LA Knight should win Money in the Bank ’23
Winning WWE’s Money in the Bank match often elevates a performer to a new level in their careers. This year, LA Knight deserves that opportunity.
For anyone unfamiliar with how it all works, the yearly ladder matches feature multiple Superstars attempting to grab a briefcase from above the ring. Inside the briefcase is a contract for a world title match that can be cashed in at any moment, including after a long, grueling title defense from the champion — making the briefcase a valuable tool for pulling off surprise title changes.
This year’s match takes place in just a few weeks at the 02 Arena in London. The men’s field of competitors includes Ricochet, Shinsuke Nakamura, Santos Escobar, Butch, Damian Priest and the aforementioned Knight.
A case could be made for all six competitors to win the briefcase this year, but none more than LA Knight.
The former Eli Drake is a veteran wrestler. Prior to joining WWE, he made a name for himself in promotions such as Impact Wrestling and the NWA, and his connection with the crowd carried over to NXT once he debuted there in 2021.
Now, after over one year of being on WWE’s main roster, it’s easy to see why success has followed wherever he goes.
The 40-year-old was called up to the main roster in early 2022 as Max Dupri, a manager for Maximum Male Models, which was met with mixed reactions. Despite this not being his ideal role, he still managed to entertain as Dupri before eventually returning to his NXT persona LA Knight.
Knight then entered into a program with Bray Wyatt and appeared to be fodder for the returning main eventer. A guy who would simply get defeated in Wyatt’s return match at the Royal Rumble.
What happened instead, however, was that Knight caught the attention of the crowd and got over in the process. This has led to a surprising amount of support for a supposed bad guy.
Crowds have been chanting his name at arenas, even when he’s not in the ring, and the reaction has reverberated across the world. Just watch this clip from a WWE press conference in Saudi Arabia for proof.
These type of crowd reactions don’t come along every day. WWE should strike while the iron is hot and take advantage of the momentum, especially when you consider that in two recent instances, WWE disappointed a lot of diehard fans by having Roman Reigns defeat Sami Zayn with the title on the line in Montreal, as well as Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania.
Money in the Bank on July 1 is an opportunity for WWE to not make it three.
LA Knight is the perfect Money in the Bank holder. He’s on the cusp of breaking a glass ceiling that had been placed on him in the past and this could allow him to finally smash through. It would also give his character purpose on TV for months if they wanted to stretch it out that long.
As I said before, the MITB briefcase has elevated performers in need of that extra push for nearly 20 years. Superstars such as Edge, The Miz and Seth Rollins have become main eventers overnight following a surprise cash-in.
Out of everyone in this year’s match, LA Knight has the potential to do the same.
WWE should take advantage of that by strapping a rocket to his back and seeing what happens next. I guarantee they’ll be happy with the results.
Ryan Satin is a WWE analyst for FOX Sports. Satin previously appeared on FS1’s “WWE Backstage” and currently hosts a weekly podcast called “Out of Character” interviewing the top stars of WWE. Follow on Twitter @RyanSatin.
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