r/SquaredCircle • u/Fc_Hassan • 9h ago
Roman Reigns giving his props to LA Knight after their match.
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u/CombinationOk4317 9h ago
Yeah bit too late for this to mean anything for La
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u/whitemike40 8h ago
this is the pro wrestling equivalent of a pizza party instead of a raise
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u/pile_drive_me 🖤KAIRIが欲しい🖤 8h ago
A stack of 10 room temperature peps and cheeses with no napkins or plates or drinks
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u/irish0451 You know what that means. 8h ago
And there's always one like, Steak pizza that management gets to first
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u/BadLuckBen 5h ago
Considering modern WWE, it's possible LA is gonna get offered a pay cut when his contract is about to expire.
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u/Lyra_the_Star_Jockey 4h ago
If he sticks around long enough, he might get his Wrestlemania Moment*
*getting RKO'd by Randy Orton
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u/incredible_penguin11 8h ago
I wouldn't necessarily say too late, the company could still put a WHC on him next week if they want to its more about they don't care to. So much about do this or do that, i know he botches here and there but over-all he's entertaining and has really decent to good matches and crowd loves him
It does not matter what props Roman gives him after the match if he still refuses to put him over and Roman definitely has the pull to put someone over even if booking doesn't want to.
I see a lot of people saying they should put Drew on Raw against Roman after he drops the belt but the fact he didn't, i would love to see Mcintyre fighting for US or IC in a meaningful program even if he loses rather than do the Roman dance once again. His last world championship run before Cody was booked like a trash anyway.
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u/Magneto88 nope! 7h ago
It sounds ridiculous but his best time was just before Punk returned. He was red hot then and Punk just totally stalled his momentum. That’s literally yes ago now…
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u/AlarmedHat5541 6h ago
I don't know when and how WWE fell in love with this idea that losing in defeat is as good or better than winning but it's so dumb lol like give this guy a round of applause for ALMOST winning😭
Like imagine if in 1998 instead of the Rock winning the WWF title he never wins it, loses every title match and or opportunity he has for 3 years, and after losing his last match for it against Austin in 2001, Austin stands around yapping about how great he is
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u/Ballsskyhiiigh 2h ago
As a big time WWE hater, but they aren't wrong about the fact that losing can sometimes be as good or better than winning. We can all think of 5 instances where someone losing gave them a huge boost.
It's just that at SOME point, the guy who lost has to actually win. This is obviously where WWE really struggles.
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u/HokageEzio 0m ago
It's not better than winning, but it can absolutely make the payoff of eventually winning an even bigger deal.
Cody winning at Wrestlemania 40 was definitely a bigger deal than if he had won it at 39, for example. But they also almost blew it by not having him win it at 40 after setting the climb back up all year, because the plans almost changed last minute. Which goes to the real point that in order for the loss to matter, they eventually have to win the big one. You have to keep the fans invested in the climb up, and LA losing the MITB match 3 years in a row and then losing to Roman this year makes it look like he'll just never be able to do it.
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u/Different_Cattle4420 1h ago
Huh?? A Roman Reigns shout out doesn’t hold the same weight as winning the most sought after prize in the business?
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u/HiImFur 8h ago
Nah, if Roman gives you the rub in kayfabe, then they're still high on Knight.
They have big plans for Roman for Crown Jewel and eventually Mania, so I know people are pissed Knight didn't win, but there's just too much money to be made with Roman right now. And I'd guess Oba will eventually be the one to take the title from him.
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u/trasofsunnyvale 6h ago
This has to be the lowest bar for "giving the rub" I've ever seen. That usually refers to losing to someone, not an off mic few sentences.
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u/Black_XistenZ 6h ago
if Roman gives you the rub in kayfabe, then they're still high on Knight
Or it just means they want Knight to stay over with the fans without giving him the actual title win.
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u/chargerfan1221 Fight, Owens, Fight! 3h ago
This is it. It's WWE's way of the classic corpo excuse of "we just can't promote you because you're too valuable in your current role."
