LA Knight
American professional wrestler (born 1982) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Shaun Edward Ricker (born November 1, 1982) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name LA Knight and is the current WWE United States Champion in his second reign.
| LA Knight | |
|---|---|
_(headshot).jpg) Knight in 2024 | |
| Birth name | Shaun Edward Ricker |
| Born | November 1, 1982 Hagerstown, Maryland, U.S. |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Deuce Dick Rick Dick Rick Leykis El Hijo de Trump Eli Drake LA Knight Max Dupri Shaun Ricker Slate Randall |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 240 lb (109 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | Baltimore, Maryland Hagerstown, Maryland Los Angeles, California |
| Trained by | Cody Hawk |
| Debut | February 15, 2003 |
Ricker began his professional wrestling career on the independent circuit in 2003 and he joined the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) affiliated Championship Wrestling from Hollywood (CW) in 2010. Ricker signed with WWE in 2013 and performed as an enhancement talent under the ring name Slate Randall until being released in 2014. After adopting the ring name Eli Drake, Ricker signed with TNA in 2015 and won the TNA World Championship, TNA King of the Mountain Championship, the TNA World Tag Team Championship (with Scott Steiner) once each and twice won the Feast or Fired briefcase.
Ricker departed TNA in 2019 and rejoined the NWA, winning the NWA World Tag Team Championship (with James Storm). He re-signed with WWE in 2021 under the ring name LA Knight and won the Million Dollar Championship once. Ricker was then repackaged as a manager and renamed Max Dupri in 2022 but later reverted to his original ring name. He gained increased popularity in early 2023 and won the WWE United States Championship at SummerSlam the following year.
Outside of wrestling, Ricker appeared on the reality television series The Hero and the comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine. He has provided motion capture for other WWE wrestlers for the WWE 2K video game series and voiced a fictional character in WWE 2K22.
Early life
Shaun Edward Ricker[2] was born in Hagerstown, Maryland, on November 1, 1982.[3][4] He has two older siblings and started watching professional wrestling at the age of three.[4][5] He graduated from North Hagerstown High School.[6]
Professional wrestling career
Summarize
Perspective
Early career (2003–2010)
Ricker moved to Cincinnati and began training at the age of 20 on March 17, 2003, supporting himself with work at a lumber mill and a Ruby Tuesday restaurant.[4] He began working regularly for the Heartland Wrestling Association (HWA) later that year under the ring name Deuce.[5][7] On November 9, 2004, Deuce won the HWA Television Championship, and dropped it on January 4, 2005.[8]
National Wrestling Alliance (2009–2012)
NWA Championship Wrestling from Hollywood (2010–2013)
In December 2010, Ricker moved to work for NWA Championship Wrestling from Hollywood. He joined forces with Brian Cage, forming The Natural Selection tag team and winning the NWA Heritage Tag Team Championship from The RockNES Monsters on December 8.[9] After holding the titles for over 200 days, The Natural Selection lost them to The Tribe when Cage missed the event, causing the match to become a handicap match.[9] Ricker then feuded with Cage for several months, staying even on victories until he defeated Cage to end their feud in late 2012.[7]
On December 24, Ricker unsuccessfully challenged Adam Pearce for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship.[7] However, he won the Percy Pringle III Cup, where the winner earned a shot at any championship at any time and place.[10] On May 5, 2013, Ricker won the 30-Man Red Carpet Rumble for the CWFH Heritage Heavyweight Championship in homage to his late friend and manager Percy Pringle.[11] That same night, he successfully defended the title against Ryan Taylor.[11]
Ricker would lose the championship to Scorpio Sky in a Loser Leaves Hollywood match later that night; this match was scheduled to air on June 2, on tape delay, but was never aired due to the controversial finish.[11] After the cameras went off, Ricker got on the microphone and thanked all of the fans for coming out, saying it would be the last time he would be seen in a ring for Championship Wrestling from Hollywood. All of the wrestlers came out from the back and gave Ricker a standing ovation. However, he made one more final television appearance, defeating Sky's fellow Experience members Big Duke and Xtian Cole.[7]
