LA Knight Admits Being Unaware of Shawn Michaels’ Backstage Support in WWE

LA Knight is one of the top stars in WWE right now as he is the WWE United States Champion and it appears he had no idea that Shawn Michaels was secretly standing up for him backstage in WWE.

In 2021, LA Knight returned to WWE, joining NXT for his second stint with the company. The 42-year-old later made his main roster debut in 2022, initially portraying Max Dupri, a fashion enthusiast. However, he soon dropped that character and went back to his popular LA Knight persona.

Knight’s age raised concerns among WWE officials during his return, putting him at risk of being released again. While speaking in an interview with Sport Bible, LA Knight admitted that there were concerns about his age, and that he was at risk of being let go again.

While he was confident in his skills, he knew his age could be an issue. What he didn’t know at the time was that Shawn Michaels stood up for him, highlighting his value to the company. This support helped Knight stay with WWE and continue to prove himself.

“I don’t think I knew how much Shawn Michaels supported until more recently when he was talking about people before, who might have looked at a number next to my name which would have been my age and not known much else about me. Shawn would apparently stand up for me and be like, ‘I got him doing this and that so we need to hold on to him for now.’ I don’t think in the moment I was aware of that. In the back of my head I thought I was on the chopping block but not for any talent reason – just simply that number.”

As for LA Knight, he will begin a feud with Shinsuke Nakamura after the latter returned and attacked him during the November 15, 2024 episode of SmackDown. Nonetheless, LA Knight is certainly grateful to Shawn Michaels for what he did for him and that’s unlikely to ever change.