Kevin Knight is enjoying the opportunity to show a different side of himself in AEW.
Knight turned heel earlier this year when he attacked Darby Allin at Double or Nothing. He officially joined The Don Callis Family in June and is now scheduled to face Allin at AEW All In: London.
During an appearance on Ringer Wrestling with David Shoemaker (see video below), Knight was asked how much fun he has been having since embracing his heel persona. Knight said it has allowed him to fully showcase a side of “The Jet” that had previously been held back.
“I think this is the most fun I’ve ever had because, like you said, I’ve been The Jet my whole career since I started in 2019, before I even got to New Japan. When I got to New Japan, I had to be a Young Lion. I kind of had to suppress that Jet energy just because of the system and everything. Then as time goes on, I was with Kushida and I got to do a couple other things. But now I get to be fully myself and just let the people have it. I don’t care what they think, how they feel. This is how I’ve always been. The people are just now catching on to just how fly The Jet really is. So it’s just fun to see them learning who I really am.”
Knight was also asked about the wrestlers who influenced him, naming Jeff Hardy, The Rock and Mr. Perfect among his favorites.
“The first that comes to mind is definitely Jeff Hardy. I love his style. Not even for the high-flying stuff. I love how he dressed. I love the music. He just looked cool to me as a kid. Of course, I love The Rock. I like everything about him. The swag, the entrance, the moves that he did. Man, I gotta go with Mr. Perfect, too. Everything about Mr. Perfect. The way that he moves in the ring, how he uses his athleticism to… It’s not like he’s trying to be the best athlete, but everything he does is so unique. So I just love his uniqueness.”
The conversation eventually turned to Knight’s partner, Mara Sadè, who recently wrapped up her run with TNA Wrestling and is currently a free agent. While Knight said he has no inside information regarding where she could end up next, he praised the work she has put into her career.
“Your guess is as good as mine. The biggest thing that I could say is she’s been working hard to not only prove the people wrong but to prove herself right and to finish her story and to keep continuing on. From her journey first starting out in NXT, doing a year in TNA, her trajectory, her improvement has been crazy and it’s all due to her hard work. She didn’t sit on her laurels and feel sorry for herself. She’s hungry, she’s ready and she has amazing charisma. I think anybody that picks her up, it’s a gift to have.”
Knight and Sadè took very different paths into professional wrestling, with Sadè coming through WWE’s Performance Center system while Knight developed through the NJPW Dojo. Knight said those contrasting experiences have allowed the two to learn from each other.
“Yeah it’s been crazy the time that we spent together because I’ll ask her about something, and she’ll have no idea what I’m talking about, or she’ll have a completely different experience from me. She went straight to the PC, and the dojo is completely different environments, what they teach and what they value. So we’re definitely sharing knowledge of our experiences and I think [it’s] another case of iron sharpens iron, and that’s what we’ve been doing.”
