LA Knight has revealed that he hated the original pitch for his WWE name. Knight signed with the company in 2021 and debuted on NXT. Nearly a year later, he made his way to the main roster as Max Dupri before reverting to his NXT name.
His current name and gimmick have become popular with the fans. The chants and the way he uses the three-syllable name during promos have done him good. But he almost debuted with a different name in WWE.
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Before signing with the sports entertainment giant, The Megastar used the Eli Drake name in TNA and NWA. During a conversation on INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet, he revealed that after he joined WWE, the company wanted to keep the name, but Triple H wanted to change it.
“When I first signed to NXT in 2021, they were like, ‘We want to bring you in as Eli Drake.’ I’m like, ‘Great, perfect.’ And then three days before, they’re like, ‘Oh, nevermind. Hunter wants to change it. He wants to start completely fresh and new,'” he said.
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LA Knight said he knew he needed a simple name, and WWE’s first pitch of LA Donovan wasn’t something he was a fan of. The former US champion said it would have boxed his character in a wrong way.
“I also know that in this business, you want a simple name. I won’t stay on this too long, but they pitched LA Donovan at one point. And I was like, ‘Blah, that’s awful.’ ‘No, that’s so awful and terrible.’ And I feel like it pigeonholes and it’s sh*t. I’m forever a douche. I can’t do that,” he said.
LA Knight thinks he won’t be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame
During the conversation on INSIGHT, LA Knight discussed his in-ring future. He said he doesn’t plan to wrestle into his 50s, and once he retires, he won’t return.
The 43-year-old star said he would be open to a return for a Hall of Fame induction but said he feels it probably won’t happen.
Knight mentioned this stems from a belief that he has always felt underappreciated in the wrestling business.
If you use quotes from this article, please credit INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.
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Edited by Sherjeel Malik