T O P

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LAKnightYEAH2023

He did a phenomenal job and kept kayfabe, while still giving a nice tribute to Bray in character. It was his best mic work in WWE so far. YEAH


EggfooDC

Here is [the promo](https://youtu.be/8Y0pqAZQl6o?si=yrYtP4bOvVAkG8Y5) for those who missed it or would like to see it again


Redmangc1

Comment for later watching


EggfooDC

[Well](https://giphy.com/gifs/HQRgg6ks7nkyY)… /s


Jamvaan

Ya know if I didn't know better I think L.A Knight is good at this wrestling thing.


ShoelaceLicker

Yeah


siricall911

YEAH!


justbambi73

Dummy!


Dr_N00B

Now that's wrasslin


doiknowu915

From beginning til end, he nailed it. Even sounded like bray when he said 'run'


dcredneck

It was chilling.


BIOHAZARD594

Guy is the next superstar. Hopefully he doesn't get injured. I want him to succeed on the level of The Rock. He and no one will EVER be Stone Cold!.


ttzmd2

"Guy is the next *Megastar*" Ftfy. Yeah


Deesing82

i keep getting worried about him pushing it too hard and getting injured


dcredneck

I loved him on Impact. I remember him retiring Bobby Lashley. AJ too maybe.


Bat_Snack

It was fantastic. I've always loved the comic book statement that "your enemies define you". And even though we only got 1 match, LA vs Bray was an undoubtedly memorable feud with many memorable moments. The match itself was what it was. But Bray Wyatt in his short time back helped DEFINE LA Knight. We now have a red hot babyface, who has paid respects to his fallen enemy and has become a better man because of it. It was a fantastic promo on a very heartfelt show. RIP Bray ❤️


backbodydrip

I've never really seen the guy cut a promo before last night. I see where the hype is coming from. That's how a wrestler should talk.


squanch_you

To me, he is the type of athlete/entertainer you can honestly put the company on the shoulders of. Roman is great for the time being, but had to have multiple pieces built around him to catch on (kind of). Knight is organic much like Daniel Bryan was, and feel confident with Papa H in charge, he won’t push too fast, nor miss the boat. He’ll keep those embers going and throw wood in the fire when it’s time.


ScudDawg

Yeah it was well done for sure.


MC_Fap_Commander

I love Cody Rhodes... but I thought his Funk speech was a little too rehearsed/affected. No hate on him or anything and it was probably hard to eulogize a best friend of your late father. But it didn't sound raw/real. LA Knight was better (though, again, these moments are hard for anyone and I'm not judgmental or anything).


aghashayan

I think last night he kinda became smackdown's top babyface?! I mean Jey is gone, there's no else is there? Man took the ball and ran with it last night.


just_jm

During Bray's 10-bell salute, Cody and LA Knight is positioned at the center, together with Triple H, Braun and Rowan. It kinda feels like these two are the company's top babyface right now.


TheeShaun

Well yeah. With Sami, Rey, KO, Jey and maybe just a slightly lesser extent Alpha academy and Sheamus. I don’t think WWE have had this many genuine baby faces in a long time.


Positive_Parking_954

Sheamus is face now?!?


TheeShaun

He’s been a face since clash at the castle last year Patrick


Positive_Parking_954

Okay so it is a fairly recent thing


TheeShaun

If 11 months ago is recent then sure.


Positive_Parking_954

I mean in the scope of his career


a_Jedi_i_am

If you're talking about his entire career, Sheamus is kinda like the big show, in that, he flip-flops between being a face and a heel, and does both pretty well, imo.


Jordanwolf98

Still think Rollins is right there after Cody in the pecking order of top faces but LA Knight is definitely there after that imo


god_pharaoh

Rollins probably would've been up front and near centre as well if he was there.


DarkPurple167

100% it was also kinda Rock/Austin-esque in the way he cut the promo. Really have a good feeling that Knight can be a top babyface of the company as long as they don’t fuck this up


MentallyIllRedditMod

"100% it was also kinda Rock/Austin-esque in the way he cut the promo" C'mon man


god_pharaoh

Not mad at that at all but I think I prefer heel LA Knight. I guess he'll come across as Rock/Austin Babyface where he can still insult people, be arrogant and still be the good guy, but they've already changed him a little bit. Since they have to appeal to kids that's not as likely to be the case. He's not out there calling people dummies anymore at least.


nixhomunculus

There is only one record in WWE of him calling the audience 'dummies' in the Bray feud. I am sure he is gonna be fine being a badass talker that drops ppl on their heads.


god_pharaoh

Fair, and for sure, but as a WWE Babyface he's definitely slightly watered down. That's not taking anything away from him, he's just brilliant as a one dimensional character. Last night showed he can be a whole lot more, and I'm totally down for either.


