LA Knight is an extremely popular name in the world of pro wrestling. While Knight is currently a part of WWE, he has previously performed in several wrestling promotions. Also, Knight has been seen performing various roles throughout his career. Among all the roles, one was Knight’s role as Max Dupri. With that, fans often wonder what happened to the Max Dupri gimmick of LA Knight.
Previously, LA Knight became a part of WWE in 2013, but he was released one year later. Following that, Knight made his return to the Stamford-based promotion in 2021. A year later, he made his main roster debut and was given the role of Max Dupri. He acted as a manager, leading the group Maximum Male Models. In addition to that, he was featured as the brother of Maxxine Dupri.
However, Knight soon ended his relationship with the group and went on to channel his LA Knight persona. With that, the fan-favorite Superstar previously talked about dropping the Max Dupri gimmick and parting ways with Maximum Male Models and Maxxine Dupri.
While appearing for an interview, Knight said, “There was an NXT built-in audience that knew who LA Knight was. So now here comes this other character being introduced, and so for those people, it was like, ‘Wait, what is this?'” But when you look at the numbers of a ‘SmackDown’ audience, for a large swath of those people, they are seeing me for the first time“.
He added, “So I could’ve been Joe Shmoe for all it matters. In a strange sense, that would have actually worked just because three-quarters of that audience is seeing me for the first time regardless of who I am. At the same time though, I think there is a matter of the shoe fitting and not“.
Thus, it seems Knight dropped the gimmick because, according to him, it was not fitting him, and he also miserably failed to connect with the fans. Meanwhile, he is currently performing under his LA Knight persona and is extremely adored by his beloved fans.
What happened after LA Knight dropped the Max Dupri gimmick?
LA Knight previously took the decision to drop the Max Dupri role and go ahead with his current persona. It might have been the best decision taken by Knight. This is because, after he left his manager role behind, he rose to prominence. His promo delivery skills became extremely popular among the fans, and he went on to become one of the top Superstars in WWE.
Gradually, Knight was seen participating in several pay-per-view events. Previously, Knight defeated The Miz at Payback. In addition to that, he was also acknowledged by WWE legend John Cena after his match.
Moving ahead, Knight recently teamed up with John Cena at Fastlane 2023 to defeat the team of Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa. As of now, Knight is currently engaged in a feud with the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, Roman Reigns.
Thus, it can be understood that Knight became unstoppable after he quit his Max Dupri persona and took up his current role. He gradually rose to the ranks and is now involved in a storyline with one of the biggest superstars in WWE. With that, it now remains to be seen what lies ahead for the fan-favorite Superstar in the upcoming days. Also, fans would look forward to the outcome of Knight’s feud with Roman Reigns.