Roman Reigns and LA Knight’s heated promo battle on the final RAW before Money in the Bank didn’t just get fans talking. According to a new report, it also had plenty of people behind the scenes in WWE talking after the show went off the air.
During the October 5 edition of RAW, Knight confronted the World Heavyweight Champion ahead of their title match, taking shots at Reigns and promising to leave Money in the Bank with the championship. Reigns fired back by accusing Knight of disrespecting his family, reminding him of the attack in Mexico after his match with Penta, and making it clear he didn’t believe Knight belonged on his level.
According to WrestleVotes Radio on Fightful Select, the segment received “considerable acclaim” internally after the show.
“We’re hearing considerable acclaim coming out of the promo segment between Roman Reigns and L.A. Knight on the Money in the Bank go-home episode of Monday Night Raw.”
The report says several WWE officials, including people backstage and within production, came away particularly impressed with Reigns’ performance. The biggest talking point wasn’t what Reigns said, but how he said it.
“A source stated that a number of officials, both backstage and within production, were particularly impressed with Reigns’ back-and-forth with Knight, specifically pointing to the level of emotion Reigns was showing, which is something at times he has been known to be more reserved about.”
According to WrestleVotes, the positive reaction went beyond simply praising the segment. WWE officials had genuine discussions afterwards about whether that version of Reigns should be used more often in the right situations.
“We’re told the reaction internally was strong enough that there were genuine discussions about how effective that version of Reigns could be moving forward in the appropriate setting.”
Reigns has built his current run on being calm, calculated and in control, but this promo showed a different side of him. If the backstage reaction is anything to go by, don’t be surprised if WWE leans into that added emotion again whenever the story calls for it.
What did you think of Roman Reigns and LA Knight’s promo battle? Let us know in the comments below.
