Summary
If fan-pushed rumors were to be believed, the Summerslam Battle Royal winner will join the United States Championship title match between Santos Escobar and Austin Theory taking place on Smackdown the week after. Those ideas posit LA Knight winning the Battle Royal and then taking the title from Theory, really only showing how popular LA Knight has become. While always a workhorse forWWE, one could describe his relatively recent rise in popularity as meteoric, andWWE 2K24would be wise to take advantage of this, if it could.
WWE 2K24has not been announced yet, but it’s an annualized franchise. In other words, chances are that major decisions like the cover star and Showcase mode have been made. However, if possible, a quick pivot to LA Knight would likely be beneficial for the wrestling game. Sure, there’s an argument to be made thatThe Bloodline or Judgment Day deserve to be onWWE 2K24’s cover, but LA Knight would be a welcomed surprise.
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LA Knight: The YEAH! Movement
There are plenty of reasons to put LA Knight on the cover, but obviously, the biggest thing is his explosive popularity. In recent months, fans have pushed and pushed for him to get better matches, title shots, and more. Part of this is no doubt because of his excellent promo skills, and the Superstar has truly bounced back from the lackluster Mountain Dew Pitch Black match at the Royal Rumble. His promo skills and the YEAH! Movement, as it has been called, have recently seen LA Knight dominate merch sales on the WWE website. If his sales there are good, especially givencompetition like Cody Rhodes, The Bloodline, and Judgment Day, then his popularity might netWWE 2K24a few extra sales too.
Not to mention, “YEAH!” is basically begging to be a tagline for aWWEgame. His Showcase Mode could feature his promo skills in between matches that explore his history, such as his NXT matches against Cameron Grimes, his Last Man Standing Match against Waller, his Standard & Deliver match against Gunther, and so forth. One could argue that he has fewer definitive matches than other potential superstars, but if featuringJohn Cena’s losses in hisWWE 2K23Showcase Modewas a demonstration of Visual Concepts' creativity, the same creativity could be applied to LA Knight. For example, perhaps the game could feature some of his favorite matches throughout history and why they made him want to become a WWE Superstar (especially given the meme of LA Knight being just about everywhere in wrestling history) or perhaps lean into some imaginative matches against Stone Cold or The Rock, given recent discussions about these collective superstars.
Including his NXT matches could align with WWE goals, too. It’s very clear that WWE is trying to elevate NXT to the same status as Raw or Smackdown, especially given the Judgment Day’s time there and Dirty Dom’s North American championship victory. Featuring LA Knight inWWE 2K24would be beneficial for the game, but also in the push for LA Knight and NXT. Everyone wins.
One could also argue that LA Knight’s best days are ahead of him, given his popularity. Many believe that WWE is in a holding pattern with the intent to give LA Knight a genuine push in the future.WWE 2K24could get ahead of the game and put the YEAH! superstar front and center there. If not, then any early discussions regardingWWE 2K25would be wise to bring upLA Knight.
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