Kevin Knight has been operating in an entirely different gear since turning heel in AEW, quickly establishing himself as one of the promotion’s top villains.
The turn went down at Double or Nothing on May 24. After Darby Allin dropped the AEW World Championship to MJF, Knight came out looking like he was going to confront the new champion, only to swerve everyone by hitting Allin with a UFO Splash while he was still strapped to a stretcher.
Days later, Knight attacked Mike Bailey, putting an end to JetSpeed for good. On June 3, the reigning TNT Champion was formally introduced as the newest member of the Don Callis Family.
Speaking with David Shoemaker on The Ringer Wrestling Show, Knight said the character shift has allowed him to show a side much closer to who he really is.
“I think this is the most fun I’ve ever had because, like you said, I’ve been The Jet my whole career since I started in 2019, before I even got to New Japan. When I got to New Japan, I had to be a Young Lion. I kind of had to suppress that Jet energy just because of the system and everything. Then as time goes on, I was with Kushida and I got to do a couple other things. But now I get to be fully myself and just let the people have it. I don’t care what they think, how they feel. This is how I’ve always been. The people are just now catching on to just how fly The Jet really is. So it’s just fun to see them learning who I really am.”
The career path Knight referenced started in May 2019. He went on to join NJPW’s LA Dojo as a Young Lion, training under Katsuyori Shibata. He later teamed with KUSHIDA to capture the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship twice.
Knight won the TNT Championship at Dynasty in April. His next major defense comes against Allin in a Falls Count Anywhere Match at All In on August 30 at Wembley Stadium.