LA Knight has cemented himself as one of WWE’s true breakout stars, exploding in popularity throughout 2023 thanks to his magnetic charisma, sharp promo skills, solid in-ring work, and of course, his fan-favorite “Yeah!” catchphrase. What began as a grassroots fan movement has evolved into sustained momentum, momentum Knight has since backed up with championship success.
In 2024, Knight added gold to his resume by capturing the WWE United States Championship for the first time at SummerSlam, defeating Logan Paul on one of WWE’s biggest stages. He would go on to become a two-time United States Champion, proving that his star power wasn’t just about crowd volume.
Now one of WWE’s most popular babyfaces, the natural question becomes: What’s next for LA Knight? Could his trajectory lead to feuds with top-tier, main-event WWE superstars or even genuine world-title contention?
WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray has weighed in on Knight’s current direction, expressing curiosity about WWE creative’s long-term plans. His concerns largely stem from Knight’s recent submission loss to Gunther in the finals of The Last Time Is Now tournament. Though Knight delivered an impressive tournament run — defeating a returning Zack Ryder in the opening round and picking up strong victories over The Miz and Jey Uso — Bully Ray questioned the decision to have Knight submit in the final bout.
According to Bully Ray, the manner of the loss was “unprotective,” and in his view, such a loss should spark a new edge or evolution in Knight’s persona as he moves forward.
“I was very torn by the actual finish,” Ray said on the latest episode of his “Busted Open” podcast “LA Knight tapped out. Now, here’s why I was pissed. You could have pinned him, but you didn’t do that. Or you could have had him pass out to the move. Steve Austin lost in a sharpshooter against Bret Hart, and that got Steve over to the moon because they said he did not tap out. He would not give up.”
Ray added, “But that’s not what they chose to do with LA Knight. LA Knight tapped. Our babyface tapped. And I know there’s no shame in tapping, but I’d rather you pass out to the pain than tap out any day of the week. There was no protection of LA Knight there.”
Ray argued that the nature of Knight’s loss, (keep in mind that Bully Ray’s comments were made prior to Knight being attacked by The Vision on the December 8th episode of Monday Night Raw) should be the catalyst for a big change in Knight’s character.
“Do you have any hope for LA Knight at this point?” Ray asked. “Where does that character go? As a fan with the ups and downs of LA Knight, why should you be on board with him? I’m gonna answer the question for you: I don’t think you should be. All right, I think it’s time for a different side of LA Knight.”
Ray added, “What if LA Knight was the guy underneath the hood and climbed the cage and kicked CM Punk in the face? You need to do something. And you need to do something quick. Otherwise, he’s gonna kind of fade into midcard obscurity.”
“If, when a wrestler or performer has to rely on a tagline in the middle of a match, a huge match, a championship-esque level match, if you gotta rely on that tagline, there’s something wrong.”
Do you agree with Bully Ray that it’s time for a different side of LA Knight after his loss to Gunther in The Last Time Is Now tournament? Let us know in the comments.