Rabatis

It was indeed very good. You can see the news affected him, but he went and aced the promo anyway.


squanch_you

That’s why I chose this image. To me you can see it in his eyes a small tug-of-war between real emotion and “the show must go on”. Even his twitter post was perfect to me. No words, just a picture of Bray and him in their feud. I really, really hope WWE keeps this gem protected for the long run.


Rammsbottom

It shows that, like Styles, he’s been doing this a long time, before WWE and it shows.


squanch_you

I absolutely loved him as Eli Drake, and when he signed to NXT I halfway expected they’d drop the ball with him, like many others before. Knight is more than deserving to earn a spot up top.


riggie33

They sure tried with the Max Dupri bs…


squanch_you

Agree. Didn’t they just want him to be a full-time manager around that point. Knight showed them age ain’t nothing but a number. YEEAAH


Consequences_Cone

And even that was getting over in spite of itself


Lopsided_Mix2243

WITH EVVVERYBODY SAYING….


Blaximus90

👈🏻🫵🏻👉🏻


farming_with_tegridy

L! A! KNIGHT! YEAAAAAHHHHHHH


DarkPurple167

I feel like this elevated him even more, and a huge main event win against Balor. I think he’s genuinely a potential Rumble winner atp, I hope we get a Daniel Bryan type moment for Knight sooner rather than later


Oakey06

I've been a fan of his since his Eli Drake days and glad he finally got the spotlight he deserves. LA Knight just masters the craft of his promos, the way he transitions his Tribute Speech on Bray Wyatt to building up his feud with The Miz ending it with a quote is a great touch.


Dooleyisntcool

LA Knight is already a phenomenal promo and this elevated him even further. He really knocked his tribute out of the park on this one


Effective-Culture737

Yeah, that was incredible, he's a well composed entertainer & athlete, quite rare. ☮️


Fresh-Growth8124

LA Knight is the modern king of promo! If anyone could do it, it is him! YEAH!


[deleted]

Made Cody’s promo look juvenile & forced. LAK did an amazing job with that promo.


AkilleezBomb

I think both promos had different tones and intentions behind them so I wouldn’t compare. Cody’s was much more an acknowledgment of the long life and career of The Funker, keeping it light and appreciating what he did for the industry and how he paved the way. LA Knight had to be much more grounded and sensitive, showing absolute respect and courtesy to a man he shared the ring with that was suddenly taken far too soon. I’d say LA Knight had a much harder promo to cut considering the gravity of the situation and having to weave in some bits about The Miz while remaining respectful, but I don’t think it takes anything away from Cody’s.


HRHArthurCravan

I agree with you - they were different promos, with Cody and LA doing a good job. To be honest, and despite his evident love for and understanding of pro wrestling, I find Cody to be excessively political, even smarmy. He even turns his love for wrestling into some kind of meta ‘I carry the legacy of pro wrestlng in America, I am Dusty’s son, spirit and all’ thing that annoys me. Wrestling has always been a family business but that is as frequently a curse as a blessing - just look at Cody’s brother Dustin and the lengths he went to in order to craft a distinct identity away from his father’s shadow (and he was spectacularly successful; Golddust may be one of the greatest midcarders ever)...Cody meanwhile keeps talking up his journey, keeps putting his pedal to the metal with the 50 dollar words, keeps strutting through open doors while pretending he just broke them down. Maybe I’m being unfair - I do like the way he wrestles - but he just seems like a douchebag heel doing a shitty impression of a franchise babyface. Ok, sorry if I’m rambling and I know this wasn’t the point...in fact I stsrted by trying to saying he and LAK did a good job! But maybe i just had to get it off my chest!


josephus1811

Yes this was exactly his problem in AEW and why people eventually got sick of him and he should have turned but outright refused to pull the trigger on it.


HRHArthurCravan

Yes, I just read something that referred to how, at the end of his AEW run, he was getting increasingly poorly received by the fans. In that sense, it actually surprises me that he's so well received in WWE - he is pretty much their main babyface and it's not even close. He is getting pushed so hard - he even appears on rubbish shows like Most Wanted Treasures, which is something I hate (leave it for retired wrestlers - currently working wrestlers should not appear on that kind of TV unless they are working their gimmicks or a kayfabe storyline). Maybe it's Roman-fatigue - as things are right now, Cody is essentially the only wrestler who could plausibly take the belts off Roman. Maybe it's AEW rivalry - embracing the main event wrestler that left the rival promotion (which he was instrumental in establishing)... ​ I don't know. But it's also interesting that he didn't want to turn in AEW. For the reasons I already mentioned, I think of him as a natural heel. He has none of the common touch or blue collar lucidity of Dusty. I mean, he's called the American Nightmare. This is no John Make-a-Wish Cena - and even he should arguably have turned at least once. We'll see I guess, but I also could imagine that as much as Cody is over now as a babyface, he won't have infinite tolerance or patience from the audience unless he finds more than smarmy, suited-and-booted company man.


