Posted in: Interview, Sports, TV, WWE | Tagged: Bray Wyatt, interview, LA Knight, Mountain Dew, Royal Rumble, wrestling, wwe

WWE's LA Knight Chats About The Royal Rumble Pitch Black Match

We got to chat briefly with LA Knight about his upcoming match with Bray Wyatt at the 2023 Royal Rumble, as well as a few other topics.

WWE's Royal Rumble happens this evening, and one of the big matches promoted for the event is the Mountain Dew Pitch Black Match with LA Knight and Bray Wyatt. One of the few singles matches on the card; it marks not only the return of Wyatt to the ring since he came back, but also one of the biggest matches Knight will have in WWE since coming up to the main roster from NXT. The Mountain Dew-sponsored match will be the first of its kind for the company; however, no one is even really sure what it is yet. Nor will we really know until the match happens tonight on Peacock. Before the event, we had a chance to chat briefly with Knight about the match, as well as his time on the main roster and a few other topics.

BC: How does it feel coming back as LA Knight on the main roster?

Knight: It feels right because it is right. It's really the only way to go, the only way to be. With my original introduction to the main roster… You know, you get told a lot of things, and some of those things are, "you know, to be legit, sometimes you got to be this or you got to be that." I'm not above finding a way to get to where I want to be. But at the end of the day, at some point, I'm going to shine through as me. I couldn't help that, and eventually, there was no other way to go than have LA Knight back on the main roster.

You've had a pretty lengthy career working for several other companies, very decorated and traveled. What's your time been like so far in WWE, not just for NXT and the main roster, but WWE as a whole?

It's been really good. I mean, you're talking about now such a long road, and I don't say that in any kind of a complaining way. I've had a fun, wild ride! I was broke for the first ten years of me doing this all through my 20s, and then things kind of worked for me a little bit better. Now being in the WWE, doing my thing, and being recognized—because I mean, for years I was always working as though WWE was watching me. And whether they were or they weren't, I have no idea. Chances are they probably weren't because most of the places I was at weren't a whole lot of eyes on those things. So in my head it was always like, just in case, just in case they are watching, I'm going to make sure I'm always at my peak. So now to actually be putting that into practice and actually now be doing that has been an incredible transition. It's been a crazy ride, and I've got a good feeling we're just getting started at this point. And it's a hell of a way to get it started when you're talking about the Royal Rumble and the first-ever Mountain Dew Pitch Black Magic.

Speaking of that, what was the thought on your mind when they said that you were going to be working with Bray, and it's going to be one of his first matches back?

Well, you're talking about a guy that I don't even think a lot of people knew was going to come back or didn't think was going to come back, and then eventually, here he is. One of the biggest anticipated returns; people were excited for him and whatnot. And then you just look at the idea that if he's going to walk into my sphere, this is a great opportunity for me to make the most of this, make a whole lot of noise with it. Whether that's at his expense, at anybody's expense, or, you know, whatever, we're going to find out. Because I think this Saturday, with Pitch Black, I don't know what to expect and I don't think anybody really knows. You probably had questions. What's it going to be? What is the Pitch Black Match? In all honesty, I've got very little detail. I don't know, but I'm just geared up for a fight at this point. So Bray and I, as far as I know, are going to be scrapping.

That is one of my questions, because what we've read and heard online is just the idea of like, "Oh, it's going to be a match with black lights and some other effect going in" along with all the promotion for it. How do you prepare for that kind of match where you kind of know what you're going into, but at the same time, there's an element that you have no idea what the presentation is going to be like?

Man, I feel like you just defined my entire career! Because you never know what's coming around the corner, you never know what's there. You just kind of always got to stay ready, be prepared for anything in a certain sense. And that's kind of the mindset I'm in, kind of the mindset you got to be if you're going to go anywhere and do anything in this. So for me, it's just kind of like I said, I'm preparing for just a straight-up fight. So when it comes to it on Saturday, I've got a good feeling that's what you're going to see, because I'm not going there for anything else.

Speaking of the Rumble, any chances of being a surprise entrant later on in the evening?

You know, that's funny; I thought about that. I'm thinking, "it's the Royal Rumble! I'd love to be in that match!" But at the same time, I don't know because, again, nobody knows what to expect out of the Mountain Dew Pitch Black Match. So you've got to be thinking, okay, how physical is it going to get? How crazy is it going to get? Are either of these guys going to be in any kind of shape to enter the Royal Rumble? So at this point, there's no declaration for it from me; I don't know about him because, again, it's kind of how are things going to be at the end of that? But who knows? Never say never.

What are you looking forward to going into 2023?

Well, I don't know. I mean, we started off 2023 pretty damn strong at this point. My Raw debut was on the 30th Anniversary, right there talking trash to The Undertaker. You come around to my first Royal Rumble, and in my eyes, that's the second big event of the year, second only to WrestleMania. Having the first ever Pitch Black Match there. Looking toward WrestleMania… LA Knight, WrestleMania is in L.A.,  2023 has got some big implications here. Like I said, you stay ready for anything.

I'm kind of curious, both as a wrestler and a fan, how was that seeing Undertaker come back as the American Badass and nearly getting a chokeslam?

When we come down to it, it's kind of a crazy moment that kind of goes full circle. As was pointed out to me, I didn't even think about this because I was so dialed in and focused on what I was doing; we both share a commonality. Which is that for years, The Undertaker was managed by Paul Bearer; I was managed by Paul Bearer for three years from 2010 to 2013. Afterward I got back to my phone and saw that [Sean Ross] Sapp or somebody said something about, "interesting fact about The Undertaker and LA Knight…" And it was the picture of me with him in 2013 and the picture of the Undertaker. It was pretty crazy just to think, wow, that's major full circle ten years later, to have that kind of almost closing gaps. It was big.

Awesome! Thank you so much for having a quick chat, best of luck and much fun this coming Saturday. We look forward to watching it and hope you have fun doing it.

Everybody out there, make sure you watching! We're on Peacock, at eight o'clock for the Royal Rumble, the Pitch Black Match by Mountain Dew. It is going to be one hell of a night, for sure. Whose game is it? You already know.

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