It's not exactly controversial to say WWE Chairman Vince McMahon has been out of touch with what pro wrestling fans want for several years now, something that was evident from the gimmick changes he'd inflict on many of his most talented Superstars.
Take LA Knight; brought up to the main roster, he was turned from wrestler to manager and renamed Max Dupri. The plan had been for him to take charge of Maximum Male Models, an out-of-date gimmick which was destined to fail (and, unsurprisingly, it later did).
Fortunately for Knight, it was around this time that Triple H took charge of WWE creative. With that, he got his old name back and has since become one of WWE's most popular talents...and biggest merchandise sellers!
In an interview with Metro, Knight spoke candidly about the change and how relieved he was to be given the chance to resume his original persona.
"My reaction was F Yeah, immediately. Let’s make that happen," he recalls. "Because I don’t know who or what the hell Max Dupri is! Now, look, given the time, could I have done that? Could I have made it work?"
"I’m sure I could have. Now, would it have ever been anything like we’re doing right now? No. Because at the end of the day, that wasn’t me. It wasn’t for me."
As for what led to the change, Knight chose his words carefully but strongly hinted that he has Triple H to thank. "You know, I don’t know all the details. But I think there were some administrative changes somewhere or other, I don’t know exactly what happened. Some things happened. People got moved around and things happen, you know?"
That administrative change was Vince being ousted from WWE amid a series of sexual misconduct allegations.
Knight would go on to say, "But what’s better, that or me just being, basically, authentic me as much as I can be? And that, I think is really what’s connected in the last seven months. Just the fact that I could go out there and make the most of my time."
"'Hey, you got 30 seconds to go talk about this.' Cool! Well, that’s gonna be the best damn 30 seconds of the show! 'Alright, you got two minutes go to this.' Great, that’s gonna be the best damn two minutes of this show,'" he continued. "And if anybody wants to argue it cool, but the proof is gonna be in the pudding."
Are you pleased LA Knight is back?