LA Knight has become one of the most popular wrestlers in WWE in recent times, with The Megastar topping merchandise sales and the crowd erupting every time his music hits and he comes out trash-talking about his opponent.
The grass wasn’t green for The Megastar before his gimmick change and his work as the manager of Maximum Male Models, Max Dupri. Vince McMahon wasn’t a fan of his work and was reportedly very close to firing him before his rebirth as LA Knight.
LA Knight reportedly close to getting fired
After the former members of Maximum Male Models, Mace and Mansoor, were released from their contracts, they started streaming on Twitch and discussed various interesting details from their time in the company. Both wrestlers in the group were managed by Max Dupri, formerly known as LA Knight, and they also had Maxxine Dupree as their stablemate, who is now a part of Alpha Academy.
They revealed that Vince McMahon was very close to firing LA Knight due to his work as Max Dupri, which would’ve been a huge mistake in hindsight given the success of The Megastar since. Max Dupri worked as a manager, as Vince thought he was too old, even though many professional wrestlers have their peaks in their 40s.
A few months ago, LA Knight revealed that he thought he would be fired by WWE before becoming Max Dupri on SmackDown.
— Wrestle Ops (@WrestleOps) September 22, 2023
Mace/Mansoor revealed last night that LA Knight was “this close” to getting fired “because for whatever reason Vince McMahon hated his Max Dupri performance.” pic.twitter.com/16ztwcWGIb
Knight has become incredibly popular with the fans and has demonstrated his charisma and entertainment skills when he holds a mic. He truly turned his career around, and with rumors of a long-term contract being offered to LA Knight, it’s safe to say that he deserves it entirely.
Konan defends LA Knight from criticism
While The Megastar has been getting deafening reactions in every arena he performs in, he’s not been safe from criticism. On his podcast, Kevin Nash recently accused LA Knight of being a rip-off of The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin. This would lead to a back-and-forth between the two as The Megastar fired shots at Kevin Nash on live television on multiple occasions.
While Kevin Nash doubled down on his criticism, Konnan talked about the whole situation. Most wrestlers of the current generation grew up watching the Attitude Era, and nobody has been able to replicate the success inspired by the wrestlers of that era. LA Knight is incredibly popular with the crowd, and he achieved it by taking matters into his own hands.
Konnan would go on to mention how Bullet Club members and The OC do the Too Sweet gesture, which was popularized by the NWO, in a way honoring the stars of the past. The same can be said for The Megastar, who’s not a rip-off of Attitude Era stars but has been inspired by them, borrowing their traits and incorporating them into one entity called LA Knight.
Will LA Knight be the one to dethrone Roman Reigns? Discuss in the comments.
