LA Knight On Previous WWE Release And Spending Time In Impact

With his momentum soaring and fan support noticeably behind him of late, LA Knight heads into this weekend's Money In the Bank premium live event among the favorites to win its namesake match. The opportunity in front of him may never have come about, however, without a little luck and a second chance at WWE superstardom. During an recent appearance on the "Insight" podcast, Knight detailed his 2014 release from WWE in addition to what led to his eventual return.

"When I got let go the first time, it wasn't because of a talent issue," Knight explained. "That was made very clear to me. It was very much a professional issue. Me and the head coach at the time, the way that things were going was not good. I was poking the bear because of things that were happening." The head coach in question was Bill DeMott, who resigned from the position in 2015 after being accused of abusive training methods and other instances of misconduct. 

Knight got things on track with successful stretches on the indies, as well as in Impact Wrestling and with the NWA — highlighted by an Impact World Championship run and holding the NWA World Tag Team Championship alongside James Storm. But the former Eli Drake would eventually entertain conversations about a WWE return and though his interest remained, the nature of his previous exit would mean a step backward, at least financially. 

"Since leaving with heat, I was kind of given the same offer as I was the first time around," he said. "I was making more money where I was. So I was like, 'I'm gonna stay here for a year or two, hang onto this.'"

Long term, though, Knight knew that staying the same course wouldn't yield the type of opportunity he'd eventually be seeking, and that change of course would eventually lead to his WWE return in 2021 as a mainstay on "WWE NXT." 

"At some point it was like, 'Well, alright, I'm gonna have to take this short term downgrade in pay because, even though I'm making more here, I'm stuck, but if I take this downgrade here, eventually I can be well above here."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Insight" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.