AEW is throwing Kevin Knight straight into the deep end, and the company is not treating his World Championship match against Kenny Omega like some last-minute filler.
According to Fightful.com, several plans for the AEW Redemption pay-per-view were kept “close to the vest” until Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite. That is when AEW finally locked in three championship matches for the show.
Omega will defend the AEW World Championship against TNT Champion Kevin Knight, Kyle Fletcher will face Bandido for the AEW International Championship, and Mark Davis will defend the AEW National Championship against Andrade El Idolo.
AEW also announced that Chris Jericho will bring back his “Painmaker” persona for a match against Tommaso Ciampa.
The biggest move on the card is Knight jumping from the TNT Championship scene directly into a World Title match with Omega. It was noted that the idea of having the TNT Champion challenge for the AEW World Championship around this time of year has been planned for “quite some time.”
This is not being presented as a random one-night experiment either. Knight has been discussed internally for a major push that could include more matches with AEW’s biggest names, future top-level feuds and continued positioning near the World Championship picture. That does not mean everybody is convinced the match is strong enough to carry a pay-per-view.
Dave Meltzer questioned whether Omega vs. Knight has the name value fans expect from a PPV main event, although he acknowledged that putting Knight in this position could help AEW create a bigger star over time.
“This feels, in name value, like a television main event, but perhaps the company has so much goodwill that they can do okay because this does feel like a skippable event.”
Meltzer also argued that AEW may need to accept a weaker short-term attraction if the goal is to elevate Knight into a legitimate main-event player.
“On the positive side, sometimes when making a new superstar, you do have to sacrifice short-term for long-term. Even if Knight is likely losing—it would be insane for any other finish—at least he is in a pay-per-view World Title match, which positions him bigger.”
That is the gamble AEW is taking. Knight may not be the obvious pay-per-view challenger on paper, but putting him across the ring from Omega immediately tells fans the company sees more in him than another midcard titleholder.
The finish may feel predictable, especially with Omega expected to retain, but the match itself gives Knight a chance to prove he belongs in that spot. A strong performance could do more for him than months of beating lower-level opponents with no real direction.
AEW Redemption is now built around whether Kevin Knight can turn a match many fans expect him to lose into the night that changes his career.
Do you think Kevin Knight is ready for an AEW World Championship match against Kenny Omega, or does this feel more like a Dynamite main event than a pay-per-view headliner? Let us know what you think in the comments.
