LA Knight admits modeling himself on 3 WWE legends but makes bold claim: "None of them had this kind of an organic groundswell"
Capitalizing on TV time is essential for a WWE Superstar, and LA Knight has made the most of his by getting over with the crowd. During a recent interview, the SmackDown star admitted to being influenced by The Rock, Steve Austin, and Ric Flair but also explained why his character was different.
Due to LA Knight's general demeanor and style of cutting promos, he has naturally been compared to Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and Stone Cold Steve Austin.
While speaking with KSDK News, Knight declared that he has no intentions of copying his legendary predecessors but wasn't denying getting inspired by their work.
Knight said that he might have modeled his wrestling persona on The Rock, Flair, and Austin but intended to surpass the level they reached as WWE Superstars.
"For me, I'm very much going to make sure that I am me. I don't want to be anybody else; I don't want to try anything else. But if somebody wants to say, 'Hey, look, you modeled yourself on these guys.' Sure, yeah, I can be the Kobe to their Jordan; yeah, why not? But at the same time, I'm not looking to be on their level. I'm looking to be above and beyond anything that they ever did," claimed LA Knight. [2:11 - 2:31]
LA Knight was satisfied with his current WWE status and felt he was on track toward superstardom.
The 40-year-old admired the WWE Hall of Famers but genuinely believed he had gathered more momentum in a short period of time than they'd achieved in their prime.
Knight continued:
"At this point, we're on a great trajectory to do that, and those guys, again, Flair, Austin, Rock, all those guys, I've got all the respect in the world for them, but none of them had this kind of an organic groundswell that I've gotten in such a short amount of time." [2:32 - 2:47]
LA Knight closely followed several WWE veterans
The former IMPACT Wrestling spoke about multiple perspectives to comparisons in pro wrestling and knew being likened to a WWE icon could be a disadvantage. Knight, however, was a student of the game and studied a lot of footage of some of the greatest superstars in the industry's long history.
LA Knight has watched the classic tapes featuring The Rock, Steve Austin, Ric Flair, and many other established names and stressed that having some of their on-screen traits were inevitable.
Knight grew up during an era when professional wrestling had larger-than-light personalities, and he's ensured to incorporate the best of what they offered in his presentation.
"Some people see it as a compliment, some people see it as a drawback, and for me, it really doesn't make a difference to me. Am I influenced by those people? Of course, I am. Yeah, I grew up watching those guys ad nauseam. I mean, every single week and beyond that, because I had the VHS tapes, I had the DVDs. I was watching Flair, Austin, Rock, and all those guys on repeat. So, yeah, of course, there are elements of that in there. Am I doing their exact thing? Hell no!" [1:40 - 2:10]
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