Kevin Knight’s AEW Signing: Backstage Update Reveals How It All Went Down

Kevin Knight may be officially All Elite now, but getting there wasn’t simple. A new report reveals that AEW wasn’t his only option—and the road to his debut involved NJPW, TNA, MLW, and serious WWE interest.

Fightful Select dropped the details: Knight’s contract with NJPW expired during Wrestle Kingdom week in early January. While NJPW wanted to keep him, sources expected Knight to head stateside, eyeing a major deal in the U.S. wrestling scene.

In early February, Knight met with Tony Khan and Rocky Romero, right before working an ROH taping against AR Fox. At the same time, he was also looking to speak with WWE—and PWInsider reported he had an “invited WWE tryout.”

Whether or not he showed up at the PC is still unclear, but WWE knew who he was. One longtime staffer at the Performance Center told Fightful, “I’m not sure what more they needed to see. He wrestled in New Japan, CMLL, AEW, Ring of Honor, MLW and TNA. There are looks at this guy on every other stage but ours. Glad we were at least trying though.”

Sources confirmed WWE had interest, and Knight likely would’ve been slotted into NXT had he signed.

Meanwhile, folks in TNA and MLW believed WWE was the only real threat to land him. Knight had worked seven TNA matches from January to March last year and had four MLW dates between September and November—but none of those turned into full-time deals.

AEW’s offer won out, and Knight made his official debut on the March 29 episode of AEW Collision in a match against Jay White. After the bell, Tony Khan made it public: Kevin Knight is All Elite.