LA Knight Calls Out The Rock; Cody Rhodes Defends Brock Lesnar; Ospreay Talks Future
August 29, 2023
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe and All Elite Wrestling.
Knight Wants to Mix It Up with The Rock
LA Knight is open to locking horns with a WWE legend who he has often been compared to during his recent ascent.
Knight has history with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, as he appeared on his reality show entitled The Hero in 2013, and many parallels have been drawn between them in recent months as fans have gotten firmly behind Knight.
Speaking to Joe Brophy of TalkSport this week, Knight was asked about possibly having a promo battle with The Rock on WWE programming at some point, to which he responded: "If that happens then we gotta do something physical, right?"
Knight alluded to the fact that The Rock got him with his famous, "It doesn't matter" catchphrase one time on The Hero, and he noted that he would like to exact some revenge: "I don't mind dropping the Rock on his head! I owe him one from about 10 years ago when he hit me with, 'It doesn't matter,' 10 years ago, so I owe him a little something."
Currently, Knight is embroiled in a rivalry with The Miz during which Miz has accused Knight of being a cheap imitation of Attitude Era stars such as The Rock and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.
On Monday night's episode of Raw, The Miz dressed up like Knight and impersonated him on the mic to show how "easy" it was to appeal to the fans.
At WWE Payback on Saturday, Knight and The Miz will clash with bragging rights on the line.
A segment or match with The Rock may be a dream scenario for Knight, but with the SAG-AFTRA strike in Hollywood compelling John Cena to return to WWE for an extended run, it may not be outside the realm of possibility that The Rock could show up in the near future as well.
Rhodes Talks Lesnar's Reputation Among Fans
Fresh off his rivalry and series of matches with Brock Lesnar, Cody Rhodes cleared up a common misconception regarding The Beast Incarnate this week.
During an appearance on After The Bell (h/t WrestlingInc's Eric Mutter), Rhodes shot down the notion that Lesnar doesn't have a love for pro wrestling and is only in it for the money:
"Every one of us has a perception and a reputation in the space that we're in, in the sports entertainment/wrestling space. There are people who think they know us personally, and describe events as if they were there. I'm not complaining about it, it's the nature of fame. There's a deep connection. I believe he [Lesnar] has a reputation that is incorrect, in terms of the type of person he is, as far as, 'Does he even like wrestling? Does he care about wrestling? How professional? Does he train?' All of this.
"You don't get to be where he's at unless you are very, very passionate about this. And I like the idea that ... I've never spoken to him, we aren't friends. But I like the idea that he's fine with this reputation."
Since returning to WWE in 2012, Lesnar has largely worked a part-time schedule, making sporadic appearances, wrestling at big events and then taking an extended period of time off.
Because of that, a portion of the wrestling fanbase has often questioned Lesnar's passion and wondered if he just comes around to collect a paycheck.
While financial compensation is undoubtedly a big reason why Lesnar has stuck around for so long, it is clear that he also takes pride in his performances based on how entertaining he has consistently been when in the fold.
Brock's rivalry with Cody was a perfect example, as they clashed in three quality matches, including the best of the bunch at SummerSlam.
Lesnar was dominant in that match, but he also made Rhodes look great and put him over in a big way taking the loss and shaking The American Nightmare's hand afterward.
Ospreay to Consider All Options After NJPW
Will Ospreay isn't ruling out anything ahead of the impending expiration of his New Japan Pro-Wrestling contract.
Ospreay told Christopher Walker of DAZN in April that his NJPW contract is up in February 2024, meaning he will be free to potentially sign with AEW or WWE when the time comes.
While Ospreay has already worked extensively with AEW, perhaps making it the leader in the clubhouse to sign him, it sounds as though Ospreay will give consideration to WWE and other potentially interested parties as well.
During an interview with Cultaholic (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), Ospreay said: "I'm open to all options, that's all I can say."
AEW has a working relationship with NJPW, which has led to the former IWGP world heavyweight champion working multiple matches for AEW.
Most recently, Ospreay defeated Chris Jericho at All In over the weekend in London, taking down one of the all-time greats in his home country of England.
There are many more huge matches possibly on the horizon for Ospreay in AEW, but there is no shortage of dream matches available to him in WWE as well, including bouts with Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, among others.
Ospreay is widely regarded as one of the best in-ring workers in the world, and it is fair to assume that every major wrestling company would love the opportunity to sign him.
Ospreay seemingly realizes that there will be wide-ranging interest, which is why keeping his options open is a wise move.
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