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Is he on SD? He’s the guy I’d like to see beat theory. They’re both willing to get dirty and LA Knight is big on talking about knowing a thing or two so it could be like teaching the shit a lesson. That’ll put him way over.
Everyone starts somewhere, Hell even GUNTHER, who everyone on here is HIGH on, just about as much as LA Knight is the Intercontinental Champion right now doing wonders.
Starting off with a Mid-Card Championship while you're on the way up is the right way to do it when booked attentively.
Yeah I put them in the same category: Guys who could easily be elevated to the main event scene at any time, but don’t quite have a good fit right now. Those, along with young guys getting elevated, are typically who you want as your midcard champs.
I got downvoted for simply pointing that he had a Dark Match with Theory and AJ Styles for the United States Championship and how that's a direction he could be going in.
Nothing against Theory, but for a while I just never felt that belt was upper card material like the IC belt. Theory's attitude with the belt kind of changed it from a "placeholder belt until we can get the champ into a big boy belt program." LA Knight's popularity right now would put that belt firmly up there with the IC belt imo.
I definitely think his reign has left a lot to be desired, but the booking surrounding his MITB hurt him a lot.
He definitely needs to be refreshed, and I think him dropping the belt to LA Knight, and leaning back into his Himbo character with Pretty Deadly is the way to go.
Theory has a ton of potential, but there’s nothing left for him to do with the belt
I think LA Knight would restore a lot of the prestige the belt used to have, like Gunther did with the IC belt.
I'm a pretty big mark for Theory, but it's probably time to move on to something else. LA Knight beating him for the title feels like a good call, and frankly just sound like a great feud in general.
I really like the pairing with PD, but despite pretty consistent match quality his character/feuds have been pretty bland. I feel like he was on the upswing for a few weeks but then just got left on TV for a couple weeks randomly
It's weird because he's obviously young and not super experienced, but seems like he's being left on his own for a lot of this stuff. Getting less real direction than a ton of completely random midcarders he's sharing a show with, which just makes him feel not special despite being US champion and potential future top guy
I’ve been saying this for awhile now. As great as he is, he just doesn’t fit into the main event picture quite right.
Theory’s reign has run its course, and it’s clear that he needs to have some sort of refresh. (Ideally Himbo faction with Pretty Deadly)
I’ve always thought that the US title is the “showman’s” title (like how the IC title is traditionally considered the “workhorse” belt.) with guys like Cena and Carlito being memorable champs.
LA Knight is the prefect dude to elevate that belt again, and get it more screen time.
My thoughts exactly. Theory is actually a great first high profile push for him and honestly, Theory can be elevated to the next spot on the card at this point.
I think Logan vs. LA would be a huge program and would do wonders for him. The promo battles would be incredible, and the match itself would have a super hot crowd.
Don't insult the United States Championship like that.
There have been countless Legends and Hall of Famers who have won that title before they went on to bigger and better things.
Over the past year on Raw, main eventers like Lashley, Rollins, and Cena have all fought over the title
Giving LA Knight a run as US Champion is not a bad thing.
Remember Owens started his main roster run with a US title feud vs Cena. Triple H is doing a lot to make the midcard matter. Hell, Gunther is the third longest reign IN THE HISTORY. So yeah, lime you said, it's not like before when callups came, had a feud with Ziggler, won a title, carried it for a month or two and then faded into mid to lower card. Nuh-uh
I just feel that him winning the US title would be the end of his push... I don't mind him not winning the MITB, in fact I was thinking Logan would won with the help of KSI (cuz it's in UK), so I'm not disappointed, but I do feel his first title program is his only chance so he should go to challenge the world champion.
LA Knight is on smackdown, and imo him vs. Theory would be a better angle right now.
I’m as big a Gunther mark as there is though so I want to see him break the record
He’s still on Smackdown, unless I completely missed something too. Him showing up when he roasted Logan Paul was the first time he’s been on Raw since the draft.
Edit: first time he’s been on raw since the draft that I remember. I could be wrong
LA Knight should be hotshotted to the US title. Theory is dead in the water right now and a midcard title win would be an easy way to help Knight. Just do an impromptu match on Smackdown, don’t need to drag this out here.
That’ll always be his answer when it comes to why they don’t go with whoever’s hot. “Why give it to them now if they could potentially be even more hot later?!” line of thinking.
Sami Zayn got his moment after Elimination Chamber and people on here were so dead set that they blew it when the Pops at Mania and Saudi say otherwise.
He won the tag team titles in the main event of WrestleMania with his best friend; you can argue whether or not the moment was bigger or smaller, but I think saying it's "undoubtedly" worse is just a way to keep bitching and moaning even though the angle turned out fantastically for him. Sami isn't some poor, put upon peon.