WWE (2013–2014)
In May 2013, Ricker was one of many independent wrestlers undergoing the necessary medical testing required to be signed by WWE before he reported to the WWE Performance Center.[5][12] He had previously made sporadic appearances in WWE over the years; he teamed with Jonathan Good in a losing effort against Big Show in a dark handicap match in May 2006,[4] teamed with Gene Snitsky in a losing effort against Cryme Tyme (JTG and Shad Gaspard) on ECW in 2008,[4] and played a security guard during a segment featuring CM Punk and Kevin Nash on Raw in August 2011.[13]
Upon signing with WWE, Ricker was given the ring name Slate Randall and made his debut by defeating Yoshi Tatsu in a dark match during an October 2013 taping of NXT.[7] Following that victory, he competed as an jobber for NXT, losing to names such as Baron Corbin, Mojo Rawley, and Mason Ryan.[7] He was released from his WWE contract on August 1, 2014.[14]
Return to the independent circuit (2014–2019)
After his release from WWE, Ricker returned to wrestling on the independent circuit and began competing under the ring name Eli Drake. On September 5, at Full Impact Pro's Fallout, he participated in a trios tournament along with Mason Ryan and Michael Tarver, but they were defeated by the Full Impact Puerto Ricans (Lince Dorado, Jay Cruz, and Jay Rios) in the semifinals.[15] On November 21, Ricker defeated Kenny King at FSW Luck of the Draw.[16]
On May 11, 2019, Drake lost a fatal four-way match at a Maverick Pro Wrestling event.[17] He made his debut for World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico at WWC Aniversario on August 17, wrestling Carlito Colon.[18]
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling / Impact Wrestling (2015–2019)
The Rising (2015–2016)
On February 16, 2015, Drake participated in TNA One Night Only's TNA Gut Check tournament, defeating Crazzy Steve to qualify for a five-way elimination match won by Tevita Fifita.[19] On the March 27 episode of Impact Wrestling, he joined Drew Galloway and Micah to form The Rising, defeating The Beat Down Clan in his debut.[20] On the July 1 episode of Impact Wrestling, The Beat Down Clan defeated The Rising in a 4-on-3 handicap match, forcing The Rising to dissolve.[21]
On the July 15 episode of Impact Wrestling, Drake turned heel when he cost Galloway a match against TNA World Heavyweight Champion Ethan Carter III.[22] Drake defeated Galloway at No Surrender on August 5 but lost a No Disqualification rematch on August 19 at Turning Point.[23][24] At Bound for Glory on October 4, Drake competed in the Bound For Gold Gauntlet, which was won by Tyrus.[25] He then participated in the TNA World Title Series as a member of group Future 4, along with Jessie Godderz, Micah and Crimson, advancing in the round of 16 along with Godderz, where he lost in the round of 16 to Mahabali Shera, being eliminated from the tournament.[26] At TNA One Night Only: Live! on January 8, 2016, Drake and Godderz competed in a 3-Way TNA World Tag Team Championship match, which The Wolves won.[27]
On January 26, 2016, Drake won the Feast or Fired match and the briefcase that contained a title shot for the future TNA King Of The Mountain Championship.[28] On the February 9 episode of Impact Wrestling, Drake was attacked by Grado, who had been fired after his Feast or Fired briefcase contained the pink slip. Later that night, Drake interrupted him backstage, telling him "he better shut up about whatever he thinks he knows" and attacked Grado again, having him escorted out of the building through the tunnel.[29] On the following episode of Impact Wrestling, Drake lost to Grado, who was masked as Odarg the Great.[30] On the March 15 episode of Impact Wrestling, he faced Grado in a ladder match with Grado's career on the line, but was defeated.[31]
Fact of Life and Namer of Dummies (2016–2017)
