Almost 12 Months After Escaping Vince McMahon’s Wrath 40-Year-Old WWE Superstar Enters Roman Reigns’ Elite Level

WWE carries a massive magnitude of fame and public appeal. Vince McMahon and his hard work have made It rare to see any show WWE have unsold tickets. 

However, there are times when WWE has to refund the tickets when they’re unable to hold an event either fully, or partially. Refunds are also offered when a big star advertised for the event is unable to show up. This was the exact decision taken by WWE before last week’s SmackDown.

WWE gives unexpected VIP treatment to 40YO star

LA Knight has had a long history of an on-again and off-again relationship with the WWE. He had initially debuted in NXT under the ring name Slate Randall in 2013 but was released in 2014. After spending seven years with TNA, he returned to NXT as LA Knight in 2021, and later became Max Dupri, the manager of Maximum Male Models in April 2022. However, this nearly took a turn for worse after his actions almost resulted in a grave situation.

What grave error did Max Dupri make that almost cost him his WWE career you ask? Well, the star went lightheaded and almost hit Maxxine Dupri, a woman wrestler of the Maximum Male Models. This subjected Dupri to severe flames by Vince McMahon and WWE’s broadcasting network as well. Despite this, McMahon gave him a chance and allowed him to return as LA Knight on 30 September 2022. 

However, pardoning Knight that day proved instantly beneficial for the WWE, as he brought in more fans and revenue! In fact, Knight is so over with the crowd, that he is receiving the same treatment as Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins. According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, “LA Knight was off the Saturday show due to COVID-19 after missing Friday’s SmackDown. It was notable that WWE announced ahead of the doors open that Knight was off the show and offered refunds. 

He also added, “Normally, WWE will only announce a no-show if it’s a Roman Reigns or Seth Rollins-level wrestler which tells you how highly they consider Knight.” While it is apparent that WWE is pushing Knight up the ladder, his illness means major plans around him could be postponed or scrapped.

LA Knight’s push gets halted

LA Knight was in for a big night on SmackDown last week. As part of John Cena’s on going tussle with The Bloodline, the storyline called for Knight to emerge to help out Cena as he was getting beat down by the heel faction. This after The Bloodline had taken out AJ Styles backstage before the contract signing for their tag team match at Fastlane.

Read more- “GOATS”: Snubbing Roman Reigns, Fans Acknowledge 30X Combined Champions John Cena and 37-Year-Old Star

Plans also called for Knight to be the one to team up with Cena at Fastlane against The Bloodline. But now with his COVID induced layoff it remains to be seen whether WWE will keep Knight in consideration for a push of this magnitude when he returns.

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