I learned in that, in that place, it was just learning that I’ve, I’ve kind of cemented my position. Here we go again. I’m the dog whisperer. I have to do the calming here. But anyway, yeah, I think I’ve submitted my position kind of as a made man, so to speak, even though I’m still looking over my shoulder to return.
AM: Speaking of which, I think we’ve seen reports going around that perhaps you’ve signed a new deal with WWE long-term.
LAK: Well, I mean, my contract actually ended yesterday, and I’m gonna leave with the title now.
AM: This is your exit interview.
LAK: I’ll see you guys. It was nice knowing you.
AM: The only thing I was going to ask about that was, I know from when we spoke previously, you mentioned taking jobs or contracts for the money back in the day when you were trying to make it. How much would it mean to you now?
LAK: Not anymore, because now they’re paying me $8 trillion. Highest paid ever. How about that?
AM: That’s a hell of a number.
LAK: No, way more than that.
AM: But it must still feel good to arrive where you are now and those days of worrying so much about trying to get to the big dance (are over), as it were, and now the hard work, you can start to see the fruits of that labour.
LAK: For sure. The first 10 years of my career were about being a starving artist, and the second 10 years were much better. But wow, it’s really changed. Each decade has had a different theme. The first decade was me being broke as hell. The second was me being comfortable. Now the third decade is starting out with $8 trillion.
You’re talking about new US champ here, it’s a big deal, and I’ll see you guys soon.