On the May 31 episode of Impact on Pop, Drake cashed in his Feast or Fired briefcase for his shot at the TNA King of the Mountain Championship, defeating Bram, who was just viciously attacked by Lashley, winning his first title in TNA.[32] He successfully defended the title against Bram on June 12 at Slammiversary.[33] On the June 28 episode of Impact Wrestling, Drake hosted a Fact of Life segment, inviting James Storm as his guest and insulting him; Storm eventually hit Drake with the Last Call, igniting a feud between the two.[34] On the July 5 episode of Impact Wrestling, Drake defended the King of the Mountain Championship against Storm, but intentionally disqualified himself to save the title.[35] On the August 4 episode of Impact Wrestling, Drake lost the championship to Storm.[36] He entered the Impact Grand Championship tournament, defeating Godderz in the first round but lost to Aron Rex in the semi-finals.[37][38]
At Bound for Glory on October 2, Drake won the Bound for Gold Gauntlet by last eliminating Tyrus.[39] After this, Drake started a feud against Ethan Carter III.[40][41] On the November 10 episode of Impact Wrestling, Drake cashed in his Bound for Gold opportunity, but failed to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship from Eddie Edwards.[42] On the November 24 episode of Impact Wrestling, Drake faced EC3 in a title shot vs. voice match where if Ethan lost, he would lose his heavyweight title shot, and if Drake lost, he would not be able to talk for the rest of 2016; EC3 won by submission.[43]
At One Night Only: Live! on January 6, 2017, Drake and Tyrus unsuccessfully challenged The Broken Hardys for the TNA World Tag Team Championship.[44] Tyrus helped Drake take the red case during the Race for the Case on the January 19 episode of Impact Wrestling.[45] On the February 2 episode of Impact Wrestling, Drake cashed in his Race for the Case briefcase for a match against Ethan Carter III, but lost. After the match, he and Tyrus attacked EC3, but were assaulted by the Death Crew Council.[46] On the following episode of Impact Wrestling, Drake abandoned Tyrus during their handicap match against The Death Crew Council, causing them to lose.[47] A match was scheduled between Drake and Tyrus two weeks later, which ended in a disqualification victory for Tyrus. After the match, Drake proposed more money to Tyrus for keeping him as a bodyguard, which Tyrus accepted.[48]
On the May 11 episode of Impact Wrestling, with help from Tyrus and Chris Adonis, he attacked Impact Grand Champion Moose after his match against Marshe Rockett.[49] On the June 1 episode of Impact Wrestling, Drake failed to win the Impact Grand Championship from Moose.[50] At Slammiversary on July 2, Drake and Adonis lost to Moose and DeAngelo Williams.[51]
Impact Global Champion (2017–2018)
On the August 24 episode of Impact!, Drake won a 20-man gauntlet match, as the second entrant, to win the vacant GFW Global Championship for the first time; it was later renamed to the Impact Global Championship. This was Drake's first world title reign from a major wrestling promotion in his career.[52] He would retain the title against Matt Sydal on Impact,[53] and against Cody Hall in Japan for Pro Wrestling Noah.[54] Drake successfully defended the title against Johnny Impact at Victory Road on September 28, Bound for Glory on November 5 and at Genesis on January 25, 2018 in a Six Sides of Steel match also involving Alberto El Patron.[55][56][57] He lost his renamed Impact World Championship on the February 1 episode of Impact Wrestling against the returning Austin Aries, ending his reign at 146 days.[58][59] On the February 15 episode of Impact Wrestling, Drake failed to regain the title from Aries.[60]
On the March 15 episode of Impact Wrestling, Drake won a briefcase during the Feast or Fired containing an opportunity for an Impact World Tag Team Championship match, which he refused as he no longer had a tag team partner.[61] He defeated Moose for his World Championship briefcase on the April 5 episode of Impact Wrestling after interference from Ohio Versus Everything.[62] At Redemption on April 22, Drake and his tag team partner Scott Steiner defeated The Latin American Xchange to win the Impact World Tag Team Championship.[63] On the April 26 episode of Impact!, Drake and Steiner defeated LAX in a rematch to retain the titles.[64] Two weeks later, Drake cashed in his World Championship briefcase against Pentagón Jr., but failed to win the title.[65] After losing the titles to D&E (DJZ and Andrew Everett) on the May 17 episode of Impact Wrestling,[66] Drake and Steiner had a match on May 31 at Under Pressure, which Drake won after a chair shot.[67]
