Just a few months ago, LA Knight was struggling to get on the WWE WrestleMania 39 card, and now, he has John Cena giving him his personal endorsement. If you haven’t noticed, the WWE fanbase can’t seem to get enough of Knight and his “YEAH!” catchphrase, and after some speculation about how he would be pushed, it would seem the company has begun to rally around him.
At WWE SummerSlam, Knight picked up the win in the Slim Jim Battle Royal, and at WWE Payback, he was victorious over The Miz in a match that saw Cena as the special guest referee. After the win, Cena shook Knight’s hand and put him over at the top of the WWE entrance ramp, raising his hand to the roar of the crowd. WrestleVotes reports that following Payback, the internal “talent board” used to list the top heels and babyfaces on each brand was changed.
Following the Pittsburgh-based premium live event, Knight is now listed as the top babyface on WWE Smackdown. YEAH! Furthermore, the pairing of Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits is listed as heels, and IYO SKY is the top female heel for the blue brand. It was not noted who the company internally lists as the top female babyface on Friday nights.
Knight is not the first WWE star that Cena has put over at the top of the entrance ramp this year. The Doctor of Thuganomics did the same for Cody Rhodes on the March 6 episode of WWE Raw, ahead of his big confrontation with Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 39. Following their embrace, Rhodes later revealed that Cena whispered to him, “Reward their noise, every time.”
There is no word on whether Cena shared a similar sentiment with Knight, who will no doubt be a focal point of this Friday night’s episode of Smackdown. As of now, he has not officially been announced for a match or segment, but we do know Cena will be in the house.