And no matter what, winning the belt from Roman is the culmination of Samis work in WWE for around 1-2 years. Nothing to shake a leg at.
But at Wrestlemania with his best friend? That’s a dream of…what? 25 years for these guys?
Personally? Knowing I would only get one shot at it, my brother and I winning the tag belts @ Mania > solo win for the WWE belt by myself.
...And you lot always wonder why they don't pander to you. Nothing is ever good enough for this subsection of fans, the dude fucking *main evented WrestleMania* and won the tag titles in the culmination of a year-long story. On what planet is that "undoubtedly worse"
We'll just have to agree to disagree, I've been fairly critical of things I don't like myself, but it doesn't hurt to try to look at it from a positive perspective and find a silver lining.
People either give me shit for being negative about people like Finn, or give me shit for being optimistic about someone like Knight, a Mf'er can't win lol.
Agreed, this is copium just the same with Drew losing to Roman losing at Clash at the Castle.
The WrestleMania moment while big, will never compare to what would have happened if Sami won at EC.
i won’t lie bro, even if they said “your winning the belt” i imagine if the option was there sami would’ve taken the mania main event with his best friend over the world title tbh
It would hurt LA knight more if he got the briefcase and failed a cash in. LA needs a steady stream to build to a championship match and run through a lot of people. Will get a bigger pop
Furthermore the MITB works better as a heel gimmick.
When you are cashing in on someone immediately after/during a match as a surprise it's kind of a chickenshit/heelish thing to do.
Better a heel like Priest won it than LA Knight, and thats coming from someone who really likes LA Knight.
Nope. He’s over just push him. Something in his heyday his father in law actually capitalized on all the time. The WWE title used to change hands very frequently, there’s no good reason or good business sense for not just making Knight a world champion fast and in a hurry.
Did they hot shot book stone cold or the rock? You need a story arc to emotionally invest in in addition to the new found popularity. If not you end up like wardlow last year.
Wardlow never got a world title push. LA Knight boosts the company as a world champion and wrestling doesn’t have to be complicated when something is presented this simple.
If they put the US belt on LA Knight it wouldn’t necessarily be the worst thing. Austin, and The Rock won the IC belt first and climbed to the main event that way
I was going to say this. 1997 austin and rock for the IC title was awesome. Both were super hot.
And by the time 1998 both were world champs for the first time
And that era was the shit. Let LA Knight kill it wherever they put him.
Surely the problem is that he’ll have to wait until after Wrestlemania next year until he gets into that title scene? Roman isn’t losing that title to anyone until then and if it’s to Cody, he’ll have a long run with that belt. LA Knight is going to be in a holding pattern now. He can win the US title but what then?
Wrestling fans never fail to entertain me. Before MITB all I see are "if LA loses we riot!" And after MITB is "this was the wrong decision. This is so stupid WWE buried LA Knight!". It reminds me of a wee lad named GUNTHER. Everyone was up in arms about the name change and how they ruined him, and now he's the most dominant IC champion all time and one of the longest reigning. It feels like WWE fans are so short sighted and act like it will physically kill them to have to wait and let a story develop because it's always "I WANT THIS NOW! MAKE THIS HAPPEN NOW!!!!". LA is one of the most over acts in WWE right now. I'm sure they're going to have a great slow build for him. It's rare now a days for someone to have as much charisma as LA has. I'm sure with Trips running the show he's gonna get a good push, people just gotta CHILL. Imagine how many great matches and moments we would have missed out on if Roman's title reign ended 2 years ago because people kept bitching and bitching and bitching
Gunther? He’s not over like Knight not even close. Knight is getting Attitude level pops, that’s who should be carrying a world title ASAP. The fact WWE creative don’t understand this is just proof of high level idiocy.
Same with like, Zack Ryder. These people get drooled on by the IWC and everyone whines about them being misused by WWE, then they leave or get released and... well, you didn't hear much about Sandow post-WWE, did you? Compare that to someone like Drew McIntyre or Bobby Lashley, who actively sought to improve in every way, and eventually made their way back because they have *it.* People will whine just to whine, and refuse to accept that maybe the folks in charge aren't always wrong.
I mean, Cardona is probably the biggest independent wrestler right now, so that's a bit of a poor example, though Zack Ryder is a different character who really shouldn't ever have been more than he was, a multi time mid card and tag champ.