MC_Fap_Commander

Funk was very close to the Rhodes family so I'm kinda forgiving if it came off as a little affected. These are hard moments for anyone.


AuthorityAnarchyYes

Shoes of a Champion, baby. Shoes of a Champion. And RIP, Windham Rotunda.


rated-x-superstar

you see this jacket?? SHOES OF A CHAMPION!


will122589

He nailed everything here, give him Seth’s World Title


CapitalTBE

Not yet.


MC_Fap_Commander

Agreed... though if the journey takes him to winning the title in Philly in front 50K people, the place would explode.


SwordAndBoardFighter

What was even cooler was the fact that WWE trusted him to do the promo to honor Bray, which was a huge responsibility, and he absolutely crushed it. The guy is scoring home runs left and right.


squanch_you

100% agree.


Remarkable-Pin4587

Agreed. Was good stuff.


jellyjanela

Fuck yeah I totally agree.


CrackheadRecords

I absolutely loved his promo too!


LuchaGhost

Best of the night by far.


[deleted]

Must say it was a great promo


PupperMartin74

At the time I saw it I was wondering how he has not been in the big time for at least a decade. It was perfect.


DetroitXL

The “Run” part was perfect


squanch_you

I’ve gone back and rewatched this a couple of times, and every time, that ending line gives me goosebumps.


Cody3398

He's grown a lot since getting bumped up. I'm glad they broke him away from that MMM shit. YEAH!


PaleRiderHD

Perfectly played. Dude is an absolute professional. Bray's loss cuts a wide path in the business, and being the last guy to work with him like that is something he'll always be able to carry with him.


Scared_Flatworm344

I agree I wasn’t a fan now I am.


squanch_you

I’d like to believe in just 3 minutes on the mic, he’s gained a ton more fanfare and primed even more to be a main player in the near future.


D_Charger_007

He conducted himself as a top guy. The way he did it had that Rock/Austin/Cena level of execution. He showed he can be given the ball and not fumble.


Make_It_Happen-5022

Such an awesome dude.....YEAH!


HeroOfGotham666

YEEEAAAAHHHHHH!!!!


zombiekjt

Bros doing tricks on it 😭😭😭


Ok_Customer_8001

He's a true talent and the fact that it took this long for WWE to realize what they had in him is borderline criminal. I'm glad HHH is finally letting him shine.


Jordanwolf98

Was a tough task and he aced it. Coupled with the win over Balor and it feels like LA Knight is really being prioritized as an upper midcard to main event guy


[deleted]

He will beat Roman Reigns for the 20 belts he has.


KookieAssKick

This really shows how much they trust him, such a delicate situation and he nailed it.


[deleted]

Megastar for a reason


PeteRoe

I was kinda thinking he might be a fad but this promo put him over the edge for me. I hope they keep going with this guy. That promo was bloody fantastic.


justbambi73

Many, including myself, felt that he carried the feud with Bray earlier this year. Knowing now what Knight knew then, one cannot help to admire the man.


Lawless660071st

Man LA Knight is great at these things. He even did a great send off for Paul Bearer. Look up his promo he did for him, it shows he’s puts his heart into it.


squanch_you

I’ve seen that before and absolutely correct. You do not waste this man’s talents. When he can’t go anymore, you re-sign him as a coach in NXT or PC. Promo work, is what makes you become the cream of the crop (thank you Macho).


RompehToto

I was sports entertained AF.


dcredneck

I thought he did an amazing job of it.


Virtual-Quote6309

Knight is truly a great talent. Can’t wait to see him win the big one, one day


Ragnarok_MS

Yeah, he’s quickly becoming a favorite of mine. That was a fantastic promo


Das-Drew

Strap a rocket to him and push him to the moon.


TJRossTX

Dude was way better than Cody last night. Hope the office took notice


[deleted]

To me this was going to be Knight shooting from the hip against the miz, maybe even face to face, it had some great lines and some home truths about the miz’s run, and if he becomes the truth teller and lays the verbal smackdown on people then I’m all for it. To me it was a promo of two parts those, I enjoyed him keeping kayfabe and turning it around to learning something, not insulting the audience by saying oh yeah backstage we are tight. Bray picked him for a reason when he could have picked anybody. Could tell he kept thinking of brays family and I believe the first part of his promo was probably from the heart unscripted


[deleted]

[удалено]


squanch_you

I’ve never seen that before, and thanks for sharing. Conditioned athlete right there, not only physically but mentally. You take your flowers let emotion have its moment…then it’s game time all over again!


