WWE SmackDown Wrestler Bringing Old Gimmick Back?

WWE star teases gimmick change in post-SmackDown video...

WWE SmackDown set
WWE

Is WWE's Max Dupri on the verge of reviving his old LA Knight character?

A fallout video from this week's episode of SmackDown certainly speculated as much. Dupri, in a clip uploaded to WWE's official YouTube channel, was shot delivering a pep talk to his Maximum Male Models stable. With his kayfabe sister Maxxine present, Dupri addressed ma.çé and mån.sôör following an eight-man tag defeat on SmackDown, telling them, amongst other things, that "You have to go through the day, to get to the Knight. Yeah."

On top of referencing his old WWE surname, Knight dropped one of his many catchphrases at the end.

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Maximum Male Models and Los Lotharios lost to The Street Profits and Hit Row on the night. MMM have been feuding with Hit Row for several weeks now, with ma.çé and mån.sôör eating a two-on-two defeat to Ashante 'Thee' Adonis and Top Dolla on SmackDown's 26 August episode.

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Dupri, 39, adopted the LA Knight persona upon earning WWE via NXT in February 2021. The character was essentially a rebranded version of the Eli Drake gimmick that sparked his rise in prominence in IMPACT Wrestling/TNA in the mid-to-late 2010s.

Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.