On the June 7 episode of Impact Wrestling, during his Fact of Life segment, Drake ranked Moose number one in his top five dummies in Impact. Moose confronted Drake later and challenged him for a match to determine the number one contender to the Impact World Championship at Slammiversary XVI. Drake accepted the challenge and attacked Moose.[68] The following week at House of Hardcore, Drake lost to Moose.[69] On June 25, Eli Drake signed a new contract with Impact Wrestling.[70] On the July 12 episode of Impact Wrestling, Drake flirted with Grado's girlfriend, Katarina, during a backstage segment. This led to a match between Drake and Grado later that night, which was won by Drake. After the match, he tried again to flirt with Katarina, but Drake was stopped by Joe Hendry.[71] On the August 2 episode of Impact Wrestling, Drake aligned himself with the Cult of Lee (Trevor Lee and Caleb Konley) and defeated Hendry and Grado.[72] Drake issued various open challenges by this time, including one at Bound for Glory.[73] At the event on October 14, Drake defeated James Ellsworth. After the match, Drake asked for a new challenger, a "Hall of Fame material" which resulted in Abyss, the newest Impact Wrestling Hall of Fame member, showing up and hitting him with a chokeslam through a table.[74]
Feuding with hardcore wrestlers and departure (2018–2019)
On the October 18 episode of Impact Wrestling, Drake "sued" Impact Wrestling management for "unsafe working environment" after the attack of Abyss at Bound for Glory.[75] On the November 8 episode of Impact Wrestling, Drake betrayed his lawyer Joseph Park after a low-blow. The following week, Drake criticized hardcore wrestling before being confronted by Tommy Dreamer.[76] Two weeks later, Drake lost to Dreamer via count-out after walking away from the match. However, the match was restarted by Impact Wrestling management and became a No Disqualification match, which Drake won.[77] On the January 3, 2019 episode of Impact Wrestling, Drake was confronted and attacked by Dreamer and Raven.[78] At Impact Wrestling Homecoming three days later, Drake defeated Abyss in a Monster's Ball match.[79]
On the January 11 episode of Impact Wrestling, Drake confronted Eddie Edwards, talking down about his hardcore style, leading to a match on the February 22 episode of Impact Wrestling, where Edwards defeated Drake with a roll-up.[80] Shortly after, Drake formed a tag team with Edwards,[81][82] challenging the Lucha Bros for the Impact World Tag Team Championship on the April 19 episode of Impact Wrestling in a losing effort.[83]
During this time, a match was booked between Drake and Tessa Blanchard at United We Stand. However, he legitimately refused to partake in the match and criticized intergender wrestling, and was replaced in the match by Joey Ryan. After his comments, as well as statements he had made disparaging Impact's booking of him, Drake was fired via email on April 7, ending his four-year tenure with the promotion. Following this, Impact tried to lock him into a non-compete clause due to breach of contract.[84][85][86][87] On June 4, Drake released a statement speaking positively about his time at Impact and announced that he was now a free agent.[88]
Return to NWA (2019–2021)
On June 28, 2019, Ricker (as Eli Drake) appeared at the Ring of Honor event Best in the World, being revealed as the mystery partner of Nick Aldis and the newest person to sign an exclusive deal with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA).[89] At Hard Times on January 24, 2020, Drake and James Storm defeated The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) and The Wild Cards (Royce Isaacs and Thom Latimer) in a triple threat tag team match to win the NWA Tag Team Championship.[90] On November 10 at UWN Primetime Live, Drake and Storm would drop the titles to Aron Stevens and JR Kratos.[91] On February 14, 2021, it was announced that Ricker had been quietly released from the NWA in late 2020 after only signing a new deal with the company a few months beforehand.[92]
Return to WWE (2021–present)
NXT (2021–2022)
On February 14, 2021, it was reported that Ricker had re-signed with WWE.[92] At NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day later that night, he debuted as a heel under the new ring name LA Knight.[93] He made his in-ring debut on the March 17 episode of NXT, defeating August Grey.[94] At TakeOver: Stand & Deliver on April 7, he participated in a Gauntlet Eliminator for a future NXT North American Championship match, eliminating Dexter Lumis before being eliminated by Bronson Reed.[95]