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u/Ballsskyhiiigh 2h ago
This isn't necessarily a bad thing, though. If Roman Reigns will draw you more money and help the business as champion, then the optimal thing to do would be to also make LA Knight look strong in defeat so that he could also be elevated.
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u/FabulousFlavio 6h ago
All it really means is that when they need a guy to lose to in another title match they'll think of him first. He ain't winning the belt anytime soon, if at all.
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u/Ok-Asparagus5419 3h ago edited 3h ago
Asking rhetorically, but do they really need to have "big plans" for Roman after a 4+ year title reign? Like, wasn't his finally losing supposed to signal his transition to more of an Undertaker/Late-career Brock sort of role? Like, you've got guys like Knight, Jacob, Penta, Dom, Royce and Bron, plus guys like KO and Balor who are long overdue. Drew's coming back soon and still feels due for a payoff for everything he's gone through. There are so many interesting feuds and dynamics they can go with. Why does everything still have to go through Roman?
EDIT: And before anyone says "because none of those guys you mentioned are Roman" well, yeah of course not, because no one is booked anything close to Roman, except Roman.
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u/Mediocre_Push2536 9h ago
Is it me for does it feel fitting for LA to turn heel now?
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u/KingMobScene 9h ago
I think it'd make sense. He starts taking his frustrations out on people who don't deserve it. It would freshen him up a little.
Eventually I'd like to see them do a storyline where he takes one last shot at the gold and he finally wins it. They could build it around this "always the bridesmaid never the bride" thing where he can never win it when it counts. But I think first give him a heel run where he can get some wins back and build his profile up again.
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u/Ode1st 9h ago
He can join his old buddy Royce in 946 but then they can have an internal feud about which ZIP and/or area code is better
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u/_drjayphd_ TELL ME WHOSE SIDE YOU'RE ON! 8h ago
Don't forget turning on Knight because he's not even from California, the lying liar.
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u/Mofo_The_Wise_ 6h ago
would make a alot of sense as well since his buddy solo is working with the bloodline again
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u/thesenate14 9h ago
yes let's turn a fan favourite one of the most loved Heel because that's the answer for everything isn't it
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u/jyepes22 9h ago
It’s the WWE formula I’m afraid. Across Vince and HHH they cannot capitalize on the momentum for babyfaces. The only exception was Cody and that was too big of a situation to fuck up (although they tried their best to)
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u/mayoconquest 8h ago
Yeah Cody got way too big to the point it blew up in their face and they had no choice but to run with it. Bryan and Kofi were similar. To Vince's credit, he executed the Kofi storyline to perfection. The dude clearly learned from the Bryan debacle and used that to play the crowd's emotions perfectly.
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u/IcehandGino 8h ago
One nitpick I'd put on talking about the Kofi storyline is that I feel a good chunk to why they went fully with it is that they had no strong plan for Mania (no disrespect for KO, but his return match was a cool plan, but not something that screams Mania world title match level) as men's main event scene was really weak in 2019. I kinda feel the reason why so many people who caught fire missed their window is that it annoyed higher ups too much to revise their established plans with top guys (and I'd add that I feel it's even worse now than with late years Vince, kinda feels like there's low level sabotaging each time a women's, tag or midcard storyline could overtake the scheduled main attraction).
But yeah execution of KofiMania in itself was perfect, the timing was good enough to frustrate fans without starting to lose goodwill, it's crazy how good they could do when they really cared even during such a poor year.
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u/BropolloCreed 6h ago
That last bit is more of a reflection of how much pull Dwayne has on the TKO board
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u/rapidronyrabbit 8h ago
Its worked for almost every popular babyface who got swatted down when trying to become the guy.
ChrisJericho in the Attitude Era was super over as a babyface but doesn't sniff the World Title unless he plays a villian to Austin and Rock.
CM Punk in his own words had a midcard World Title run when he first won it in 08, being made to look second class to the real top guys despite the fans popping for him and him moving merch. So he rebuilt himself back into the World Title picture and became an actual ppv main eventer by turning heel the year after.
Hell, look at Sami right now. He was popular as a babyface but heel Sami is who won the WWE Title twice.
