LA Knight Went Off Script on SmackDown During Drew McIntyre Promo—Here’s Why

LA Knight’s promo skills are what brought him to the dance in the first place and that was on full display during his promo on the February 7 edition of SmackDown where he cut a promo on Drew McIntyre. It appears that Knight actually went off script in the promo and he has now explained why that’s the case.

While speaking to Gorilla Position, LA Knight was asked about the promo where he went off script, telling the audience that it’s okay to cry for mental health and that it doesn’t make anyone less of a man.

Knight explained that sometimes he experiences a crisis of conscience regarding certain things, especially knowing that people watching TV may look up to and emulate what they see and said he wanted to be a positive influence.

Knight reflected on the moment, explaining that he was considering making fun of someone for crying, but felt that making fun of a man for crying seemed backwards. He felt it was important to clarify upfront that crying, when it’s necessary and real, should never be something to feel ashamed of. He emphasized that he wasn’t shaming men for crying in general.

“Sometimes I have a bit of a crisis of conscience about certain things. I know that people who are watching through the TV want to emulate the people that they see on TV sometimes and they want to maybe aspire to be those people. Now, whether that’s me or not, I can’t speak to that. I can’t speak for those people. But if that is a thing, then I want to be kind of a positive thing. And I’m thinking to myself, ‘Okay, well, I’m going to go out here and make fun of this guy for figuratively crying, but to make fun of a man for crying feels very backwards to me.’

And so for me, it felt like, ‘Alright, let me caveat this or kind of disclaim this upfront. Yeah, with like, hey, look, here’s the deal: if you have to cry and it’s something like legit, and whatever, like do not feel ashamed of that. When I say this thing I’m about to say, I’m not shaming men as a whole for crying, ever, ever, ever.'”

However, Knight also wanted to point out that there is a point where it can go too far, and at that point, a little shame might be needed. He made sure to clarify that his intention was to avoid confusing people with what he was saying.

“But then I’m able to take it and say, ‘But there is a point where it goes too far and now you need a little shame.’ Yeah, and so for me, it was just kind of like, let me make sure that I’m not mixing people up with what I’m about to say.”

LA Knight has also broken his silence on his Royal Rumble drama with Drew McIntyre as he made it clear there weren’t any major issues between the two. Regardless, Knight’s unscripted moment is an important reminder that even in wrestling, emotions and mental health should be respected and discussed openly. He made sure his promo struck the right balance and it’s safe to say he nailed it.

What do you think about LA Knight’s approach to mental health in wrestling? Do you feel like the conversation about mental health is progressing in WWE? Share your thoughts below, and feel free to leave your feedback!

Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.