As noted, WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash recently discussed WWE’s LA Knight and how he’s being compared to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin. On a recent episode of his “Kliq This” podcast, Nash said, “Am the only one that sees an absolute ripoff of The Rock? To the point where he cut the promo on fucking Logan Paul or whatever the fuck is name is. He said, ‘Yeah, stick it,’ the only thing he didn’t do was turn that motherfucker sideways. What, does everybody have amnesia? There’s nothing original… ‘Oh, man, his promo.’ His promos… ‘Finally, LA Knight has come back as a white guy.'”
Nash continued the discussion the following week and said, “There’s so many people who agree that LA is doing The Rock/Austin. I mean, the guy’s been in the business for like 10 years — why didn’t he get over anywhere else? If you’re not over in three years, it’s probably just not gonna happen.”
Nash noted that wrestlers have stayed in WWE NXT for 4-5 years without making it to the main roster, so it would not make business good sense for WWE to invest in talents like Knight who can’t break into the limelight until their late 30s. He added, “I’m just not going to take all the assets that I’ve gathered, in the last 30 years, go to the roulette wheel, put it on double green zero, and give it a spin.”
Nash clarified that he doesn’t watch SmackDown so he hadn’t seen Knight until RAW before Money In the Bank, but he thought the LA character was a rib.
“I was like, ‘Okay, this is a rib, right?'” Nash recalled. “And then, it’s not, it’s just what the character is. So, I get hot, and I’m like, ‘You’ve gotta be kidding me, right?’ But they [fans on social media] said I buried the guy. I didn’t say he couldn’t work, I’ve never seen him in the ring. I just said it [the character] wasn’t very original.”
Nash reiterated that he had seen Knight wrestle, and if Knight was truly “one of the boys” in the WWE locker room, then one of his fellow wrestlers would have stood up for him. He added, “I’m not gonna apologize. I think it’s a blatant rip-off, but I didn’t mean any harm.”
In an update, WWE Hall of Famer & Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative Shawn Michaels was asked about Nash’s comments in a new interview with Sportskeeda’s Riju Dasgupta. Michaels downplayed the significance of the comments made by his longtime friend.
“Kevin Nash has always given his opinion on stuff,” Michaels said. “Dare I say, so does Sportskeeda and every website out there. You guys got opinions on lots of people. Every wrestling fan does. You’re absolutely allowed to have them, as Kevin’s allowed to have his. We can all agree or respectfully disagree. I don’t know that LA Knight has any problem with what Kevin Nash says or anybody else.”
Michaels also commented on working with Knight in NXT, and the success he’s found on the main roster.
“I know him [LA Knight] as somebody that we very much enjoyed working with here in NXT. Nobody’s happier to see him thriving and doing well on the main roster more than I am, and so we here at NXT are very proud of all the men and women that got brought up in the Draft. Obviously very excited about that. It speaks well of NXT, and it speaks well of what the Performance Center has done for the WWE.”
Knight will work a Fatal 4 Way for the WWE United States Title Invitational on this week’s SmackDown, along with Sheamus, Cameron Grimes, and 2023 WWE Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio. The winner will advance to the June 28 SmackDown to face Santos Escobar in singles action, with the winner being named the new #1 contender to WWE United States Champion Austin Theory.
Stay tuned to WrestlingHeadlines.com for more.
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