LA Knight Reveals Why He Didn’t Overpraise John Cena for Their Previous Interactions in WWE

LA Knight has discussed his standing of John Cena not being effusive unlike many other superstars on the roster.

LA Knight Reveals Why He Didn’t Overpraise John Cena for Their Previous Interactions in WWE

John Cena and LA Knight [via- WWE]

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After overcoming Jey Uso in the semifinals of The Last Time is Now tournament on Raw, LA Knight is only one step away from being John Cena‘s last WWE opponent. To realize that dream, ‘The Megastar’ will have to beat Gunther in the finals of the ongoing tourney this Friday on SmackDown. But before that, he had a lot to say about his previous interactions with Cena.

While appearing on the latest edition of the Raw Recap, the real-life Shawn Ricker affirmed that he’s putting himself on the same level as ‘The Cenation Leader’. Calling Cena one of his peers, LA Knight said he doesn’t necessarily have to admire him while respecting everything he has done for WWE.

The erstwhile Eli Drake said that the Peacemaker star might be the greatest of all time, coupled with the most world title reigns in the company at 17. However, Knight emphasized that he wouldn’t lather Cena up based on all those accolades. ‘The Defiant One’ then recalled his 2023 match with The Miz at WWE Payback, wherein John Cena was the special guest referee.

You might agree or disagree with this but in my mind, I’m putting myself on the same level as him. He’s one of my peers. So in that sense, in this business, if he’s one of my peers, I’m not gonna look up to him. Again, I can respect everything that he’s done, and again, people might call him the greatest of all time……But with that being the case, I’m still not gonna go in there and lather this guy up……….

LA Knight on John Cena via Raw Recap (H/T: Fightful)

There was a moment in the match where Cena shoved Knight away from Miz after the Maryland native didn’t answer his five count in the corner. Knight and Cena consequently got into a heated verbal spat, allowing ‘The A-Lister’ to take advantage of the situation by hitting the Skull Crushing Finale on ‘The Megastar’ for a near pinfall.

Even though the former TNA star ultimately won the match, he could’ve ended up losing it courtesy of that slight distraction from Cena. And that’s why Knight didn’t act like a fanboy in the aftermath and go for something like a hug. The former US Champion was, in fact, pretty dissatisfied with Cena’s officiating when they came face-to-face near the entrance stage.

In the back of his mind, Knight couldn’t let go of Cena almost costing him the match. But eventually, they shook hands, and ‘The Franchise Player’ even passed on the torch by raising Knight’s left hand in front of the fans. Knight and Cena would later team up for a match against Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso at Fastlane. Even though it appeared like their singles bout was in the cards at some point, they didn’t cross paths.

LA Knight brimming with confidence ahead of the all-imporant tournament final with Gunther

This Friday night, LA Knight will square off with Gunther in arguably the most important match for any WWE Superstar in this calendar year. And why is that so? It’s simply due to the fact that the said match will determine John Cena’s final WWE opponent with whom he’ll go to war on December 13 at Saturday Night’s Main Event.

LA Knight and Gunther
LA Knight and Gunther [via- WrestleTalk]

‘The Megastar’ dubbed himself as the gatekeeper to Cena’s last match after fending off The Miz in the quarterfinals of the Last Time is Now tournament. And after Gunther beat Solo Sikoa on Raw, Knight addressed the noise around the Austrian being the unstoppable force. Taking to X, the 43-year-old spun the narrative in his favor by underscoring how he took WWE by storm the moment he walked into the company.

Giving a subtle wink to ‘The Ring General’, the former Eli Drake said he’d want to look Gunther in his eyes before buying into the hype. Both men have rightfully made their way into the finals. Speaking of the longest-reigining NXT UK Champion, he battled through the likes of Je’Von Evans, Carmelo Hayes, and Solo Sikoa to go down to the wire.

And for LA Knight, he thwarted a couple of surprises beginning with Zack Ryder, The Miz as Sheamus‘ replacement, and Jey Uso being his latest scalp. Even though the fans are rallying for ‘The Megastar’ to be The Franchise Player’s opponent later this month, reports claim it’d be Gunther barring any drastic changes to the previously set creative.

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