LA Knight’s emotional reaction after losing to Roman Reigns at Money in the Bank has already struck a chord with fans. Now Jonathan Coachman has weighed in too, and let’s just say he thinks WWE made the wrong call.
After backstage footage surfaced showing Knight sitting alone at ringside looking absolutely crushed after coming up short in the World Heavyweight Championship match, Coachman shared the video on Twitter and admitted it was hard to watch. He said every wrestler dreams of becoming world champion, and believes Knight knew exactly what slipping away from him in that moment.
“I think all of our hearts are broken for LA Knight. When you are a pro wrestler, you have a couple of dreams. One of them is to be a World Heavyweight Champion. This man — look at his face. Yep, there it is, because he knows this is the last time they put his match on first, so you can have that. He is forced to watch the reason his match went on first.”
Coachman then brought up WrestleMania 18, pointing out that fans remember The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan far more than the actual main event between Triple H and Chris Jericho. He argued that WWE has always treated its world title as the most important prize, which made Knight opening the show—and then losing—even tougher to swallow.
“WrestleMania 18 — a lot of people forget that The Rock and Hulk Hogan was not the last match on the card. It was Triple H and Chris Jericho. Why? Because Triple H convinced Vince McMahon that the world title should be revered.”
From there, Coachman questioned why WWE didn’t finally pull the trigger on Knight. He praised Knight for consistently delivering every week and even claimed his match with Roman Reigns was one of the best WWE has produced in years.
“Now you got a guy, and if they would have done it — and this is what is driving us crazy — what would have hurt if you put the strap on this man right here, who shows up every week, cuts great matches and promos? He gave Roman the best match of the year, maybe the last five years. Yet, no matter what he does, they won’t put him on top, and that’s the reaction you get right here.”
Coachman also wondered where Knight goes from here. In his opinion, WWE missed the perfect opportunity to create a new top star while making Roman Reigns more of a special attraction instead of keeping things the same.
“So where does he go from here? As far as the elite level, there’s nowhere for him to go. So in the future, now you’ve got an unhappy and unmotivated talent instead of putting the strap on someone who shows up every week and then making Roman a special attraction. I just don’t understand why they continue to do the safe thing instead of doing the thing that will put so many other people in the mix. The world title out first — wow, that is adding insult to injury to this man, LA Knight.”
Coachman obviously isn’t booking WWE anymore, but his comments reflect what a lot of fans have been saying since Saturday night. It’ll be interesting to see whether WWE has a bigger plan for Knight, or if this was simply another missed opportunity.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
Do you agree with Jonathan Coachman that WWE should have put the World Heavyweight Championship on LA Knight? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.