Knight aligned himself with Ted DiBiase on the May 25 episode of NXT after attacking Cameron Grimes during their segment.[96] This culminated in a ladder match between the two for the re-introduced Million Dollar Championship at TakeOver: In Your House on June 13,[97] which was won by Knight.[98] During the championship ceremony on the following episode of NXT, Knight turned on DiBiase, attacking him before being driven off by Grimes.[99] On the June 29 episode of NXT, Grimes challenged Knight for the title at The Great American Bash, which he accepted on the condition that if Grimes lost, he would become Knight's personal butler.[100][101] At The Great American Bash on July 6, Knight retained the title against Grimes, who became Knight's butler per the stipulation.[102] On the August 10 episode of NXT, Knight agreed to defend the championship against Grimes at NXT TakeOver 36 on the condition that DiBiase would replace Grimes as Knight's butler if Knight won.[103][104] At the event on August 22, Knight lost the title to Grimes following interference from DiBiase, ending his reign at 70 days.[105]
On the November 23 episode of NXT, Knight turned face by confronting Grayson Waller, who had turned heel by berating the fans.[106] At WarGames on December 5, Knight teamed with Johnny Gargano, Pete Dunne, and Tommaso Ciampa as Team Black & Gold,[107] where they were defeated by Team 2.0 (Bron Breakker, Carmelo Hayes, Waller, and Tony D'Angelo) in a WarGames match.[108] On March 8, 2022, at Roadblock, Knight lost to Waller in a Last Man Standing match.[109] The following week on NXT, he faced Dolph Ziggler for the NXT Championship in a losing effort.[110] After this, Knight started a brief feud with Gunther, culminating in a match at NXT Stand & Deliver on April 2, which he lost in what would be his final NXT match.[111][112]
Main roster beginnings (2022–2023)
Knight made his first main roster appearance on the January 24, 2022 episode of Raw, participating in a backstage segment with The Dirty Dawgs (Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode).[113] In a dark segment before the April 15 episode of SmackDown, Knight appeared as a heel manager by announcing his new stable, "Knight Model Management", and became the manager of Mace and Mansoor.[114][115] The angle went to television on the May 20 episode of SmackDown, when he made his televised debut on the brand under the ring name Max Dupri, adopting the character of a talent agent.[116] On the July 1 episode of SmackDown, Dupri announced Mace and Mansoor, under the tweaked names "ma.çé" and "mån.sôör", as Maximum Male Models.[117] Later that month, he was joined by his storyline sister Maxxine Dupri.[118] Dupri ended his relationship with Maximum Male Models on the September 30 episode of SmackDown.[119] The following week, he beat down Mace and Mansoor and reverted to his LA Knight persona.[120]
After a brief feud with Ricochet,[121] Knight became involved in a feud with Bray Wyatt in November and lost to Wyatt in a Mountain Dew Pitch Black match at the Royal Rumble on January 28, 2023; this was Wyatt's final WWE match before his death seven months later.[122][123][124]
Rise in popularity (2023–2024)
Over the next few months, Knight's popularity with fans began increasing despite his poor win-loss record and him being a heel.[125][126] On the June 2 episode of SmackDown, Knight defeated Montez Ford to qualify for the men's Money in the Bank ladder match.[127] At the namesake event on July 1, the match was won by Damian Priest, who threw Knight off the ladder to grab the briefcase.[128] On the July 28 episode of SmackDown, Knight was confirmed to be an entrant in the Slim Jim Battle Royal match at SummerSlam on August 5,[129] which he won by last eliminating Sheamus.[130] Two nights later on Raw, after months of performing as a tweener, he turned face when he began a feud with The Miz.[131] At Payback on September 2, Knight defeated Miz with John Cena as the surprise special guest referee.[132] Two weeks later on the September 15 episode of SmackDown, Knight defeated Miz in a rematch, ending their feud.[133]