Some guys despite being fan favorites hit a ceiling and they either switch things up or stay stuck in the position they are.
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u/WrestlingInTheBlood 7h ago
These are all literally examples of them not knowing how to book babyfaces. There is no arbitrary "ceiling" for babyfaces. They could, you know, just put the title on them as a babyface and book a good title reign.
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u/rapidronyrabbit 5h ago edited 5h ago
But we're pass that with LA Knight so what do you do next?
Its been made clear they don't view him as a top 3 babyface so the most promising thing would be maybe turning into a top 3 heel.
Even getting a Jey Uso like Title run is looking unlikely right now for the guy.
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u/masonicone Drinking It In Man. 6h ago
Well in the case of Jericho? Sure he won the title, and the first feud he had with the Rock was pretty good. Austin? No so much. And then he got to play bit character in Triple H's feud with Steph that had him win the title off Jericho. And pretty much after that? He went down the card.
I can't speak for Punk as I wasn't watching at the time. But when I started watching again? We had the Becky Lynch heel turn that the fanbase rejected outright. They turned Ziggler heel and he went nowhere. Miz got turned babyface and looked like an idiot. We had the Ambrose heel turn and that didn't help anything. And lastly we have New Day's heel turn and they pretty much went nowhere after that.
Okay yeah maybe it helped Sami. And personally at least for me the jury is still out on that as how long are they going to have him hold that title for? And in fairness he looked like a geek losing it to Punk like what? Four days after winning it?
See that's the thing over all. The WWE has a track record of making someone look worse whenever I see folks like yourselves proclaiming, "Well X is done as a face/heel! They need to turn them!" And it doesn't matter if they win the title or not! It matters what they do with it. Again look at Jericho, oh he started off well then he got made to look like a geek and down the card he went after dropping the title.
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u/rapidronyrabbit 6h ago
I don't get the asterisks on Sami's current main event heel run.
Would it have been better for him to win it when he was white hot as a babyface in 2023? Sure but that was 3 years ago. Slowly but surely he went down the card because WWE didn't have much for him to do at the top of the card despite being so over. His 2025 was mostly spent stuck to Karrion Kross and winning the US Title a year after having won the IC Title so he was at the same level he was in 2024.
Shit-weasel heel Sami might not be a kayfabe powerhouse but he is Smackdown's current top heel and managed to get the top title. And its the highest peak he's reached since feuding with Roman in 2023.
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u/Fc_Hassan 9h ago
I'm with you, even though he still is massively popular there is nothing else for him to do as a face unless he won here.
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u/irish0451 You know what that means. 7h ago
The problem with turning good talkers heel is the crowd just immediately gets behind them again when they light up the mic
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u/ShitDollop 8h ago
It seems way too obvious to me that he will link up with Romans crew for the annual bloodline War Games against Royce.
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u/jin_of_the_gale 8h ago
It's likely coming. If they're doing Bloodline vs 946 at War Games, 946 only have 3 people on their side.
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u/el_toro_grand 3h ago
It feels fitting for him to debut in AEW in 3 months at this point he just collecting a check, All the charisma in the world doesn't matter if you can't back it up
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u/JFZephyr 8h ago
That's what I'm hoping for. Feels like he's at the point Drew was where he's gotten as far as he can by playing it straight, he's gotta try something different. Jump Sami or Roman, do something crazy.
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u/GrouchyAd5246 9h ago
LA Knight getting the make a wish rub at 45
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u/Liquid_Gabs 9h ago
People seem to forget that while we are sold on some wrestlers, not everybody in the back is, Penta was in an okay position in the midcard, but a lot of reports and rumours of how the match with Roman affected how "the guys" viewed him in the back.
This match with Roman was for me the best La Knight match and it ain't even close, I liked the guy, but the in-ring part was always the weakest point, maybe for "the guys" that match also changed how they viewed in and he can keep in the top of the card more often(not like he was a jobber of any kind like some people like to pretend he is)
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u/tweke 9h ago
The crazy thing though, is this isn't his first Roman match and the last one was a banger too.
