40-year-old plans to be a much bigger star than Bray Wyatt in WWE
LA Knight expects his WWE career to go from strength to strength after his match against Bray Wyatt at the 2023 Royal Rumble.
The SmackDown stars will face off in a Mountain Dew Pitch Black Match at Saturday's event. While WWE has not disclosed the rules of the unique stipulation bout, Fightful Select is reporting that the contest will feature special neon lighting effects.
Knight appeared on Insight with Chris Van Vliet to discuss his upcoming encounter with Wyatt:
"If you remember the very first [SmackDown] interaction I didn't go talk to him. I didn't go look for him. He came looking for me. So, I don't know, in a sense it's like, okay, well, people have this big grandiose idea of him. 'He's amazing, he's this, and he's that.' Whatever he is, I'm just thinking he ain't LA Knight."
BREAKING: Bray Wyatt will face off against @RealLAKnight in a @MountainDew Pitch Black Match at the #RoyalRumble!
ms.spr.ly/6018e9hMy #SmackDown https://t.co/VNyVittNj1
The 40-year-old also made it clear that he wants fans to talk about him after the Royal Rumble instead of his opponent:
"It's like, 'All right, well, I'm gonna stand here across the ring from this guy, and I'm gonna look him in the eye and I'm gonna be way, way bigger than him,'" Knight said. "And I ain't talking physically, we're talking figuratively in the sense that I'm gonna be to a level that if he's gonna walk into my arena, I'm gonna make sure I'm the one that people remember."
Bray Wyatt returned to WWE in October 2022 at Extreme Rules after an absence of over a year. Saturday's contest with Knight will be his first televised match since he performed as The Fiend in a losing effort against Randy Orton at WrestleMania 37.
LA Knight wants to step over Bray Wyatt
WWE fans have witnessed Bray Wyatt's progression as a character over the last decade. LA Knight, meanwhile, has only recently established himself as a prominent WWE star after initially appearing on the main roster as the Max Dupri persona.
.@RealLAKnight gets the shock of his life as @undertaker responds to his challenge, leading to a special moment between The Deadman and #BrayWyatt.
#WWERaw https://t.co/BwCw9BeBuv
Moving forward, Knight wants to use his storyline with Wyatt as a platform to showcase his potential as a top attraction in WWE:
"I want to be at the top of the mountain. I wanna be the guy and, in my mind, this is a stepping stone to that. And don't let me minimize Bray Wyatt at all. He's a big dude, he's a big deal, and Saturday's gonna be a hell of a fight. I understand that, I get that. But, in my mind, coming out of that I'm looking at me stepping over him and moving myself up closer to the top of that mountain."
Earlier this week, Knight was involved in a segment with Wyatt and WWE Hall of Famer The Undertaker on the 30th-anniversary episode of RAW.
Do you think Bray Wyatt or LA Knight will win at the Royal Rumble? Let us know in the comments section below.
Please credit Insight with Chris Van Vliet and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.