WWE's LA Knight Explains The Origins Of His 'Everybody' Catchphrase

LA Knight's meteoric rise to popularity with the WWE Universe is undeniable at this point. His victory in the Slim Jim Battle Royal at SummerSlam sent the crowd into a frenzy for arguably the biggest reaction of the night. His connection with the people can likely be chalked up to an authenticity that he says simply comes from being a heightened version of himself. In an interview with "After the Bell," Knight explained that one of his signature catchphrases, "Everybody!," comes from a real-life experience that everyone can relate to.

"When I used to have a restaurant job," he recalled, "when you'd go around the corner, because you're carrying drinks and food and stuff, you don't want to bump into people, so you'd go, 'Corner!' For whatever reason, I didn't want to say, 'Corner!' So as I went around the corner, I'd go, 'Everybody!' and so then, people knew I was coming."

He continued, "It's just dumb stuff that I would say just naturally. If I'm saying it in real life, why wouldn't I say it here?"

Knight also remembered that "Everybody!" made its rounds around the WWE Performance Center during his first stint with the company. Additionally, he revealed that his "Yeah!" catchphrase has a similar origin story.

Speaking about his character more holistically, "The Megastar" detailed the overall thought process that he went through to carve out the on-camera persona that we see today. According to Knight, the current iteration of his character isn't much different from what he's been doing for a long time.

"I've basically been doing this same thing, more or less, for the last 10 years or so, probably even 13 years," Knight revealed. "'What's this guy look like? What does he wear? What does he do? And it's kind of like, 'What would I wear? What would I do?'" I [had to] figure out what's me, completely maxed out?"

Whatever that is for LA Knight is clearly working, with his prominence growing each week, merchandise flying off the shelves, and what appears to be a shift from Friday nights on "WWE Smackdown" to "Raw," if his showdown with The Miz is any indicator. The two traded verbal barbs in a memorable exchange that ultimately led to physicality — a process that Knight draws inspiration from going back to his days as a fan.

"When I first got into the business, I just remembered what I liked when I was watching," he said, "I liked the guys who could talk and then go back it up. I really want to make sure that I can talk the people into it so that, then, we can get into the meat of the matter.

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