WWE confirms LA Knight’s title defense for WrestleMania 41 after brutal Last Man Standing match on SmackDown

LA Knight has silenced his critics over and over again by winning against the odds. However, his WrestleMania clash is one to look for.

WWE confirms LA Knight’s title defense for WrestleMania 41 after brutal Last Man Standing match on SmackDown

LA Knight [via- WWE]

Since joining the main roster in 2022, LA Knight is about to march in his second-ever WrestleMania with the United States Championship around his waist. But the task at hand is no child’s play. Making his debut at The Showcase of the Immortals, Jacob Fatu will challenge The Megastar for the US title in just about two weeks time.

This Friday on SmackDown, The Samoan Werewolf locked horns with a bitter rival in Braun Strowman. The two goliaths waged war in a Last Man Standing match having WrestleMania implications tied to it. Fatu and Strowman fought everywhere.

YouTube video

The ending came when Fatu bulldozed The Monster into a table that was initially set up by Braun having the turnbuckles in play. Strowman couldn’t beat the referee’s 10-count, while Fatu did and therefore won. It was anyone’s match, but Jacob pressed the right buttons.

That being said, he’s all set for a WrestleMania showdown with the man they call The Megastar. Knight also wrestled Tama Tonga in a non-title match prior to the Last Man Standing chaos. Despite having Solo Sikoa in his corner, Tonga succumbed to The Defiant One. Knight regained the US title from Shinsuke Nakamura about a month ago.

He’s defended it once against Strowman, but a Jacob Fatu run-in caused a disqualification. With the former Wyatt Family member out of contention, Knight and Fatu are WrestleMania-bound. On a night when The Samoan Werewolf will look to capture his first singles title in WWE, The Megastar might find himself in a do-or-die situation to walk out of Vegas as the champ.

LA Knight’s response to Jacob Fatu after the latter sealed his WrestleMania fate

After having a successful evening in Chicago on SmackDown, LA Knight didn’t put the brakes on. Instead, he closely watched Jacob Fatu and Braun Strowman trying to rip each other apart. As seen below, the 42-year-old credited both men for putting on the fight of their lives.

LA Knight
LA Knight as US Champion (via- WWE)

However, unperturbed by the prospect of colliding with Fatu at WrestleMania, Knight noted that his LMS exploits wouldn’t mean anything come the D-Day. The former Eli Drake is en route to arguably the biggest match of his career.

While his booking over the last year or so has been debatable, it hasn’t taken a toll on his popularity among the WWE Universe at all. When he fell to Shinsuke Nakamura at Survivor Series, it was a major setback for the fan-favorite. However, he crawled his way back to the top and is ready to take the gauntlet to evenly-matched Fatu.

The former NWA Champion has been on a tear since Saturday Night’s Main Event back in January. It was when he steamrolled Strowman and put the entire roster on high alert. While there’s no paucity of that killer instinct in the Bloodline’s enforcer, it remains to be seen if he can deliver when it matters the most.

WWE has changed its WrestleMania preference for Jacob Fatu

Not that long ago, Jacob Fatu reportedly had a different opponent planned for him at WrestleMania 41. Had WWE gone on with its original direction for the 32-year-old, he would’ve faced the current Bloodline leader, Solo Sikoa.

Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu
Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu (via- WWE)

Their on-screen relationship has undergone a complete overhaul than it was during Fatu’s early days in WWE. After Solo lost to Roman Reigns on Raw’s Netflix debut, he disappeared for a while. In the meantime, The Samoan Werewolf took over. From that point on, Sikoa and Jacob have been engaged in several disagreements.

At one point, Fatu was pegged to turn on his former Tribal Chief and build to their reported WrestleMania match. However, WWE has seemingly deviated from that angle, making the fans wonder if Solo might actually cost Jacob at WrestleMania itself. It’s merely a speculation though.

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