Why WWE US Champion LA Knight Says He Was Good At Wrestling In His First Year

WWE star LA Knight became a global name in pro wrestling two decades after his pro wrestling debut after his current run in WWE, but he was confident of being a success right from the start.

Knight, who debuted in 2003, wrestled in numerous promotions like TNA and NWA, before making his way to WWE in 2021 and becoming a fan favorite. The 41-year-old recently spoke on the "Hall of Fame" podcast about when he knew he could achieve great things in wrestling.

"Not to blow smoke up my own keister here, but I would say within that first year of me being in the business, I kind of had a bit of a rap, where it was like I knew how to get the people behind me to some degree," he said. "I didn't have it to the same level that I have it now, where it's like I know how to kind of, you know, I can say the right things at the right time and, you know, I can get ... I didn't have like the catchphrases and all that stuff. That was kind of stuff that was developed through the years, where it was just like, 'What do I say in my normal real life? Okay, this, okay, well let's bring that in, and let's do this, and does this fit? Okay, cool.' And a lot of it was just kind of happy accidents. So I guess I kind of knew I was good at it maybe in that first year."

The United States Champion added, though, that he didn't rest on his laurels and continued to put in the hard yards in the gym, on the microphone, and in the ring to get better. Knight stated that despite his confidence in his abilities early in his career, he constantly tried to evolve in various aspects.