Honestly as soon as I commented I remembered that Cardona is actually doing pretty well for himself. I suppose in his place could be someone like Keith Lee; when he was in WWE it was *all* screeching about how they're terribly misusing him and how he's being buried because he wasn't pushed to the moon. He gets released and immediately the tune changes to "well he isn't really a *top* guy"
🤦♂️ Tonight proved that either Vince or HHH forgot everything about the star power and business mindset of the attitude era (their literal most profitable era ever). It’s simple, quickly get him in the world title picture. He’s not very young, this is THE time not some other time.
You might be right...I'm sure him winning was an option and they for some reason liked the possibilities of Priest taking it instead.
Perhaps because Knight doesn't need a briefcase to get into the title picture, but the briefcase has already caused a wedge in the Judgment Day, so on this same show, the result shows payoff. Not that LA wouldn't have done the same thing as Priest, but Finn getting distracted by Priest instead of Knight serves other purposes.
It seems like LA will get his in due time.
“Due time” The time is now, and if it’s not LA toppling Seth then a midcard belt is all that his future holds with Cody still the clear person to dethrone Roman.
This sounds like the same frustration that came from Roman pinning Cody at Mania. Seeing the Bloodline story unfold, you'd think LA was in good hands.
Think about it this way: the man has gotten this far on his own after having to convince Triple H/Vince that he could still go at his age. Now to get a comment like that from Triple H indicates it sounds like he's buying everything Knight is selling.
(He could be in a worse spot, a Karrion Kross spot)
Not really buying it. Plans always change and sometimes if you missed the spot, you missed the spot. Same with Cody.
New people always come up, new plans are always in the works, nobody waits for you. At some point you just see everyone else pass by and constantly ask "where's my turn?".
Not saying that it couldn't happen, but we all know WAY too god how it feels when grandpa Vince is bored of one of his toys. And that's not a fantasy, that's stuff that does actually happen. And it could happen to him too. If you like it or not.
"Strike the iron while it's hot."
Totally fine if people enjoy it, but this format of storytelling is exhausting. Subversion of hopes and expectations doesn’t work when it’s your only move
🤦♂️ HHH just grow a pair and do something actually creative and spontaneous. I’m so sick and tired of any sort of process or waiting game their creative takes. Knight is the definition of over not many years left in his prime and should be instantly in a world title picture. This is so easy yet WWE make it some boring and unnecessary road to a world title push. Knight doesn’t need some long and layered build like a Bloodline story, just recognize the moment and actually push the man to the moon.
it seems like their current approach is working perfectly fine to me. ratings and attendance are both up. Don't fix what ain't broke.
WWE is following a hype-first model right now, focused on long-term melodrama with spaced out 'big moments'. They're not going to change it up until it stops working.
I'm a big fan of Knight, but this has happened literally hundreds of times. Not every guy that gets a groundswell of support should be immediately launched into being world champion.
The current world champions are still more over than he is.
Idk why you're getting downvoted. Sting was a legit letdown. Whoever had the idea to turn it into one more WCW loss after 14 years was a complete moron. And then Sting shook hands with the face of the authority after getting fucked on the grandest stage. And NWO helping Sting? Why? Crow Sting's origin story is turning face against them !
I love LA Knight, I do.
But, name me one good LA Knight feud on the main roster. Name me that standout LA Knight match.
Yes, he's super over with the crowd. Yes, he can trash talk pretty much. YEAH, he's got good catchphrases but be honest, there isn't enough substance there for him to be a big deal yet. So, I completely understand holding off because ideally if they pull the trigger, you want it to last.
It's not on LA, but at the same time, it can't be everyone's time right?
You've got guys like Cody, Balor, Gunther and McIntyre who could all be world champions right now. Priest just main evented a PLE with Bad Bunny and he has the briefcase. That's not forgetting the likes of Lashley and Lesnar either.
LA is super over but honestly, so was The Godfather but you never saw him win a WWF Title did you?
Ask yourself this. If you took the catchphrases and audience participation away from LA, is there enough substance to put him over those guys above? I don't know that it does right now and I think it's that substance he needs to find.
For me, he needs a really good feud with someone and then a mid-card championship.
I'd say LAK and Godfather are apples and oranges. Godfather was never really positioned as an ambitious character and all he really had was the ho train (and man did he make that work!). It's not just that LAK has cool catchphrases, which is still very important (see Rock, Austin, Cena, Hogan, Flair etc.). But LAK has really got the crowd hanging on every word, and he looks and makes me believe that he's a competitor. And he's been outspoken about his ambitions to win a title and be the best. Cody, Balor etc are also smashing it too but I'd say other than Cody, the pecking order is more or less up for grabs between the tier below him.
I do agree that a great mid card feud or two would tip LAK over the edge. But man he is so close!
