“He Was a Copycat,” WWE Legend Takes U-Turn on His LA Knight Standing After Previously Calling Him The Rock’s ripoff

LA Knight has continued making his critics eat their own words time and time again. The latest addition to that list is Kevin Nash.

“He Was a Copycat,” WWE Legend Takes U-Turn on His LA Knight Standing After Previously Calling Him The Rock’s ripoff

LA Knight as US Champion (via- WWE)

It seems like LA Knight‘s undeniable kavorka, as he likes to describe himself, has turned one of his biggest critics into a fan. The man in question is none other than WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash.

In the summer of 2023, the unprecedented groundswell in Knight’s popularity among WWE crowds didn’t sit well with Nash. In fact, the latter discarded the former Eli Drake by calling him The Rock‘s ripoff.

But on the latest edition of his ‘Kliq This’ podcast, Big Daddy Cool, while acknowledging that he was overly critical of the 42-year-old at one point, said that Knight’s been a solid hand for WWE. Nash also underscored that the fans adore The Defiant One and asserted that he’d be one of the names on his list to give a world title run to.

We gave him a lot of sh*t early in this show, that he was a copycat and everything else, and I really appreciate him……….He would definitely be on my list of guys to give a run to, to give a world run to. 

Kevin Nash said via Kliq This podcast

The erstwhile nWo member also applauded Knight for maintaining a ripped physique. Back when The Big Sexy was trashing on the Maryland native for allegedly copying the nuances of The Rock and Steve Austin, Knight handled it aptly.

The former US Champion felt honored for being compared with the likes of Rock and Austin. However, at the time, Knight did swipe at Nash by mocking his infamous “adjective” promo from 1996 on SmackDown.

After going back and forth for almost a year, Knight and Nash finally met each other backstage at SummerSlam 2024. Their meeting didn’t go haywire, and they instead talked about The Megastar’s opening match with Logan Paul. Nash inquired a bit about Paul’s work ethic towards the pro wrestling business before Knight eventually downed The Maverick for the US title to win his first singles championship on the main roster.

LA Knight will be out of action indefinitely after SmackDown ambush

On last week’s SmackDown, LA Knight got manhandled by “Big” Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker. The Megastar kicked off the show and asked Seth Rollins to come out. Since the latter wasn’t there, Paul Heyman showed up and warned the former Max Dupri to leave the building. A resilient Knight wasn’t going to buy it and instead offered Heyman to wrestle him one-on-one.

Seth Rollins' men destroyed LA Knight
Seth Rollins’ men destroyed LA Knight on SmackDown [via- WWE]

The WWE Hall of Famer retreated and called upon Rollins’ henchmen to take over. Reed and Breakker went after Knight, and one would naturally believe that they would’ve completely annihilated The Megastar. But they couldn’t, as Knight fought back with a steel chair, forcing his rivals to back down.

However, later in the show, The Defiant One got destroyed by Reed and Breakker after the latter caused a disqualification in Knight’s ongoing match with Reed. Consequently, the fan-favorite star will be out of action indefinitely, as announced by senior commentator Michael Cole on this week’s Raw.

Is LA Knight primed for a brand switch in this year’s WWE Draft?

LA Knight has been a constant feature of SmackDown for over two years now. Many fans believe that his time on the blue brand has run its course, and he needs to switch brands soon. That being said, as per WrestleVotes, there are several people within WWE who are pushing for him to be drafted to Raw in what is described as possibly being a refreshing change.

LA Knight
LA Knight (via- WWE)

This year’s WWE Draft is expected to happen after SummerSlam. Per BodySlam, it’s expected to serve as the tie in to the season premiere episodes of both Raw and SmackDown in September. If the red brand does get Knight on board, he would automatically become one of the favorites to capture singles gold yet again.

While he could go after the coveted Intercontinental Championship, the fans would want The Megastar to compete for the world title instead. Knight recently came up short in the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match, which, if he’d won, would’ve lined him up for a guaranteed world title shot any time he wanted.

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