Subscribe
Follow Us
Before he stole the show on SmackDown, before he was called the “Megamanager” by Logan Paul, and before had the social media star shaking in his boots from his sheer popularity, LA Knight first walked into the O2 Arena earlier in the day solo, experiencing the moment on his own for a WWE vlog.
“(See) those cases are way up there… that’s what everybody’s looking for tomorrow, man. You got six other guys talking about what they’re gonna do and what they’re thinking, how they’re gonna climb that ladder, but check it man, you got everybody running around, you got every single person who’s gonna be sitting in these seats tonight. Nine out of ten of them are gonna be saying, ‘The winner of this Money in the Bank is gonna be LA Knight,’” LA Knight said.
“Why is that? Because the gravy train is gonna roll right into London right in the O2 Arena tomorrow and they’re gonna say, well, the match is called Money in the Bank, right? Yeah, but guess what? I am Money in the Bank. Let’s go ahead and talk about it, because here’s a guy who, man, you’re talking about all this groundswell, all this stuff came out of nowhere. You’ve got everybody all around the world, everywhere you go, the song is the same, and the song goes, LA Knight. Who made it that way? This guy. I am Money in the Bank and tomorrow night, everybody’s gonna find that out.
“So all six of the other guys who are in that match, go ahead and do whatever you think you can to get up there, but at the end of the night, you’re gonna see me climb up, grab the case, and then go on to any title that I want because that’s the way it has to be. Yeah!”
Though the “Megastar” has worked big shows in the past, with his appearance at Crypto.com Arena a clear highlight for the man (Kayfabe) born Los Angeles Knight, Money in the Bank marks his first chance to really go over in the WWE Universe and secure his first-ever opportunity to become a WWE Champion with anything but Ted Dibiase's now retired title. If he can overcome a field of “Kings,” giants, “Bruiserweights,” and social media stars, he will never again receive a complaint for calling himself a “Megastar.”
LA Knight takes issues with wrestlers calling themselves “good talkers.”
Sitting down for an interview with My Love Letter to Wrestling in the lead-up to Money in the Bank, LA Knight was asked about how fans consider him a better talker than worker and how, despite understanding the critique, he won't be mentioning it on the mic any time soon.
“I see the rap where it's, ‘He's great on the mic and okay in the ring.' For me, I'm okay with that because all the guys that I liked the most coming up were mostly the same. My favorite guy as a kid, (Hulk) Hogan. My favorite guys in high school, still kind of Hogan, NWO version, (Steve) Austin, Rock, (Ric) Flair. Flair is very good, but he didn't do anything spectacular. Most of the stuff was just psychology, things looking good and snappy. For me, I like to splice in things. I jumped to the top and hit Butch with the superplex not too long ago. I just might have to do it again at Money in the Bank. I can splice those things in where it fits and makes sense and where I need it,” LA Knight said via Fightful.
“At the same time, I try not to harp on it too much, ‘Oh, I'm good on the mic.' The guys who brag about that, it seems like a strange thing. Do you think Muhammad Ali was ever like, ‘I'm the best on the mic.' No, he was, ‘I'm the best in the ring. I'm the best boxer.' Whenever I hear guys, in the act of talking, say they are the best at talking, I'm like, ‘What does that matter in the grand scheme of things?' It matters in the form of entertainment, but in the scheme of what we're actually doing, I'm trying to fight this guy, beat this guy, win his championship; what the h*ll does me being good at talking matter in the scheme of that? It matters a lot in the scheme of what we do in entertainment but in the realm of that universe, who cares? All you need to know is I'm going to beat you and take that title off of you, and I'm better than you. I'm going to show you, I'm not going to tell you I'm a good talker. That's a little thing of mine where, I don't like even saying that I'm a good talker, even outside of the universe of wrestling, just because it feels weird and self-serving.”
Unless Knight takes a crash course from the “Will Ospreay Five-Star Wrestling Academy” – which isn't a thing but frankly should be – before Money in the Bank, the criticism that he's a better talker than worker will likely follow around the 40-year-old for the rest of his career. But then again, if he can go the distance and best a field featuring Ricochet, Logan Paul, Shinsuke Nakamura, Damian Priest, Santos Escobar, and Butch, he'll be better described as Mr. Money in the Bank, with the potential to become the WWE Universe's ultimate disruptor.
