WWE Rumors: LA Knight in Line for 'a Big Push' but 'Bad at a Backstage Politics'

LA Knight may be over with WWE crowds, but he's apparently now wowing his peers backstage.

Wade Keller of PWTorch reported Knight has a "long-running reputation for rubbing people the wrong way behind the scenes and just being 'bad at a backstage politics.'"

According to Keller, WWE is still set to push Knight despite his reputation, with management noticing the consistent babyface pops he's been getting for months. The 40-year-old also is seen as a "average or below-average" in-ring competitor, but his promo skills and connection to the crowd have been top-notch.

Knight rejoined WWE in 2021 and had a brief (and successful) stint in NXT before getting a main-roster call-up. When he was initially brought to the main roster, he was rechristened as Max Dupri and given a managerial role in Maximum Male Models.

Upon Triple H taking over creative from Vince McMahon last summer, Knight dropped the Dupri moniker and returned to his NXT gimmick.

The result has been a rousing success with fans, who have seen him as an Attitude Era throwback due to his mannerisms and promo style. Some have directly compared him to The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin, with Kevin Nash ripping Knight for being a "rip-off" of The Rock.

Despite clear similarities, fans do not seem to care and wrestling has a long history of wrestlers taking elements from past generations and making them their own. The Rock hasn't been a WWE regular in two decades, and there have been any number of carbon copies since his departure.

Knight's ability to twist the old formula and make it his own is what has set him apart. That said, it's clear he has some work to do playing backstage politics.

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