LA Knight admits he needed 'a bit of a rebuild' after setbacks against Roman Reigns, first U.S. title reign

LA Knight's meteoric rise in 2023 is a success story, no doubt about it. The WWE superstar, real name Shaun Ricker, had to overcome numerous challenges early in his career, including shedding a panned gimmick, to reach the heights he did two years ago.

Knight was one of WWE's hottest acts in late 2023 and early 2024. He teamed with John Cena at Fastlane and twice challenged Roman Reigns for the undisputed WWE universal championship. Reigns turned back countless challengers during his legendary 1,316-day title reign. Knight's brushes with Reigns aren't necessarily a failure, but he concedes not everyone exited a feud with The Bloodline for the better.

"I think it took me in a few different directions," Knight told CBS Sports. "Optically, in a way, it elevated me. It also kind of set me back a little bit to where I had to do a bit of a rebuild in the winter and spring time of last year. I think that's by virtue of how it was set up and how it was done. Ultimately, Crown Jewel was a nice payoff so that was pretty good."

Knight's victory over United States champion Logan Paul at SummerSlam 2023 was heartwarming. Knight, buoyed by fan support and endless grit, captured his first main roster WWE title at 41. Unfortunately, his subsequent title reign fell short of expectations. It was hard to shake the feeling that WWE should have pulled the trigger sooner. Before Reigns lost his world title in April 2024, his part-time status created a vacuum that Knight could fill as SmackDown's only full-time singles champion. By the time Knight won the U.S. title, he had to split television time with new undisputed WWE champ Cody Rhodes.

"What is the right timing?" Knight asked. "Nobody knows. Should it have happened earlier? Yeah, probably, in my view. At the same time, it is what it is."

Check out the full interview with LA Knight below. 

Knigt's first U.S. title reign wasn't sufficient by his own admission. Shinsuke Nakamura upset him at Survivor Series: WarGames in a match that wasn't received very warmly. Knight is invigorated to make the most of his second run as U.S. champion after retrieving the belt from Nakamura on March 7. "The Megastar" is heading towards WrestleMania 41 with gold around his waist and lofty goals ahead.

"The first one wasn't enough for me. The first one got taken away from me..." Knight said. "I don't feel like I got every little bit out of it that I needed and wanted to. So we need to go back and do it again.

"Let's get ourselves to WrestleMania... I want the world championship. I want the WWE championship. That has to happen a handful of times before it's all said and done."