Over the last few months, LA Knight has been on a near-unparalleled rise to superstardom in WWE. Since competing in the Men’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match at the namesake event this past July, Knight’s stocks continued to rise with a Slim Jim Battle Royal win at SummerSlam. The star went on to earn his first-ever singles victory at a Premium Live Event when he defeated The Miz at Payback and was endorsed by Special Guest Referee John Cena in the aftermath.
With Knight now reportedly listed as the top babyface of SmackDown, the star was rumored to be undergoing negotiations with WWE regarding a new deal that was said to last up to five years. However, a new report has suggested some elements of that rumor aren’t as accurate as first thought.
Fightful Select reports that, per WWE sources, the two parties have been in talks over extending Knight’s current contract with the company and that a five-year deal was on the table at one point. However, a stumbling block has appeared amidst the negotiations in that Knight and WWE are nowhere near close in terms of the money associated with the contract. As a result, the two sides have not come to a deal as of yet and do not look likely to come to terms in the near future.
The report goes on to mention that the idea that Knight’s recent push is tied to a new contract is untrue, with a WWE higher-up purportedly pointing out to the outlet that several stars whose contracts are set to expire next year are still being pushed significantly. At the moment, Knight’s deal still has well over a year and a half left to go and will expire sometime in the middle of 2025.
Knight, real name Shaun Ricker, originally signed to WWE in 2013, appearing only as an enhancement talent within NXT under the name Slate Randall before he was released from his contract in August 2014. After a successful multi-year stint as Eli Drake across IMPACT Wrestling, NWA, and the independents, Ricker re-signed with WWE six years later. Adopting the LA Knight moniker, he went on to have a successful run in NXT before joining the main roster in early 2022.