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u/Liquid_Gabs 9h ago
Yeah, the first one was good too, but it was in the "bloodline screws everything up" era, so I can see why people might not like that match as much.
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u/Blochamolesauce 8h ago
Put LA Knight in a cage match or Hell In A Cell for the title when it comes to that point story-wise. I went to the holiday tour house show at the Kia forum at the end of ‘23 and the opening bout was a cage between him and jimmy uso and that was a great match.
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u/boomcrashbang89 9h ago
I was watching that match and was like this is LA Knights best match and knew of Roman's best matches too. They leaned into the story, made me invested in a Roman match, which rarely happens. The spikes of Roman being in control and slowing it down to LA taking over and camping up the crowd was a really nice touch imo
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u/tweke 8h ago
Roman is on a career run and it's a shame that the worst thing you can say about it is he doesn't wrestle enough because, well he's Roman.
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u/Ok-Asparagus5419 3h ago
Roman's "career run", however, is similar to Hogan's during his first WWF tenure, when he was at the top for so long, guys like Hennig, Piper and Roberts never even got a shot at holding the championship (and they should've). Even Warrior and Savage's title reigns were in the shadow of Hogan. This feels similar. Particularly in the case of guys like Owens, Balor and Knight.
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u/Freedumbdclxvi 9h ago
It was a damn good match. Knight showed out and Roman continued to add to his impressive 2026 resume.
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u/YasielPuigsWeed 9h ago
Yeah this is fair, a great match with Roman can change the perception of a talent even in a loss
I don’t think LA Knight is a guy you want carrying your title long-term, but this probably positioned him for a short run that fans will actually connect with now
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u/NorthHollywoodHank 8h ago
People seem to forget that while we are sold on some wrestlers, not everybody in the back is
I don't think people are blind to the likelihood that the booker in WWE isn't sold on Knight in a higher position than he is now.
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u/BropolloCreed 6h ago
Dude is absolutely viewed as a Main Event Enhancement Talent by management.
When was the last time he "won" a feud with a major PLE win on his own? Styles at WM a few years ago. All he does is fill in as a body in multi-star title matches where he never will go over, or simply as a feeder guy for the current champion.
I won't pretend he's clean in the ring, but most of his feuds, he's given almost nothing to work with. He gets squashed by Jacob in all their 1-1s, lost the US title to Nakimura with almost no build, and jobbed to Bron multiple times.
He's the guy they put in front of other dudes to get their feet wet for the main event
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u/Black_XistenZ 6h ago edited 3h ago
LA Knight is too old and too oldschool for them to want to invest into making him one of the faces of their brand. Coupled with his ability to remain over even while creative gives him almost nothing, this makes him into a textbook jobber-to-the-stars.
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u/Ok-Asparagus5419 3h ago
Everyone in the upper card (sans Dom, Oba and Bron) are also in their 40s.
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u/Black_XistenZ 3h ago
Those guys have all been with the WWE for more than a decade and are fully established top stars.
And it's not just Knight's age, it's also about how oldschool everything about him is, from his looks and his in-ring style to his gimmick and demeanor. Knight would have been a perfect for, idk, 2008 or 2010 or so. From a marketing perspective, I just don't see WWE wanting such an oldschool guy to be one of the faces of the company in the second half of the 2020s.
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u/Ok-Asparagus5419 3h ago
I mean, as a counter-point, Cody is about as old-school as you can get.
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u/Black_XistenZ 3h ago
Fair enough, but he spent over a decade with the WWE and was already an established name to their fans when he returned.
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u/notathrowaway75 6h ago
People seem to forget that while we are sold on some wrestlers, not everybody in the back is
People are not forgetting this at all. Triple H not putting the belt on LA Knight is a huge criticism of his.
Penta was in an okay position in the midcard, but a lot of reports and rumours of how the match with Roman affected how "the guys" viewed him in the back.
Right so this is the problem. Penta was massively over and a step away from the main event. For it to take the match against Roman for them to realize this means they're incompetent.
