LA Knight has had plenty of setbacks throughout the course of his pro wrestling career - and the loss to Roman Reigns at the WWE Crown Jewel premium live event will only add further fuel to the fire.
The 41-year-old, who just celebrated his birthday prior to the event in Saudi Arabia, has enjoyed a meteoric and organic rise to the top of WWE this year, culminating in the bout with the undisputed champ on Saturday.
Knight has gone from a lower-card talent to a genuine main-event attraction in the space of six months, with his catchphrase-heavy promo style and explosive in-ring style garnering the adoration of fans across the globe.
However, the roadblock that came his way in Riyadh was a similar fate to that of Cody Rhodes and Sami Zayn earlier this year -- and the real challenge for Knight will be keeping his momentum and bouncing back from the loss.
MORE: Logan Paul claims first WWE championship at Crown Jewel
WWE superstar LA Knight ready to deal with latest setback
Speaking to The Sporting News prior to the event, Knight explained his mindset in dealing with adversity and why age is just a number for the man they call the 'megastar' inside the squared circle.
“It’s part of the business, you’re gonna face setbacks," he said.
"This business is a fickle mistress and you can love her, but a lot of times she doesn’t love you back. With that in mind, you kind of just keep doing your thing, keep pushing on and keep pressing on.
"In the summer of 2020, I was sure my career was just over – everything had shut down, I was on the outside, I just thought there was no way.
"People make a big deal about my age but my age doesn’t really make a difference because of the way I take care of myself… I’ve kept myself a pretty damn young version of my age.
"I don’t wrestle a crazy or risky style, occasionally I’ll take a big risk, but for the most part I kind of work smart and I want to make my stuff effective, more than flashy.
"There’s always gonna be setbacks and you’ve always got to keep trusting in yourself – some people say trust the process, but what is the process? This is such a strange business… a lot of times, it’s just trusting yourself."
A 20-year veteran in the wrestling industry, Knight bounced around the independent scene and working for US-based promotions such as IMPACT and NWA throughout the past decade, before signing with WWE in 2021.
Since making his way through the developmental system of NXT and overcoming a tough stretch on SmackDown, Knight has become a reliable babyface star and has now shared the screen with some of WWE's biggest names.
From tussling with Reigns and his Bloodline faction to teaming with the 16-time world champion John Cena on-screen, the Maryland native has learnt plenty of lessons that will hold him in good stead moving forward.
“At some point, I was sitting down with Cena and we had a little chat with some different things… very common sense stuff as far as what we do in this business," Knight said.
"Sometimes the most common sense stuff is right under your nose and kind of alludes you for one reason or another.
"Having that conversation – I don’t want to get into the details – shone a light on some things and I feel like this is opening up a whole new part of my game. I don’t know that it’s anything people will notice outright, but I notice it.
“Let’s look at what Roman has done, he’s earned that [part-time schedule]... the fact that he’s able to go and wrestle limited dates and what not, he has earned every right to do that.
"I want to go ahead and take a little chunk out of that, take my own right and make myself that own special attraction."
WWE continue to travel the globe with Saudi, Australia shows
While they might be an American-based promotion historically, the global footprint of WWE has continued to grow in recent years and it will go to another level
After the success of their trips to England and Saudi Arabia throughout 2023, WWE will now hold one of their marquee events - Elimination Chamber - in Australia next year.
“Pre-sales are coming up not too long from now and I would imagine those tickets are gonna go quick," Knight said.
"Coming there, sold-out arena, Elimination Chamber and with the way things have been happening, who knows where I show up on the card?
"There’s all that travel… it’s all worth it by the time you get there, you get in that place and the building is full and now you get to go in and do your thing."
Click here for the full details on Elimination Chamber in Perth next February.
