LA Knight was unaware of former WWE Champion's huge support behind the scenes
LA Knight recently crossed 100 days as WWE United States Champion. A year ago, despite fans' strong backing, few could have anticipated his career growth. The Megastar credits Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels for being an anonymous supporter during his days in NXT.
In 2021, Knight signed with WWE and joined NXT, beginning his second run in the sports entertainment giant. The 42-year-old made his main roster debut the following year and donned the gimmick of Max Dupri, a fashion enthusiast. However, he soon dropped the character and reverted to his 'LA Knight' persona.
The current United States Champion was 38 years old when he began his second run with the global juggernaut. When the officials considered his age, he was apparently in danger of being released again. However, Michaels stood up for him. Speaking to Sport Bible, The Megastar revealed that, at the time, he was unaware of it and was always confident about his talent but knew the "number" would become a problem:
"I don't think I knew how much [Shawn Michaels supported] until more recently when he was talking about people before, who might have looked at a number next to my name which would have been my age and not known much else about me. Shawn would apparently stand up for me and be like, 'I got him doing this and that so we need to hold on to him for now.' I don't think in the moment I was aware of that. In the back of my head I thought I was on the chopping block but not for any talent reason - just simply that number."
LA Knight vs. Shinsuke Nakamura teased on WWE SmackDown
It appears WWE is going with Shinsuke Nakamura as LA Knight's next challenger for the United States Championship.
Knight worked with Santos Escobar, Andrade, and Carmelo Hayes, among others, after winning the belt from Logan Paul at SummerSlam. This past Friday, he addressed Paul's lack of title defenses yet again and continued with his open challenges on SmackDown.
After successfully retaining the belt over Legado Del Fantasma's Berto, Nakamura made an unannounced return and knocked down LA Knight.
Shinsuke Nakamura has been off television since being drafted to SmackDown in April 2024, but he seems to be back with a purpose. Will Nakamura become a three-time United States Champion on SmackDown? Only time will tell.