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u/Liquid_Gabs 6h ago
For it to take the match against Roman for them to realize this means they're incompetent.
Yeah, that's a recurrent theme among wrestling promotions, some still realize, some never do and the spark fades, it happens.
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u/Black_XistenZ 6h ago
To be fair, an argument could be made for Penta being a "natural midcarder". The crowds accepting him as a worthy challenger in a title match with Roman could easily have changed management's opinion on how high they could push him.
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u/Silverhand_777 7h ago
I don’t mean this with any disrespect to LA knight but it’s so crazy to me how people keep saying he had his best ever match while this was an average match for roman. It’s obvious why Roman retains when he has such a consistent high level of quality
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u/EasilyDistracted- 4h ago
If the WWE exists only for the guys in the back then that's good cause it doesn't feel like it's for me or anyone I know.
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u/MaterialBest286 9h ago
"That guy can dance" sent me for some reason.
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u/DanoDurron 9h ago
I feel like he was moreso talking to the people in the back than the crowd
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u/baciakdook 9h ago edited 7h ago
I could be wrong but I think this truly is beneficial for knight.
It certainly helps to have the top guy in the company on your side. I wanted LA to win but I can’t help but think this is still an opportunity. They don’t just give these matches out for nothing (win or lose).
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u/WWECreativegenius Sabre Jr-Gun 8h ago
It is. This was knights best match too. Penta had a great match with Roman and then got mitb. Knights time will come and tho I may be cope’ing
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u/baciakdook 7h ago
It was his best match, they had incredible chemistry. Even the powerbomb mishap was a solid recovery from both of them (it matters a lot more when you got the top guy on your shoulders). His time will come! I believe it too.
Something to note as well, towards the end of August I saw Smackdown and LA knight tagged with Oba vs The Vision in the dark match after the show.
In my mind if they truly hated LA they wouldn’t pair him with their future big star. And again on Friday in New Orleans I know he tagged with Seth and Oba or Solo after Smackdown. To me it sounds that he’s more valued than people are willing to believe.2
u/BropolloCreed 6h ago
They don't hate him. He's a main event enhancement talent for the younger guys. Bron & Fatu both had feuds with him before moving into the ME picture (Bron was rushed, and Jakob got hurt).
But he's not a "legacy" or home grown talent. Coupled with his age, it's unlikely he'll ever get the shot to be the champ at this point.
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u/guntanksinspace No Neck, still No Problem 3h ago
I think for me, I just hope they (booking, creative, Haitch, whoever the fuck) do something positively good with it
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u/irish0451 You know what that means. 8h ago
Someone edit it to replace the half with LA to Fandango doing his entrance
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u/BackToTheFutureDoc 8h ago
"You ain't gotta like him" what do you mean?? THEY DO LIKE HIM!! FOR YEARS!
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u/Coolquip34 8h ago
Somehow makes it feel worse lol
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u/farshnikord 5h ago
Same energy as your CEO calling you a rockstar during the team meeting after denying your promotion
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u/irish0451 You know what that means. 8h ago
Squandered. They had lightning in a bottle years ago and couldn't get out of their own way long enough to capitalize on it. Dude should have had a MITB cash in at the very least. That strike at the beginning of his song, people already lose their shit...if he was coming out with the briefcase it could have caused an earthquake.
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u/dumpybrodie 3h ago
WWE has been terrified of striking while the iron is hot for decades now. And they’ve conditioned their fans to think that’s the right way to do business. If WrestleMania XIV happened this year, Stone Cold would’ve lost and Shawn would’ve vacated the belt the next night on Raw, and you would have fans saying how much better it will be when Austin wins the belt at Mania the next year.
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u/irish0451 You know what that means. 2h ago
That entire timeline makes my stomach hurt because you are absolutely right
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u/OptimusChip Your Text Here 8h ago
oh thank goodness he got the praise from Roman, that should be the thing that elevates him to.....oh.....wait
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u/PommesMayo 9h ago
This would have been nice in the build-up but hey. Might as well say it without a mic while the rest of us were watching random commercials. That’ll help put him over
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u/RomulanTreachery 8h ago
Cena was the same way. He'd absolutely bury his opponents on the mic until he finally beat them. Once it was established to the crowd that they were less than him, then Cena would praise them.
