The Forbidden Lore Of WWE’s LA Knight

by Michael Sidgwick
LA Knight WWE
WWE.com

But LA Knight got over, and very quickly, in a fantastic, excessively entertaining programme with Cameron Grimes. Grimes was “new money”: a dumbass hick who had made an improbable fortune through a cryptocurrency investment. Knight was the handsome, ripped superstar who could not sanction Cameron’s lack of class. Knight was incredible at showing his disdain towards Grimes, and generally played the role of arrogant, dismissive prick to near-perfection. “Thanks, toots,” he’d say to the women tasked with handing him his bathrobes.

Knight and Grimes competed over the tutelage of 1980s legend ‘Million Dollar Man’ Ted DiBiase across a series of priceless skits. Knight felt main roster-ready - even born for it. The problem is that nobody was ready for the main roster because Vince McMahon had lost the plot entirely.

After making the move, Knight was repackaged as Max Dupri in May 2022: a talent agent who represented ‘ma.çé’ and ‘mån.sôör’: Maximum Male Models. This was actually a decent bit of prelim heel comedy - all three were comedically gifted, and it was silly in a very specifically weird way - but, as ever, its potential was never realised. Dupri’s bit was that he’d lean in too close and creepy to Adam Pearce, and nobody could ever enunciate his name correctly. Combined with the fashion component, this was essentially everything Fandango did, and you’ll recall how much Vince cared about him.

It wasn’t looking good, again - and then Vince resigned in disgrace. And then the great pro wrestling match became normalised and even boring somehow. And then, under Paul Levesque, WWE got red-hot, capturing an audience that cared far more about stories, characters, and catchphrases. Suddenly, Attitude Era devotee LA Knight was fashionable. You know the rest of the story, since Knight himself has done a fantastic job of writing it. LA Knight never gave up on his dreams, even though a lot of snarky wrestling fans crapped all over them for a long time. Is there actually something to the most trite motivational quote there is?

Yeah.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!