After over a year on the main roster, LA Knight is finally starting to pick up steam, with the “Megastar” set to wrestle on his third-ever WWE Premium Live Event following his promising, if not ultimately disappointing, effort in the Money in the Bank Men's Ladder match and a disastrous debut in the Mountain Dew Pitch Black match at Royal Rumble.

For some, this was their first big-time introduction to Knight in the wrestling ring, as the pride of Los Angeles has done way more talking than wrestling since reverting to his signature gimmick last fall. And to others? Well, they've been on the LA Knight bandwagon since he was crushing it in NXT, maybe even longer if you're a fan of Impact Wrestling and/or NWA.

One man who firmly falls into the latter category is Pat McAfee, who decided to commit some time on his eponymous show to talk up his fellow NXT alumnus heading into the biggest show of his career, SummerSlam.

“The guy to watch right now is a guy that, as I left NXT in 2019. It was literally the next pay-per-view. I'm out after WarGames. As I left NXT to go off into nothing land, ‘it's over, it's been fun,' that decision was made, it's not mine, but I do appreciate that it happened. LA Knight came back into NXT the next pay-per-view. I was watching, he cut a promo the next pay-per-view, right to the camera, and I'm like, ‘Who is this guy? This is a guy that I would like to talk to.' Yeah! This guy, really entertaining,” Pat McAfee said via Fightful.

“I finally get to meet him, he got called up to SmackDown, I got the chance to meet him. I'm like, ‘Hey buddy, I'm a massive fan of yours.' Didn't really use him or anything. Then he was Max Dupri, which was something, certainly, but wasn't the whole LA Knight. Now that he's getting to be himself and kind of do everything he's done for his entire career, I'm incredibly happy for him. The pops he's getting whenever his music hits are f**king Attitude Era pops. WWE knows. They know that guy is…they hear the pop every time. Triple H, who I believe is running creative, I'm not behind the scenes and don't know what's going on over there, but I believe they hear them. They know. He's good. I told him numerous times how big of a fan I am of him. At that time, I don't think he was necessarily taking compliments as well because he wasn't able to do his thing. Now, I'm super pumped for him.”

On paper, it makes all the sense in the world that former Colts punter would be a fan of Knight, because, in a way, he's sort of the Pat McAfee of WWE; loud, brash, a fantastic talker, a catchphrase artist, and the sort of in-ring performer who can get it done with the ring opponent on the opposite side of the Vs. symbol. Though the entire Slim Jim Battle Royal hasn't been announced just yet, it's safe to say fans now know who McAfee will be rooting for.

LA Knight explains how he's created his own luck in the WWE Universe.

With SummerSlam rapidly approaching and his spot on the card now firmly secured thanks to a backstage segment with Adam Pearce and the “Pasty Mush Mouth” Sheamus – his words, not mine –  LA Knight is riding high, free from the uncertainty he had to experience back in March in the lead-up to WrestleMania 39.

Asked what it was like to have to watch Premium Live Events on Peacock – or in the back – during the first chapter of his main roster run on Good Karma Wrestling, Knight noted it was hard, but he pushed and pushed and pushed until he was an undeniable addition to any card of note.

“Sure. I mean some of that, look, the roster is so stacked and full,” LA Knight said via Fightful. You want the Premium Live Event to stand out as something different than what you see on TV, so you don't want the exact same formula. So those spots on the Premium Live Events are limited, and so at some point, look, I'm getting the big reactions, you can't deny that. But at the same time, I guess some people would say, ‘Well, he's only been here nine or ten months or whatever.' But some of that's also just figuring out that a lot of this was unexpected. A lot of this came out of the blue, so sometimes plans have to change, and that's the way it goes. So here we are, and now you're looking at me being an integral part of this SummerSlam coming in. You got the Slim Jim Battle Royal, it's 20 guys in that ring. I don't who anybody else is in that match except me and Sheamus at this point, so all bets are off when it comes to that, but Ford Field, battle royal, you're looking for big things, and there just might be this guy's hand raised right there. Yeah.”

Will LA Knight find grander success in this sponsored match than his first one? Or will the “Megastar” have to avoid Slim Jims like he (presumably) does Mtn Dews too? Fans only have a few more days to find out.