- Knight defeated Logan Paul for the United States Title at SummerSlam earlier this month
- WWE fans had been clamouring for Knight to dethrone Paul for months
- Knight wants Dr. Dre to rap one of his future theme songs
There are countless people around the world who would love to shut Logan Paul up, but very few people have been given the opportunity to do so. LA Knight is one of those people, having dethroned Paul for the WWE United States Title earlier this month.
Knight has seen his momentum snowball over the past 18 months, with his popularity among WWE fans exploding in the early part of 2023. Fans in arenas and online clamoured for the trigger to be pulled on the Megastar, with thunderous ovations accompanying every walk through the curtain the 41-year-old took on television or at live events.
And while Knight continued to come up short, whether it was being left of the card for WrestleMania 39 in, of all places, LA, last year, or not winning the men’s Money In The Bank ladder match, or either of his two WWE Title shots against Roman Reigns, or the Elimination Chamber match for a number one contendership spot at WrestleMania, the crowds never deserted him, opting to play the long game, which eventually paid off with his memorable victory over Paul in Cleveland two weeks ago.
And while winning championship gold in front of a rabid crowd of over 50,000 people must be a pretty unbeatable feeling, we wanted to know how it felt to wipe the smile of the Prime Prince’s face. In his hometown, no less.
Speaking exclusively to Pubity earlier this week, Knight explained how the public had been desperate for him to be the one to end Paul’s reign with the US Title for a long time. And of course, the newly minted champ could not resist aiming a dig at Paul’s lack of popularity in his own backyard.
“Way back at WrestleMania, I did a meet and greet kinda thing and was up on the stage talking and every single person who asked a question in the Q&A asked about Logan Paul, ‘you gotta go for Logan Paul, you gotta go for the US Title’, so it seems like it was a long time coming. But yeah, to beat a guy in his hometown, and even his hometown were booing him, that’s a hell of a feat there.”
Knight’s reign as US Champion began last weekend on SmackDown, where he entered to a new remix of his original entrance music, provided by Chicago band Letdown. But being a notorious hip-hop fiend, we wanted to know which rap legend Knight would want in the booth were he ever able to choose one to record him a new theme.
“I don’t want to change this music. I think this is the song, but now can you maybe remix it? I go back to Steve Austin. There’s two different versions of his music. Or three if you count the Disturbed version. Or if you think of The Rock’s evolution of his music from the Nation of Domination version to when he first came out of the Nation and then he was in the Corporation. It was always the same core song but it kind of grew and evolved over time. Then you’ve got Triple H’s My Time going into Time To Play The Game, which are different songs but with a similar feel.
“I want the same thing. I want my music to grow and be as big as it possibly can, but at the same time, you’re talking about hip hop, I like when hip-hop and rock can be mixed together, which is what we’ve sort of done with this newest iteration. If I was gonna have anyone on the track vocally, I know he’s more of a producer first than a rapper, but I’ve always liked his voice, so I would have to say Dr. Dre. The hardness in his voice, the depth in his voice, I like it. Him and maybe Ice Cube, something like that.”
With the gold around his waist a signifier that the office as well as the fans are firmly behind him, Knight could find himself in the midst of an all timer run with the United States Title. Having the likes of Andrade, Santos Escobar and Carmelo Hayes ready and waiting isn’t a bad start and that’s before you think about running it back with AJ Styles and maybe a Kevin Owens or Randy Orton (or both) at some point down the road.
Having spent so long working his way back from the Dead On Arrival Max Dupri gimmick, Knight is now making the most of his opportunity under Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque’s stewardship of WWE and will undoubtedly aim to make every title defence appointment viewing. And to find out more about the US Champion’s journey over the last 18 months, you’ll have to read part two of our exclusive interview with him when it drops tomorrow.
WWE Bash In Berlin will emanate from Berlin, Germany on August 31, 2024, available only on WWE Network, Peacock and PPV