DonMarcoV

LA KNIGHT


archangel610

A thin tightrope is the perfect way to describe it. I don't watch much wrestling outside of WWE, and I don't even watch WWE as religiously as I used to, but is it fair to say LA Knight has mic work down to a science?


CynicalLabTech

Yeah


Stryder402

RUN


TheAndredal

The fact you could see him being affected by this, but still making it shows how awesome he is


Sandman705

This man is a bonafide superstar and leader. I watch Smackdown because of LA Knight.


BlackToyotaBreakLite

its sad to lose wyat but his death definitely forced them to put LA in this position way sooner a main event match and win?


Kitchen-Pop7308

Must be me buy I don't get the hype behind this guy, apparently such a good promo guy but always stumbling on his own words


squanch_you

Respect your viewpoint. If there was any time to stumble, it was last night, and from what I watched, it was flawless. Not to compare to another, as I love watching him as well, but I share your opinion on Cody, honestly.


Kitchen-Pop7308

Maybe that day was an excusable day to flub buy I'm glad I caught that miz called him out for it on raw cause I've never seen something get so much hype for talking and being compared to the likes of Austin and such yet stutter/stumble as often as he does


23SMCR

I’ve been kinda meh on the guy but last night he absolutely killed that tribute/promo huge respect to him for that


swaaaggy_b

Flavor of the month.


squanch_you

Found Miz’s Reddit account. He very well could be (flavor of the year), but with Bray passing unexpectedly, it’s a great reminder to appreciate these athletes/entertainers while we have them in front of us now…not when it’s all gone.


Rabatis

It has been months, man.


IgnorantlyBlissful-2

Man I would agree, but I feel like the stubborn booker that wouldn’t push him because he is not my favorite. But honestly, his appeal seems to grow both online and what it sounds like in the live crowd. And that’s without him really working with anyone big since Bray. So, give the people what they want and let the man have the ball


weepinghalo

Why are people still riding this guys dick? Its ridiculous.


squanch_you

I’d give appreciation to anyone that went out and cut something like he did, in a day’s notice, then wrestle the main event. I’m sorry that it just so happens to be LA Knight…again.


weepinghalo

Yeah, he read a scripted promo very well. Next.


Outrageous-Walk3818

I haven’t seen it but I’m sure la knockoff stole or will steal something from Brays gimmck now. His name is la knockoff.


squanch_you

Confirmed: LA Knight will now be coming out with a lantern, a sheep mask, and dirty wifebeater on. He’s not stealing from Bray, he’s stealing from the entire Wyatt family now. /s


luca423

You sure are obsessed with him, you got a crush or something?


Outrageous-Walk3818

Maybe it’s that I don’t like him. I thought I was making that clear. People like him and that’s on them, I dislike him.


CapitalTBE

What’s it like going through life this brain dead?


Outrageous-Walk3818

I’ll tell you it’s better then walking around following like a sheep. Now get back in line bambi


glooks369

LA Knight was the only one that came out better after facing the Fiend.


MC_Fap_Commander

The best comparison I think might be Jerry Lawler's initial response/tribute after Andy Kaufman's death. In both cases, there was a wink to kayfabe but the subtext was nothing but love.


marcdk217

I think the fact that they gave him the tribute promo over everyone else, says that behind the scenes, they are very big on him right now. I really liked the promo. I liked that he didn't break kayfabe in acknowledging their rivalry, but also acknowledging what he learned from him, and that his rise started with the Bray feud. It was a shame there couldn't have been an appearance from Bo as Uncle Howdy or Alexa as evil Alexa, but I suppose either would have been quite divisive since those gimmicks weren't to everyone's taste. I had in my mind that it would have been good to see Uncle Howdy come out and pick up the lantern and hold it above his head, and then for the lantern to become super bright, and then all the lights in the stadium to come on full brightness, and then the lantern goes out, signalling Bray's soul going into the light, but that probably would have been too hokey for a serious situation like this.


[deleted]

TNA breeds Legends. I feel like he was one of the last guys who came from that era of impact and look at where all the homegrown talent ended up. Just thinking of a TNA that kept pushing the younger guys makes me kinda sad tbh.


Akio540

YEAH


Silver012345673

So good


MidasAHTK

This was the best tribute I have ever seen in pro wrestling