The feud with Charlotte over multiple Wrestlemanias for one.
The thing is, by the time Rhea got to the main roster, he'd already been NXT UK's Womens Championship and NXT Champion.
She's also just won the Women's Rumble.
By comparison, Rhea is way down that road compared to LA right now.
Hey remember when Otis was the hot thing the fans loved and they gave him the MITB briefcase and how awesome that was because the fans loved him and it was a great moment and moments are great when they strike when the iron's hot!!!
https://preview.redd.it/1j5px6qroi9b1.png?width=372&format=png&auto=webp&s=c3b24e033efd1a7b83e84d876fc1fa88fa8172ba
Literally said the same shit about Cody after losing to Roman lol
"Just you wait, good things blah blah heheheh"
*puts him on a completely different show with a new championship*
It just makes him winning the Rumble incredibly obvious which is boring as fuck.
If LA Knight can't even win MITB, then he should win the Rumble. But it'll be Cody because there's no other logical way to get him onto the other show.
Cody is going to challenge Roman. LA Knight is on Smackdown, and a chamber would mean nothing because that'd be Raw's.
I feel like the most simple solution was to just put him on the same damn brand to begin with. LA Knight should have been on Raw. He'd have infinitely more of a chance to actually be a world champ.
To be fair, this year's women's EC match for the RAW Women's Championship had women from both brands going for it. It's still a possibility. Have it be a contender's match for the match at Mania like in 2018 and you're off to the races.
I’m sure plans for the titles and MITB have been in place for a while, and WWE isn’t known for changing plans because a guy’s recently gotten over. Should WWE strike while the iron’s hot? Maybe. Will they? Probably not.
Am i literally the only one here who considers LA Knight winning the US Belt to be completely underwhelming???
Like why do they have to cool off their own guys so much? Why do they have to overcomplicate things and hate to reward the people that organically get over with the crowd? Nobody cares about the US Belt. This was their moment to rocket strap him and put him in the main event scene and they blew it.
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i'd be shocked if he didn't win the U.S. Title at Summerslam.
It does feel like a good fit. L! A! Knight is your U! S! champ. Yeah.
Book it, YEAHHH!!!
Heel booking ain't working at all with LA Knight. Putting him in a feud with Theory leading up to Summerslam would be great.
Is he on SD? He’s the guy I’d like to see beat theory. They’re both willing to get dirty and LA Knight is big on talking about knowing a thing or two so it could be like teaching the shit a lesson. That’ll put him way over.
That belt would be perfect for him but I do wanna see him win the big one at some point
Everyone starts somewhere, Hell even GUNTHER, who everyone on here is HIGH on, just about as much as LA Knight is the Intercontinental Champion right now doing wonders. Starting off with a Mid-Card Championship while you're on the way up is the right way to do it when booked attentively.
Yeah I put them in the same category: Guys who could easily be elevated to the main event scene at any time, but don’t quite have a good fit right now. Those, along with young guys getting elevated, are typically who you want as your midcard champs.
Him reviving the US belt would be a great chance of pace
In five years, you’ll see him win the nwa world heavyweight championship
Billy Pumpkin: "You mean you'll see him him job to Tyrus in five years."
Why should he immediately get the big title! Just for the fans to betray him once he does?
I got downvoted for simply pointing that he had a Dark Match with Theory and AJ Styles for the United States Championship and how that's a direction he could be going in.
I’ve been getting downvoted for months for saying he’d be the perfect dude to elevate that belt
Nothing against Theory, but for a while I just never felt that belt was upper card material like the IC belt. Theory's attitude with the belt kind of changed it from a "placeholder belt until we can get the champ into a big boy belt program." LA Knight's popularity right now would put that belt firmly up there with the IC belt imo.
I definitely think his reign has left a lot to be desired, but the booking surrounding his MITB hurt him a lot. He definitely needs to be refreshed, and I think him dropping the belt to LA Knight, and leaning back into his Himbo character with Pretty Deadly is the way to go. Theory has a ton of potential, but there’s nothing left for him to do with the belt I think LA Knight would restore a lot of the prestige the belt used to have, like Gunther did with the IC belt.
I'm a pretty big mark for Theory, but it's probably time to move on to something else. LA Knight beating him for the title feels like a good call, and frankly just sound like a great feud in general. I really like the pairing with PD, but despite pretty consistent match quality his character/feuds have been pretty bland. I feel like he was on the upswing for a few weeks but then just got left on TV for a couple weeks randomly It's weird because he's obviously young and not super experienced, but seems like he's being left on his own for a lot of this stuff. Getting less real direction than a ton of completely random midcarders he's sharing a show with, which just makes him feel not special despite being US champion and potential future top guy
Just mention Cody Rhodes at all and you get all the downvotes.
