10 Wrestlers WWE Failed In 2022

4. LA Knight

Sasha Banks Failed
WWE

Yes, LA Knight is currently, well, LA Knight, but a list such as this couldn't not address the elephant in the room that was Max Dupri.

Having arrived in NXT in early 2021, the former Eli Drake went about making himself one of the most engaging, entertaining parts of WWE's developmental brand. Even through the transition from NXT to NXT 2.0, Knight remained a huge part of NXT programming as it became clear he'd be main roster-bound sooner rather than later.

That move to the main roster came in April 2022, and frankly, it absolutely sucked.

Renamed Max Dupri, the one-time IMPACT World Champion went from barb-spewing loudmouth lone wolf, to a creepy manager of models who spent his time talking about titillating juices. This gimmick change stands as one of the worst in recent memory, and it's no surprise to learn that this was all a Vince McMahon idea.

With McMahon seeing nothing in the LA Knight character, Max was tasked with heading up the Maximum Male Models stable that seemed destined to lead to nothing but a "good luck with your future endeavours" notification for Dupri and his crew.

To take someone who is naturally such a phenomenal talker, and to land them with the utterly horrendous Max Dupri schtick... it was absolutely baffling to wrestling fans. For the treatment of the Namer of Dummies during this time, that's why La Knight lands on this list of WWE failings from 2022.

Thankfully, the forced retirement of Vince McMahon and the rise to power of Triple H has seen the Max Dupri character axed. Instead, as LA Knight, the real-life Shaun Ricker now finds himself in a prominent spot on SmackDown opposite Bray Wyatt.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.