On the September 29 episode of SmackDown, Knight assisted Cena against Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa of The Bloodline, replacing AJ Styles who had been injured by Jimmy and Solo.[134] At Fastlane on October 7, Knight and Cena defeated Jimmy and Solo after Knight pinned Uso.[135] Three days later, Knight returned to NXT as the special guest referee for the NXT Championship match between Ilja Dragunov and NXT North American Champion Dominik Mysterio.[136] Knight would then enter into a feud with Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, leading to a title match being announced for Crown Jewel on November 4,[137][138] where Knight lost to Reigns after interference from Jimmy.[139] At SmackDown: New Year's Revolution on January 5, 2024, Knight faced Randy Orton and Styles in a triple threat match to determine who would face Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at Royal Rumble, which ended in a no contest after The Bloodline took out all three competitors. SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis then announced that Reigns would defend his title in a fatal-four way match against Knight, Styles, and Orton at the Royal Rumble on January 27,[140] which Reigns won by pinning Styles.[141]
Knight competed in the men's Elimination Chamber match at the titular event on February 24, where he was eliminated by Drew McIntyre after Styles interrupted the match and attacked him.[142] On the March 15 episode of SmackDown, Knight challenged Styles to a match at WrestleMania XL, which Styles accepted.[143] On Night 2 of WrestleMania XL on April 7, Knight defeated Styles.[144] The following week on SmackDown, Knight participated in the Undisputed WWE Championship Eliminator Tournament, defeating Bobby Lashley and Santos Escobar in the semifinals.[145] Knight was defeated by Styles in the finals on the April 19 episode of SmackDown, ending their feud.[146] In May, Knight entered the King of the Ring tournament, defeating Santos Escobar in the first round at a live event in Chattanooga but lost to Tama Tonga in the quarterfinals.[147][148]
United States Champion (2024–present)
Knight then began a feud with United States Champion Logan Paul, who he pinned in a triple threat match on the June 28 episode of SmackDown to qualify for the Money in the Bank ladder match on July 6,[149][150] which was won by McIntyre.[151] At SummerSlam on August 3, Knight defeated Paul to win the United States Championship.[152] Throughout his reign, he successfully defended the title on SmackDown against Santos Escobar and Ludwig Kaiser[153][154] and in a triple threat match against Andrade and Carmelo Hayes at Crown Jewel on November 2.[155]
On the November 15 episode of SmackDown, Knight retained the title against Berto, after which he was attacked by a returning Shinsuke Nakamura.[156] At Survivor Series: WarGames on November 30, Knight lost the United States Championship to Nakamura, ending his reign at 119 days.[157] He received his rematch for the title on the January 10, 2025 episode of SmackDown, winning via disqualification after being attacked by Tama Tonga and Jacob Fatu of The Bloodline (led by Solo Sikoa, who replaced Reigns' leadership in mid-2024). However, Nakamura remained champion as titles do not change hands via disqualification unless stipulated.[158] At Royal Rumble on February 1, Knight entered his first Royal Rumble match at number 29, where he eliminated Damian Priest before being eliminated by the returning AJ Styles.[159] On the March 7 episode of SmackDown, Knight defeated Nakamura in a rematch to win his second United States Championship.[160]
Professional wrestling persona and popularity
Summarize
Perspective
Many fans have favorably likened Knight's brash gimmick and promo style to that of The Rock or "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, complimenting his recognizable catchphrases and considering his charismatic trash-talking character a throwback to the Attitude Era. The same comparison has also been made in a negative fashion, notably by former wrestler Kevin Nash.[161]
Knight began to gain a notable amount of popularity in early 2023; despite his feud with Bray Wyatt being written to re-establish the returning Wyatt as a monster character, Knight's ability to hold his own verbally throughout the feud led fans to start siding with him. In an interview with Chris Van Vliet, he stated that he first noticed how fast his popularity was growing when the crowd cheered loudly as his entrance music began upon walking out to confront Drew McIntyre and Sheamus on SmackDown on March 3, 2023.[162]