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u/Black_XistenZ 6h ago edited 5h ago
Reminds me a bit of football/soccer coach Pep Guardiola, who would sit down in post-match press conferences and talk about how great the opposing team was and how tough they made things for his team... after demolishing them 5:0 or so.
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u/BackToTheFutureDoc 8h ago
Yes this was a great match but why are we pretending that LA Knight hasn't had a lot of great matches on the roster already? With AJ Styles at Mania 40, with Jacob Fatu at 41, with Roman right here, with Gunther, with Seth, with Bron, with Shinsuke and the list goes on and on. He's had so many. People like to bring up his botches but they aren't detrimental in fact they add to the story because it's presented as a shoot, a worked shoot but in a shoot or fight, you stumble, slip, fall over and get dragged around, if that happens in a wrestling match, due to slippery ropes because let's be honest that's what it is, then surely it adds to it and he doesn't look any less anyway.
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u/outsidehere 9h ago
The Samoan Werewolf has been neutered
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u/-ImJustSaiyan- He had the whole world in his hands 8h ago edited 8h ago
WWE didn't get nearly enough shit on here for having Cole say that. Completely killed any aura Jacob might've had left after being fed to Roman twice.
Doesn't help that he's only proven those words true since then by falling in line and being Roman's bitch.
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u/outsidehere 8h ago
Honestly yeah. I genuinely stopped caring about his character after that. Like I just don't care about it anymore
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u/Ok-Asparagus5419 3h ago edited 2h ago
So utterly confusing. They have Jacob come out on top in his feud with Drew, even putting Drew "on the shelf" for a minute, had Jacob stand toe-to-toe with Roman and feel fully capable of taking him down. The crowd was white hot for Jacob, and then...beyond doing nothing with any of it, they methodically undid everything that got him there.
No gas, all brakes 😕
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u/outsidehere 2h ago
It is confusing tbh. It's so hard to understand because what was the point of the McIntyre stuff?
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u/Ok-Asparagus5419 2h ago
It leads me to think they never had any plans for Jacob beyond that, and knew since Drew would be leaving for a bit to film a couple movies, we'll just heat up Jacob to put Drew out of action and then throw him back in the Bloodline vortex.
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u/Suitable-Let-2947 9h ago
Has there ever been a superstar as over as LA who hasn’t won the world title at least once?
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u/teeohdeedee123 Absolutely 8h ago
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u/irish0451 You know what that means. 8h ago
Respect. People forget how fucking over Curt was during his Babyface Mr Perfect run.
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u/Ok-Asparagus5419 3h ago
As a kid watching WWF back then, I can sincerely say Perfect was my favorite wrestler during that run.
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u/Monster_Hugger93 8h ago
“This one doesn’t count for nothing” Dawg they literally said this was his fourth attempt, he’s gonna lose fan support.
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u/Puzzled-Instance3211 9h ago
Do they all hate LA backstage or something? If you're not going to ever get him to win a world title, then at least let him go be a midcard champ for awhile.
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u/staticpls 8h ago
Yeah they have put in multiple main event fued with their top stars because they hate him.
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u/TheShaoken 8h ago
That he keeps getting world title shots show they don't hate him, he just has the problem that he's not "the guy" they want on top right now. With Roman they're angling Oba to dethrone him, so they're keeping Roman from losing so Oba can be the guy who ends the one year reign and not the guy who beat Roman after he won the title back from the guy who beat him before.
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u/shotgunmoe 9h ago
LA Knight is never going to achieve anything of significance ever in WWE. The more over he gets, the more merch he sells, none of it matters.
I feel for you if you're an LA fan but this is one of the key reasons why I stopped watch WWE 15 years ago and just started loosely following it. Fan favourites don't matter and they never will.
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u/BackToTheFutureDoc 8h ago
I'm so glad LA Knight never looked in his direction whilst he was giving him praise. He's heard these words before and he believes them because he is them, yet he's not getting the moments that matter.
