Add as a preferred source on Google LA Knight recently commented on his rise in WWE and said his path can’t be compared to names like Bryan Danielson or Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Appearing on Mackey & Judd, Knight said Danielson had already won titles and been part of major storylines before the fan movement that pushed him to the top of WWE. As for Austin, the “Megastar” also noted that his biggest reactions came after winning the WWF Championship.
“He is, but I’m gonna put a little asterisk there. Because a lot of people make that comparison to me, and I’m gonna tell you how mine’s completely different. His was a groundswell where the people took over and said, ‘Hey, we want this guy.’ But by that point, he had already been Intercontinental Champion, Tag Team Champion, and had major storylines. I had done literally nothing. I had no machine behind me—nothing.”
“I was fed to Bray Wyatt—God bless him—and in that process, I was able to shine just enough for people to say, ‘Wait, this guy’s pretty good.’ And from there, there was no plan. Nothing for me, nothing for me, nothing—but in those little one-minute chances, I made the most of it.”
It’s worth remembering that Knight’s rise became more evident in 2023, especially after Money in the Bank, when many fans expected him to win.
At the time, Triple H acknowledged that he was one of the crowd’s biggest favorites and said his ascent was just beginning.
Knight would only win his first WWE title in August 2024, when he defeated Logan Paul for the United States Championship at SummerSlam. In his own view, then, the connection with the audience came before any major official achievement.