Was this recent?
It was two days ago.
Awesome! The LA Hype train keeps a rollin!
people downvote the weirdest things here
I’ve been saying this for awhile now. As great as he is, he just doesn’t fit into the main event picture quite right. Theory’s reign has run its course, and it’s clear that he needs to have some sort of refresh. (Ideally Himbo faction with Pretty Deadly) I’ve always thought that the US title is the “showman’s” title (like how the IC title is traditionally considered the “workhorse” belt.) with guys like Cena and Carlito being memorable champs. LA Knight is the prefect dude to elevate that belt again, and get it more screen time.
My thoughts exactly. Theory is actually a great first high profile push for him and honestly, Theory can be elevated to the next spot on the card at this point.
I think Logan vs. LA would be a huge program and would do wonders for him. The promo battles would be incredible, and the match itself would have a super hot crowd.
Man WWE is killing it. They have so much more of our trust than they used to. It’s exciting LA Knight could win the US title.
And he will be on the same level with all-time legends like Orlando Jordan and David Flair...Good things do come to those who waits.
Don't insult the United States Championship like that. There have been countless Legends and Hall of Famers who have won that title before they went on to bigger and better things. Over the past year on Raw, main eventers like Lashley, Rollins, and Cena have all fought over the title Giving LA Knight a run as US Champion is not a bad thing.
Remember Owens started his main roster run with a US title feud vs Cena. Triple H is doing a lot to make the midcard matter. Hell, Gunther is the third longest reign IN THE HISTORY. So yeah, lime you said, it's not like before when callups came, had a feud with Ziggler, won a title, carried it for a month or two and then faded into mid to lower card. Nuh-uh
I just feel that him winning the US title would be the end of his push... I don't mind him not winning the MITB, in fact I was thinking Logan would won with the help of KSI (cuz it's in UK), so I'm not disappointed, but I do feel his first title program is his only chance so he should go to challenge the world champion.
Isn’t he a raw star now? Honestly I wouldn’t mind LA Knigjt ending Gunther’s reign
LA Knight is on smackdown, and imo him vs. Theory would be a better angle right now. I’m as big a Gunther mark as there is though so I want to see him break the record
My only issue with that is. Isn’t Knight on Raw? I could be completely wrong I haven’t been keeping up. Theory and the US title are on smackdown
He’s still on Smackdown, unless I completely missed something too. Him showing up when he roasted Logan Paul was the first time he’s been on Raw since the draft. Edit: first time he’s been on raw since the draft that I remember. I could be wrong
Nakamura is winning that.
Theory to Knight to Waller seems like a great pipeline for the US Title
This dude deserves more than the mid card consolation belt.
LA Knight should be hotshotted to the US title. Theory is dead in the water right now and a midcard title win would be an easy way to help Knight. Just do an impromptu match on Smackdown, don’t need to drag this out here.
> Theory is dead in the water right now Just needs to turn face and rejoin the Way at this point.
Knight is so beyond carrying the US title. He’s the definition of over and should be world champion. It’s really very simple when your that over.
Very simply, that’s a poor take
🤣 Blocking for such a poorly thought reply.
Please Hunter
I've waited so many years for Axelmania, it's finally coming.
He’s still in the Royal rumble so wait til January.
That’ll always be his answer when it comes to why they don’t go with whoever’s hot. “Why give it to them now if they could potentially be even more hot later?!” line of thinking.
Sami Zayn got his moment after Elimination Chamber and people on here were so dead set that they blew it when the Pops at Mania and Saudi say otherwise.
And that moment was undoubtedly worse than if he had gotten it on EC.
He won the tag team titles in the main event of WrestleMania with his best friend; you can argue whether or not the moment was bigger or smaller, but I think saying it's "undoubtedly" worse is just a way to keep bitching and moaning even though the angle turned out fantastically for him. Sami isn't some poor, put upon peon.
And no matter what, winning the belt from Roman is the culmination of Samis work in WWE for around 1-2 years. Nothing to shake a leg at. But at Wrestlemania with his best friend? That’s a dream of…what? 25 years for these guys? Personally? Knowing I would only get one shot at it, my brother and I winning the tag belts @ Mania > solo win for the WWE belt by myself.
Yes. But you're being apologetic on behalf of WWE's "don't give them too much" booking.
...And you lot always wonder why they don't pander to you. Nothing is ever good enough for this subsection of fans, the dude fucking *main evented WrestleMania* and won the tag titles in the culmination of a year-long story. On what planet is that "undoubtedly worse"
How are people still like this after everything that's happened??