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u/BackToTheFutureDoc 8h ago
The worst part about this? If LA Knight does get the world title now, it's going to be retconned with revisionism that this was the match that made people believe he was good enough even though he's been over for 3+ years, sold loads of merch, incredible on the mic, oozes charisma and is a good wrestler, better than good in fact, he doesn't get credit for that enough but instead people will say nah it was the 2026 match that was the moment if it happens.
Why? Because it's already happening with people saying this match means everything and he's shown he belongs and can hang and proved critics wrong.
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u/Capturinggod200 4h ago
Yep. Bully and that Joe shill have already said as much on Busted Open video talking about the match. Bully glazes Roman giving him the credit for LA Knight's performance. Saying LA Knight should be buying Roman dinner.
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u/AdCalm3584 2h ago
A lot of those podcasters especially the one you're referring to are moreso just marketing what WWE is doing but packaged in an 'independent opinion. They know the direction and the message WWE wants to send so they pretend to be an independent opinion who is insightful and delivers it to viewers.
Also, don't forget that WWE uses endless fake bot posts on all social media to try to tell the audience what to think and feel
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u/Jesuspolarbear 23m ago edited 19m ago
UDang, that's crazy. I mean, it's true that Roman elevated everyone he shared the ring with and that included LA during their first match, which catapulted him into a top guy level credibility. But LA has proven time and time again he can put on absolute bangers against AJ, Gunther, Fatu, Miz, Logan Paul, Jey & Jimmy (yes they've had pretty damn good matches with Knight that were overlooked), his US title matches with Melo, Andrade, Kaiser, Berto, Shinsuke etc.. Hell, he was the company's workhorse for the better part of these years too.
I feel like Roman saying "y'all don't have to like him" felt more directed to some guys in the back who don't think he's got what it takes. It really does feel like the creative is split on him, which is why he seems to be etched within the edge of the main event scene (by those who liked him) yet constantly getting reminded that he's not on the same level as the actual top guys (countered by those who disliked him).
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u/Swizzul 8h ago
This is what happens when you keep the same people winning over and over. LA Knight should have won, probably a long time ago and they could have created another star. Now he just looks like a guy who can’t back up anything he says and is on the path to being a mid carder at best.
Just like Liv winning again (very stupid) ad like Tiffy winning MITB, that PPV sucked badly
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u/PrinceRory 8h ago
I might be in the minority, but I expect LA Knight to be World Champion at some point within the next few years. He's been hovering around the main event for so long and there's a lot of emphasis on the fact that he's never had it before.
It's quite similar to how they presented Sami Zayn these last few years too and now he's a two-time champ. If that happens for LA, i wonder if the perception of his main roster run will change? Will people still look at matches like this where he didn't win with as much rage?
I'm disappointed he didn't win too but I think he's done well overall as a guy who has spent the last three years consistently featured in storylines, competing in high profile matches including World title opportunities, PPV main events, and lengthy WrestleMania singles matches, and two midcard title reigns.
It feels to me like a guy who's being built up to eventually get the belt, even if he doesn't get to be the face of the company. And when that day comes, I don't think the years of build up to it will feel like he was being wasted as so many people here insist. So I'm not really too bothered by him losing to Roman here, even if I would have preferred a different result.
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u/AtlasAir_ 7h ago
Nothing he does comes across as natural, even this lol. It's like everything is a movie to him.
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u/El-Drunko 6h ago
Maybe he should politic backstage so that Knight can actually be treated like a threat.
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u/icelink4884 9h ago
LA knight is buried so far deep HHH straight ruined this dude. He was white hot a few years ago now it's the smallest stove top burner.
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u/Zestyclose-Fee6719 7h ago
I remember when HBK hit Sweet Chin Music on Austin and beat him at WrestleMania. I was so gutted because I really wanted Austin to finally win the belt and get a run on top, and I was tired of more of Shawn Michaels in the main event. That all changed though because Michaels pointed to a defeated Austin and gave him some props. That made Austin a top guy from that point on.
