When WWE announced that there would be a Slim Jim Battle Royal at SummerSlam, it felt like a perfect opportunity to put over LA Knight after turning himself from undesirable to undeniable, to borrow a phrase from Cody Rhodes.
Sure, WWE could have swerved things up and delivered fans another crushing blow like the end of the Men's Ladder match at Money in the Bank, but considering nothing was on the line in the bout but – seemingly – a spot in a new Slim Jim commercial, the stakes were low enough for Paul “Triple H” Levesque to simply give the people what they want, especially on a show that had a few less than popular showdowns.
Discussing the match on his 83 Weeks podcast, Eric Bischoff noted that, while he wasn't the biggest fan of the match as a whole, in the end, it did its job and got LA Knight over as seemingly intended.
“I think using it as a vehicle for LA Knight was absolutely, done to perfection as far as the match itself goes, you know, how I feel about this kind of thing,” Eric Bischoff said. It’s just until the last four men weren’t in, I had a hard time watching it. Because it’s just clunky, awkward, no story. The action sucks. Just get me to the finish. You know, get me to the last two minutes. ’cause that’s all that matters to me. I sat, you know, painfully through the majority of it. What did 12 minutes get? I sat painfully through 10, and I got interested in the last two, and I thought it was a great job. Great job getting LA Knight over.”
Welp, there you go, right? Is “Triple H,” unlike his father-in-law, actually going to give the people what they want and allow the leader of the “Yeah! Movement” to rise to greener pastures, potentially even with a championship belt around their waist? Maybe yes, maybe no, but Bischoff specifically isn't expecting to see WWE force the issue when they could simply allow things to shake out as they see fit.
Eric Bischoff believes LA Knight has found his sweet spot as a performer.
Turning his attention from the Slim Jim Battle Royal to the future of SmackDown‘s reigning “Megastar,” Eric Bischoff noted that, while he believes WWE may feel some pressure to strap a rocket to the journeyman wrestler's back, as he's seemingly hit his sweet spot as a performer, fast-tracking booking decisions like that seldom leads to perfect results.
“I think without having any insight from anybody in WWE. I’ve never had this type of discussion with anybody in WWE, but having competed against them and worked with them for a number of years, both as a talent and being around backstage and a part of the process, as well as being an executive for a cup of coffee. I think there’s a feeling in WWE that you don’t rush. Don’t go too fast because going too fast can ruin it. You want to make sure the audience is actually buying in. I think they bought in regardless of what’s going on internally or not going on internally in WWE. I do believe that Paul Levesque has the experience and has seen what happens when you don’t listen to the audience and don’t let the audience dictate what they really want. He’s also seen what happens when you rush somebody too quickly. Yeah. And they’re not ready for that spot,” Bischoff noted.
“And I think LA Knight has found himself, number one, he individually as a pro has found his sweet spot. And I think the timing is such in WWE that he’ll move along quicker than perhaps he would have a couple of years ago. Yeah. I mean, again, I sound like I’m beating up on social media wrestling fans, and, and that’s because I am, and I choose to because most of them f**king deserve it. Okay. Put the belt on him right away, make him a world champion. And then what b**ches, then what, where does he go from there downhill. That’s where he goes from there. Let him grow into that role. Yeah. Much like they’re doing with Cody [Rhodes]. They’re forcing the audience to demand it. That’s called getting someone over you, morons. That’s how it’s done. And man, why not just sit back and enjoy the ride for however long the ride lasts instead of getting to the destination and not knowing where to go next? I mean, that’s, that’s internet booking. That’s why internet booking doesn’t work, because you’re reacting to what the internet wants and what the internet says. Tony Khan listening. That’s why you don’t listen to the internet, and you go with what works.”
Is LA Knight ready to hold a Title belt in WWE? Most fans would probably say yes, especially now that Rey Mysterio, not Austin Theory, is holding the United States Championship, but will The Fed actually pull the trigger? Fans will have to wait and see.
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