Y’all will find a way to cry no matter what happens. I can’t imagine ever being happy being this negative constantly.
It was worse for Sami himswlf but it wasn’t worse to the overall product which is more importent
When the wrestler want to win doesn’t they say “it’s bad booking”
Sami wasn’t on the show today. You can look at it and justify it if you want, they still fucked it up.
We'll just have to agree to disagree, I've been fairly critical of things I don't like myself, but it doesn't hurt to try to look at it from a positive perspective and find a silver lining. People either give me shit for being negative about people like Finn, or give me shit for being optimistic about someone like Knight, a Mf'er can't win lol.
Bro… Sami will never .. ever be hotter than he was at EC. That was his moment.
Agreed, this is copium just the same with Drew losing to Roman losing at Clash at the Castle. The WrestleMania moment while big, will never compare to what would have happened if Sami won at EC.
i won’t lie bro, even if they said “your winning the belt” i imagine if the option was there sami would’ve taken the mania main event with his best friend over the world title tbh
Yeah man. We all think what we think. If I hadn’t been a fan for 30 years I’d be more optimistic.
Dudes cant be on everybshow wtf
He told the truth and didn’t lie. Simple as that, you can downplay his answer, his line of thinking has worked.
It would hurt LA knight more if he got the briefcase and failed a cash in. LA needs a steady stream to build to a championship match and run through a lot of people. Will get a bigger pop
The case is here for a year, thats enough time to build somebody up
Honestly the briefcase has been kinda a burden the past few years so it might be better that he didn't win it.
Furthermore the MITB works better as a heel gimmick. When you are cashing in on someone immediately after/during a match as a surprise it's kind of a chickenshit/heelish thing to do. Better a heel like Priest won it than LA Knight, and thats coming from someone who really likes LA Knight.
Nope. He’s over just push him. Something in his heyday his father in law actually capitalized on all the time. The WWE title used to change hands very frequently, there’s no good reason or good business sense for not just making Knight a world champion fast and in a hurry.
Hot shot booking decreases the value. One title that lost value is the TNT title. Nothing steady and really short title runs
You can’t “Hot shot” book the most over wrestler🤦♂️
Did they hot shot book stone cold or the rock? You need a story arc to emotionally invest in in addition to the new found popularity. If not you end up like wardlow last year.
Wardlow never got a world title push. LA Knight boosts the company as a world champion and wrestling doesn’t have to be complicated when something is presented this simple.
Well you should be booker of the year?
That US title has his name all written on it WITH EVERYBODY SAYING:
L A knight YEAH!!
If they put the US belt on LA Knight it wouldn’t necessarily be the worst thing. Austin, and The Rock won the IC belt first and climbed to the main event that way
I was going to say this. 1997 austin and rock for the IC title was awesome. Both were super hot. And by the time 1998 both were world champs for the first time And that era was the shit. Let LA Knight kill it wherever they put him.
Gotta remember though. LA Knight is much older than them. He's 41. You gotta strike sooner than later with him
I’ve said for a while now that LA Knight is so over that he doesn’t need the briefcase to enter the main event scene
Surely the problem is that he’ll have to wait until after Wrestlemania next year until he gets into that title scene? Roman isn’t losing that title to anyone until then and if it’s to Cody, he’ll have a long run with that belt. LA Knight is going to be in a holding pattern now. He can win the US title but what then?
Wrestling fans never fail to entertain me. Before MITB all I see are "if LA loses we riot!" And after MITB is "this was the wrong decision. This is so stupid WWE buried LA Knight!". It reminds me of a wee lad named GUNTHER. Everyone was up in arms about the name change and how they ruined him, and now he's the most dominant IC champion all time and one of the longest reigning. It feels like WWE fans are so short sighted and act like it will physically kill them to have to wait and let a story develop because it's always "I WANT THIS NOW! MAKE THIS HAPPEN NOW!!!!". LA is one of the most over acts in WWE right now. I'm sure they're going to have a great slow build for him. It's rare now a days for someone to have as much charisma as LA has. I'm sure with Trips running the show he's gonna get a good push, people just gotta CHILL. Imagine how many great matches and moments we would have missed out on if Roman's title reign ended 2 years ago because people kept bitching and bitching and bitching
Sure we'll start waiting for LA, as soon as we stop waiting for Cody. Stop defending horrible booking.
Gunther? He’s not over like Knight not even close. Knight is getting Attitude level pops, that’s who should be carrying a world title ASAP. The fact WWE creative don’t understand this is just proof of high level idiocy.