Since early 2023, fans and critics alike have been vocal about WWE's poor booking of Knight; this includes his high rate of losses since joining the main roster, not appearing at WrestleMania 39 despite WWE promising an "LA Knight moment" at the event, and losing the 2023 Money in the Bank ladder match after WWE acknowledged him as the clear favorite to win by allowing him more promo time than the other competitors in the weeks leading up to the match. Many former wrestlers and wrestling personalities, such as Konnan[163] and Jim Cornette,[164] have been critical of WWE's poor treatment of Knight and failure to capitalize on him despite his popularity continuing to grow among fans. Paul "Triple H" Levesque, WWE's chief content officer and the head of its creative team, acknowledged Knight's popularity during the Money in the Bank post-show press conference and said that "great things come to those who wait".[165] Cornette named Knight his "Wrestler of the Year" for 2023.[166]
Knight's overall presentation began to improve when he was elevated to main event scene following SummerSlam in August of 2023, as he entered a program with then-reigning Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and his family in the Bloodline. Following his and John Cena's victory over Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa, Knight would unsuccessfully challenge Reigns at both Crown Jewel and Royal Rumble, the latter of which also featured AJ Styles and Randy Orton.
Other media
Summarize
Perspective
In 2013, Ricker appeared on the TNT reality television show The Hero, hosted by Dwayne Johnson.[2]
In 2015, Ricker appeared in the Brooklyn Nine-Nine episode "Boyle-Linetti Wedding" in a non-speaking role as Mario, a male bodybuilder who is getting married in a gym with Detective Terry Jeffords (Terry Crews) officiating.[167]
In January 2020, Ricker shot scenes for the fourth season of the Netflix dramedy GLOW as a character named DJ Henderson, but the show was cancelled before the season could air.[168][169]
In 2021, Ricker appeared in a CarShield commercial as The Overcharger, a heel wrestler dressed like an automotive repair technician and defiantly bragging about how nobody can stop him from unfairly charging used-vehicle-owning customers for repair work. He is instantly struck down by Ric Flair, the ad campaign's star and pitchman.[170]
As well as voicing "Paragon Jay Pierce" in the MyRise mode of WWE 2K22, he performed the motion capture for other WWE wrestlers in many of the WWE 2K games.[171]
Video games
Personal life
Ricker has been in a relationship with fitness model Michelle Yavulla since 2018.[176] They have two dogs and reside in Orlando, Florida.[177]
On December 23, 2023, Ricker received the Key to the City in his hometown of Hagerstown, Maryland.[6]
Championships and accomplishments
- Championship Wrestling from Hollywood
- CWFH Heritage Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[178]
- NWA Heritage Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Brian Cage[9]
- Red Carpet Rumble (2013)[11]
- DDT Pro-Wrestling
- Empire Wrestling Federation
- ESPN
- Breakthrough Wrestler of the Year (2023)[181]
- Future Stars of Wrestling
- Heartland Wrestling Association
- Mach One Wrestling
- National Wrestling Alliance
- New York Post
- Male Breakout Wrestler of the Year (2023)[187]
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Most Improved Wrestler of the Year (2023)
- Ranked No. 27 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2024[188]
- Pro Wrestling Revolution
- PWR Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[189]
- Total Nonstop Action Wrestling / Impact Wrestling
- Impact World Championship (1 time)[190]
- Impact World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Scott Steiner[191]
- TNA King of the Mountain Championship (1 time)[192]
- Gauntlet for the Gold (2016, 2017 – Heavyweight)[193][194]
- Race for the Case (2017 – Red Case)[195]
- Feast or Fired (2016 – TNA King of the Mountain Championship contract)[196]
- Feast or Fired (2018 – Impact World Tag Team Championship contract)[197]
- Ultimate Championship Wrestling
- UCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[198]
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Worst Gimmick (2022) as part of Maximum Male Models[199]
- Worst Match of the Year (2023) vs. Bray Wyatt at Royal Rumble[200]
- WWE
References
External links
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.