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u/dumpybrodie 3h ago
Dude I made the exact same comparison to another comment. And you would have had people legitimately defending the decision, and say it would be even bigger if they waited another year for the win.
Jesus Christ, why can’t they just try something while someone is over.
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u/Nosedive888 8h ago
Anyone noticed that Romans music is essentially a rip off, of the theme music for Succession
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u/GodzillaUK 8h ago
Look at that, ONE person in a top spot in WWE giving LA some props. A shame management never will. This guy should have been champ by now.
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u/Odd-Promise2661 8h ago
How many times are we gonna see this, not just with LA, but it feels like HHH has played the game of having a massive fan favorite do the "oh so close" story, when does it end?
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u/JRockstar50 7h ago
I'm sorry but if anyone thought WWE was gonna headline in Saudi with LA Knight vs. Sami Zayn (or Penta) you're simply out of your mind. This match was D.O.A.
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u/Duckyx44 7h ago
weeks of "im better than you cus im Roman Reigns" followed by "That guy was tough" after beating them.
The Roman Reigns Special.
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u/ProjectZephyr01 7h ago
This LA Knight saga will bleed through Survivor Series, he might be the key who turns the tide on either 946 or Bloodline. Without Jacob its a 3 on 3 and one LA Knight can be the difference maker.
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u/bullhammerelbow69 6h ago
Roman even knows the booking is bad. He did his part and was an awesome dance partner for LA Knight. You put this match on any card and it delivers.
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u/CrimsonJoker13 6h ago
Matches like this show that there's at least some appetite for Knight at the top, even if his best ends up being "transitional champion".
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u/nipslippinjizzsippin 6h ago
i feel like all this is just part of a long face turn for roman, they had him heel for so long they need to turn him but its so cemented into his character now, so giving props to his opponents is just part of the play to keep him at the top but find a way to turn him face
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u/MrSmiley53 6h ago
For the entire night, I misread it thinking LA Knight won when I read the results. Now I see it was the other way around. Dang, WWE has dicked LA for the last time.
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u/Black_XistenZ 6h ago
"This one doesn't count for nothing!"
Narrator: "It did, in fact, count for nothing."
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u/SpiritualAd9102 5h ago
It all means nothing if he only puts over one person every few years, and it won’t be Knight.
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u/HardcoreKaraoke Consensual Penis 5h ago
Roman's whole gimmick of beating fan favorites and then putting them over by showing respect just isn't working. It bummed Knight fans out. The spotlight helped Penta, it wasn't Roman's respect. Rollins getting the respect didn't do anything for him.
Like actually put a fucking guy over, don't just have Roman give them props without a mic. I wouldn't be shocked if WrestleMania next year ends with Roman beating Oba but then doing the acknowledge point. That would be a "win" for Oba in creatives mind.
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u/kokain99 4h ago
Knight was better off getting squashed over what they did to him on Saturday lol you gotta take an axe to Roman’s head at this point. That was beyond Super Cena stuff.
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u/FunkyPlunkett Still Undefeated in my heart 3h ago
LA needs its now. Like Stone Cold in the AstroDome. He needs more than you can ever know.
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u/McBenedict 1h ago
Y'all complain so much. Roman verbally put hom over in twice after the match and one of them was in a interview where he absolutely didn't have too. This is so much a good thing to have the top guy say "This guy can fucking GO" out loud on camera so he can try to make sure this loss met nothing against him. I think the way everyone is openly crediting him is hopefully a good sign for him
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u/TheGorgeousJR 7h ago
I’m still gutted at the result but what a fucking match. I hope LA doesn’t feel bereft because he’s got the in ring to back up the megastar character and everyone can see it. Keep fucking going.
Also, the most important thing he shares with The Rock: one of the only people who can lose a match and make people forget all about it the next week through cutting a great promo. That’s what he needs to do and I’m sure he will do it.
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u/armshady 7h ago
Poor LA. He's the "almost made it" guy. Heck even Sami Zayn, who looks like an Arab taxi cab driver got a couple of WWE championships reigns
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