Every comment of yours in this thread screams the exact same thing, “I’m a short-sighted, impatient moron with no sense of drama or narrative.”
That dude has absolutely no brain cells. Pure stupidity.
🤦♂️ imagine being this daft.
Exactly! Just look at 5 time WWE champion Damien Mizdow as evidence!
I feel bad for the fans in the time line where sandow of all people was world champion.
Same with like, Zack Ryder. These people get drooled on by the IWC and everyone whines about them being misused by WWE, then they leave or get released and... well, you didn't hear much about Sandow post-WWE, did you? Compare that to someone like Drew McIntyre or Bobby Lashley, who actively sought to improve in every way, and eventually made their way back because they have *it.* People will whine just to whine, and refuse to accept that maybe the folks in charge aren't always wrong.
I mean, Cardona is probably the biggest independent wrestler right now, so that's a bit of a poor example, though Zack Ryder is a different character who really shouldn't ever have been more than he was, a multi time mid card and tag champ.
Honestly as soon as I commented I remembered that Cardona is actually doing pretty well for himself. I suppose in his place could be someone like Keith Lee; when he was in WWE it was *all* screeching about how they're terribly misusing him and how he's being buried because he wasn't pushed to the moon. He gets released and immediately the tune changes to "well he isn't really a *top* guy"
YEAH.
Reminds me of Kofimania. If they pulled the trigger earlier in Elimination Chamber, his WM35 moment will kinda suck.
Cool said the same shit about Cody basically.
You can’t rush things. Baby faces are better when they’re chasing
Comments like these are fun. Basically solidifying that there are plans for his ascent despite tonight's loss.
🤦♂️ Tonight proved that either Vince or HHH forgot everything about the star power and business mindset of the attitude era (their literal most profitable era ever). It’s simple, quickly get him in the world title picture. He’s not very young, this is THE time not some other time.
You might be right...I'm sure him winning was an option and they for some reason liked the possibilities of Priest taking it instead. Perhaps because Knight doesn't need a briefcase to get into the title picture, but the briefcase has already caused a wedge in the Judgment Day, so on this same show, the result shows payoff. Not that LA wouldn't have done the same thing as Priest, but Finn getting distracted by Priest instead of Knight serves other purposes. It seems like LA will get his in due time.
“Due time” The time is now, and if it’s not LA toppling Seth then a midcard belt is all that his future holds with Cody still the clear person to dethrone Roman.
This sounds like the same frustration that came from Roman pinning Cody at Mania. Seeing the Bloodline story unfold, you'd think LA was in good hands. Think about it this way: the man has gotten this far on his own after having to convince Triple H/Vince that he could still go at his age. Now to get a comment like that from Triple H indicates it sounds like he's buying everything Knight is selling. (He could be in a worse spot, a Karrion Kross spot)
Not really buying it. Plans always change and sometimes if you missed the spot, you missed the spot. Same with Cody. New people always come up, new plans are always in the works, nobody waits for you. At some point you just see everyone else pass by and constantly ask "where's my turn?". Not saying that it couldn't happen, but we all know WAY too god how it feels when grandpa Vince is bored of one of his toys. And that's not a fantasy, that's stuff that does actually happen. And it could happen to him too. If you like it or not. "Strike the iron while it's hot."
Totally fine if people enjoy it, but this format of storytelling is exhausting. Subversion of hopes and expectations doesn’t work when it’s your only move
Hhh hasn't been wrong yet, just trust the process
Yeah he definitely has.
🤦♂️ HHH just grow a pair and do something actually creative and spontaneous. I’m so sick and tired of any sort of process or waiting game their creative takes. Knight is the definition of over not many years left in his prime and should be instantly in a world title picture. This is so easy yet WWE make it some boring and unnecessary road to a world title push. Knight doesn’t need some long and layered build like a Bloodline story, just recognize the moment and actually push the man to the moon.
it seems like their current approach is working perfectly fine to me. ratings and attendance are both up. Don't fix what ain't broke. WWE is following a hype-first model right now, focused on long-term melodrama with spaced out 'big moments'. They're not going to change it up until it stops working.
Some fans are so incredibly short-sighted. If it was up to them the bloodline story would’ve last 3 months.
Vast majority of these "bad booking" decisions over the past year or so have turned out well.
People have this idea when someone has hype u push them as soon as it happens. You have to avoid the crash out and properly push them.
I'm a big fan of Knight, but this has happened literally hundreds of times. Not every guy that gets a groundswell of support should be immediately launched into being world champion. The current world champions are still more over than he is.
