WWE’s Major LA Knight Problem

WWE has plenty of very over superstars on their roster. The likes of Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, CM Punk, and Seth Rollins have been dependable for years. Oba Femi and Trick Williams are soon to take over. Then there’s LA Knight. He gets an Attitude Era level pop for an Attitude Era type character. Knight’s not the best wrestler in the world, but he makes up for it as a gifted storyteller and talker with an immense amount of charisma. Fans love him, despite how badly booked he often is. On the August 3 Raw, the audience was in his corner again as he went toe-to-toe in a promo with World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns. What happens next is a big problem for WWE.

LA Knight Called Out Roman Reigns on WWE Raw

• Roman Reigns beat Seth Rollins at SummerSlam to keep the World Heavyweight Championship.
• LA Knight interrupted the OTC’s promo on the August 3 WWE Raw.
• Knight was confident against Reigns’ criticism and made him break character.

When Roman Reigns beat Seth Rollins in an instant classic in the Night 2 main event of SummerSlam, his path seemed to become clear. The OTC will carry the World Heavyweight Championship all the way to WrestleMania 43 in Riyadh, where he will have a dream match with Oba Femi. So what will the Original Tribal Chief do until then? On Raw, we got our first hint, when he was interrupted by LA Knight. The thousands in attendance, as they often do, came unglued for Knight’s appearance. It shows you just how immensely loved he is that the fans will cheer for him despite Reigns’ popularity.

In a great back-and-forth promo, Knight held his own with Reigns. As the world champion mocked Knight and his failures, LA stood tall, at once being serious and funny. He even got Roman to break for real at one point. LA Knight made it known that he wants to challenge the world title holder. At first glance, it’s a great opportunity for Knight. However, the more you look at it, the more awful it all really is.

LA Knight Loses Every World Championship Match He Has

• Knight teamed with John Cena, won the United States Championship, and challenged Roman Reigns.
• He loses every big singles match for world title contendership.
• Fans are frustrated that WWE won’t push LA Knight to the top.

Watch any clip or see any post about LA Knight on social media, and you’ll often see the same comments underneath. Why won’t Triple and TKO book LA Knight to be a world champion? He has it in the eyes of the fans, but the higher ups won’t pull the trigger. From the moment years ago when the awful Max Dupri character disappeared and the old LA Knight came back, fans have taken to him. He’s old school cool, a mix of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and The Rock, while also doing his own thing. Knight had a quick rise, working with John Cena in a tag match, becoming a United States Champion, and even challenging Roman Reigns during the height of his hold on the gold. When he first battled Roman, everyone knew Knight wasn’t going to win. He didn’t need to. The match alone showed that WWE believed in him.

Since then, over and over again, Knight gets to the top, only to fail. Forget huge world title shots. Knight can’t win number one contender matches. This isn’t long-term storytelling. It’s a company that doesn’t believe in the superstar fans love so much. The outrage is deafening online. Will WWE dare listen this time around?

LA Knight Can’t Afford to Lose Another Big Match

• WWE is feeding LA Knight to Roman Reigns to give the OTC something to do until WrestleMania 43.
• If Knight isn’t going to win a world title, he needs to stay in the midcard scene.
• WWE must make LA Knight a world champion at least once and see what he can do.

For WWE, it’s an easy choice to have LA Knight challenge Roman Reigns. They know Knight is entertaining and dependable. He can have a fun feud with the OTC, eating up some time and giving the champ something to do while he waits for Femi. That’s a disaster waiting for Knight. If he challenges Roman and gets an actual match for the World Heavyweight Championship, only to lose yet again, it will destroy his character.

WWE can’t give LA Knight a title shot just to book him to fail. They have to know how much fans want to see him win a world title. There is no need to tease and disappoint. If Knight isn’t going to be a world champion, keep him out of the main event scene and have him challenge in the midcard. To do otherwise will only continue to frustrate everyone, including LA Knight himself.

There is one easy solution to this. Put LA Knight against Roman Reigns and have him shock the world. LA Knight doesn’t have to be a ten-time champion. He doesn’t need to carry the belt for six months. Just give the man one shot and see what he can do. He’s more than earned it. Make him the World Heavyweight Champion and he becomes this era’s true people’s champion. It’s now or never. If he keeps losing in the main event, LA Knight will be seen as a jobber to the stars who can’t be taken seriously. We’ll continue to cheer for him, but we’ll know there is no chance. Once the bell rings, the loss of any hope will kill the magic LA Knight has.