AEW

Kevin Knight Reportedly Unhappy With AEW Character Change

Fightful Select reports Kevin Knight had reservations about splitting from Mike Bailey to join the Don Callis Family.

Kevin Knight Reportedly Unhappy With AEW Character Change
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Kevin Knight reportedly wasn’t fully on board with how AEW ended his partnership with Mike Bailey to turn him into a member of the Don Callis Family.

Speaking on The Hump, Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select revealed that Knight had a different vision for JetSpeed. The current TNT Champion wanted the team to accomplish something bigger before the character change and the split.

That report takes on more context in light of comments Knight made himself after winning the TNT Championship at Dynasty. On April 13, he said the natural next step for JetSpeed would be pursuing the AEW World Tag Team Championship, treating his singles win as an accomplishment for the whole team.

Knight and Bailey never captured the AEW World Tag Team Championship. They did, however, have two reigns with the AEW World Trios Championship — first alongside “Hangman” Adam Page, then with Místico. That second run ended on April 11, just over a month before the team split for good.

The split happened on the May 27 episode of Dynamite. Bailey tried to get Knight to regret attacking Darby Allin at Double or Nothing, but his then-partner responded by hitting him with a microphone. On June 3, Knight beat Bailey in a match for the TNT Championship, with interference from Don Callis and Jake Doyle.

Despite that report about his initial frustration, Knight has publicly defended the new phase. In an interview with SB Nation this week, he said joining the Don Callis Family was an investment in his own career and called the alliance an obvious choice.

That suggests the frustration was mainly about how quickly the split happened, not about the character’s current direction. Knight will face Kenny Omega for the AEW World Championship at Redemption on July 26, while Bailey will compete in a Ladder Match for the right to challenge for the AEW International Championship.