LA Knight has admitted that Saturday's WWE Money In The Bank match against longtime rival Roman Reigns is 'do or die' for his career. The 43-year-old, who became one of the world's most popular wrestlers in 2023, has a chance to finally win a world title in WWE.
Asked what it would mean if he came up short again, Knight exclusively told Metro: 'That's a hell of a question, because if I don't come out of this one with it, I really don't know where there is for me to go.'
Career crossroads
'In a way, it looks like it's do or die for me personally, and maybe other people have a different view of that,' he said. 'But I mean, at this point, we're three years deep on this deal, and I've been on the main roster now as LA Knight for four years.'
'Three years ago things just went absolutely insane and built up to such a pitch that it's insane that it's been continued on for this long, but if I don't reach that pinnacle at this point, I honestly don't know what's left or where there is to go.'
When asked whether that was as a character or performer, the former United States Champion said it was 'all over the above'. He explained: 'When you're looking from even a character's perspective, or even just from a motivational perspective, where it's like, "Well, hell, I've done this crazy thing where I've taken this character, this entity, this whole thing to a level not expected from where it began".'
'If I'm honest, in spite of where I was placed, I have risen to a crazy level, and to do that, in my mind, should reach a certain level. And it becomes a little bit obsessive, and that's kind of where I've had to back myself off a little bit.'
Fan support and past setbacks
Knight, who failed to capture the gold against Roman in 2023, is yet to win the WWE Title or World Heavyweight Championship. There's a different dynamic in 2026 compared to their last match, when the fans were fully in Knight's corner.
'The people are definitely a lot more friendly to Roman this time around,' he admitted, while he's pleasantly surprised to still have his own vocal support. 'There's been so much time where it's just like, it seems like the carrot's been dangled in front of them,' he admitted.
'Look, I'm not deaf. It's definitely not as big as it was when the hope was at its highest… But you can tell it's still there. The people still want it. I'm just not sure that they entirely believe it right now, and I get that.'
Knight will be hoping for a better night at Money In The Bank than the 2025 event, as the ending saw him get a talking-to backstage from boss Paul 'Triple H' Levesque, which was featured in Netflix docuseries WWE Unreal.
'I'm just sitting there listening to it, like, "okay, yeah, all right". Obviously I'm gonna listen to what's coming at me,' he recalled, noting that he saw the situation in a 'slightly different way'. 'I'm thinking to myself, "Well, everything went off pretty much without a hitch, as far as anybody can tell, as far as even I could tell."'
Creative freedom and mindset
Their relationship is in a good place, with Knight given a lot of freedom when he's on a live mic. 'We've kinda gotten that figured out between me and creative, where it's like, I'm not the type that wants to have everything mapped out from A to Z,' he explained. 'I don't want the audience to have to think as much. I want them to feel.'
Knight has had frustrating moments in his WWE career, but he's becoming 'a lot better' at switching off when he leaves the arena. 'I just try to make sure that once I'm home, it's focused on, "Well now I'm going to hang out with my dogs", or "I'm going to have a little bit of a social life,"' he smiled. 'I was miserable a lot of times, and needed to fix that.'
Knight admitted that bled over into his work life, as he'd turn up to shows 'in a bad mood'. 'I wasn't an asshole,' he stressed. 'But I would show up, and immediately I was in the zone and feeling like I was going in there to fight everything and everybody, and especially the company, I guess.'
Working with Solo Sikoa has helped get him out of that mindset, seeing how much fun his co-star is having. 'It's cool just to see him let loose a little bit, so that's been helpful,' he said. 'We bounce off each other very well.'
UK return and upcoming match
As for Money In The Bank, Knight still recalls the hero's welcome he got at the event in London back in 2023, which he still describes as a 'coming out party'. Ahead of a return to the UK on the Road to the Royal Rumble tour in January 2027, Knight is hoping to break his 0-3 losing streak at Money In The Bank.
He pondered: 'Could this be a poetic ending with me coming out with the championship, or is it more of the same where I end up coming up short? I don't know. We'll find out when I get there. But it's going to be an uphill battle.'
WWE Money In The Bank streams live on Netflix at 11pm on Saturday, October 10. Raw and SmackDown return to Glasgow and London in January 2026. Tickets available now from www.wwe.com/events.