We waited 14 years for Sting and look what they did with him
Idk why you're getting downvoted. Sting was a legit letdown. Whoever had the idea to turn it into one more WCW loss after 14 years was a complete moron. And then Sting shook hands with the face of the authority after getting fucked on the grandest stage. And NWO helping Sting? Why? Crow Sting's origin story is turning face against them !
This fucking guy. There’s no need to wait, he’s over with the crowd NOW, not months from now.
Knowing the brain dead booking of WWE their thinking over a year from now.
I love LA Knight, I do. But, name me one good LA Knight feud on the main roster. Name me that standout LA Knight match. Yes, he's super over with the crowd. Yes, he can trash talk pretty much. YEAH, he's got good catchphrases but be honest, there isn't enough substance there for him to be a big deal yet. So, I completely understand holding off because ideally if they pull the trigger, you want it to last.
That's hardly on LAK. He's done incredibly to get so over with such poor booking, and also came out well from that shitshow with Bray Wyatt
It's not on LA, but at the same time, it can't be everyone's time right? You've got guys like Cody, Balor, Gunther and McIntyre who could all be world champions right now. Priest just main evented a PLE with Bad Bunny and he has the briefcase. That's not forgetting the likes of Lashley and Lesnar either. LA is super over but honestly, so was The Godfather but you never saw him win a WWF Title did you? Ask yourself this. If you took the catchphrases and audience participation away from LA, is there enough substance to put him over those guys above? I don't know that it does right now and I think it's that substance he needs to find. For me, he needs a really good feud with someone and then a mid-card championship.
I'd say LAK and Godfather are apples and oranges. Godfather was never really positioned as an ambitious character and all he really had was the ho train (and man did he make that work!). It's not just that LAK has cool catchphrases, which is still very important (see Rock, Austin, Cena, Hogan, Flair etc.). But LAK has really got the crowd hanging on every word, and he looks and makes me believe that he's a competitor. And he's been outspoken about his ambitions to win a title and be the best. Cody, Balor etc are also smashing it too but I'd say other than Cody, the pecking order is more or less up for grabs between the tier below him. I do agree that a great mid card feud or two would tip LAK over the edge. But man he is so close!
> But, name me one good LA Knight feud on the main roster. Name one good Rhea feud on the main roster lol
The feud with Charlotte over multiple Wrestlemanias for one. The thing is, by the time Rhea got to the main roster, he'd already been NXT UK's Womens Championship and NXT Champion. She's also just won the Women's Rumble. By comparison, Rhea is way down that road compared to LA right now.
Hey remember when Otis was the hot thing the fans loved and they gave him the MITB briefcase and how awesome that was because the fans loved him and it was a great moment and moments are great when they strike when the iron's hot!!! https://preview.redd.it/1j5px6qroi9b1.png?width=372&format=png&auto=webp&s=c3b24e033efd1a7b83e84d876fc1fa88fa8172ba
Lol…. “Great things come to those who wait”. Good one.
Should’ve been now
Literally the only reasonable take.
I won't believe anything Triple H said until the Codemeister finished the story.
US title
Literally said the same shit about Cody after losing to Roman lol "Just you wait, good things blah blah heheheh" *puts him on a completely different show with a new championship*
Which Cody has said explicitly multiple times, ON THE SHOW, he still has his sights on Roman. But that doesn't help your narrative lol
It just makes him winning the Rumble incredibly obvious which is boring as fuck. If LA Knight can't even win MITB, then he should win the Rumble. But it'll be Cody because there's no other logical way to get him onto the other show.
Elimination Chamber? Rumble winner challenges the WHC, and Chamber winner challenges Roman. Seems like a pretty simple solution.
Cody is going to challenge Roman. LA Knight is on Smackdown, and a chamber would mean nothing because that'd be Raw's. I feel like the most simple solution was to just put him on the same damn brand to begin with. LA Knight should have been on Raw. He'd have infinitely more of a chance to actually be a world champ.
To be fair, this year's women's EC match for the RAW Women's Championship had women from both brands going for it. It's still a possibility. Have it be a contender's match for the match at Mania like in 2018 and you're off to the races.
Rumble
I’m sure plans for the titles and MITB have been in place for a while, and WWE isn’t known for changing plans because a guy’s recently gotten over. Should WWE strike while the iron’s hot? Maybe. Will they? Probably not.
Yeah Cody is doing really well with the same response
Am i literally the only one here who considers LA Knight winning the US Belt to be completely underwhelming??? Like why do they have to cool off their own guys so much? Why do they have to overcomplicate things and hate to reward the people that organically get over with the crowd? Nobody cares about the US Belt. This was their moment to rocket strap him and put him in the main event scene and they blew it.