Few superstars in WWE are getting over right now as much as LA Knight. The 40-year-old has had a long road on his path to stardom. He spent most of his career in smaller promotions like IMPACT Wrestling and NWA as Eli Drake, before joining NXT in 2021 and taking the LA Knight moniker. While he always played a heel in NXT and was never quite at the top of the card very long, he impressed fans with his outstanding promos, with his tone and cadence reminding many of past WWE promo heavyweights "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and The Rock.

When Knight joined the WWE main roster on SmackDown last year, Vince McMahon saw an aging star who was better off as a manager. Hence, Max Durpi, the spokesman for Maximum Male Models, was born. Thankfully, when Triple H took over creative control, LA Knight was resurrected. Though still working as a heel, week after week, SmackDown fans started to turn, with boos becoming cheers, and chants of "Yeah!" echoing throughout arenas. LA Knight is super over with fans right now, but one WWE legend isn't impressed.

On his Kliq This podcast, Kevin Nash spoke about LA Knight's rise. “Am I the only one that sees like an absolute rip off of The Rock to the point when he cut the promo on fu**ing Logan Paul or whatever the fu** his name is. The only thing he didn't do is turn the motherfu**er sideways. Jesus Christ, does everybody have amnesia? There’s nothing original.” (h/t WrestlingNews.co)

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LA Knight Is Aware Of Comparisons To The Rock

Though Nash's criticism is more than a bit harsh, it is easy to see the influence of The Rock, as well as Steve Austin, in LA Knight's promos. The tone is similar, but rather than being seen as a rip off of those legends, fans have embraced Knight due to the energy behind his words. Promos in this wrestling era have become increasingly dull when it comes to most wrestlers. WWE fans pay attention to Knight because he pulls them in and tells a story.

That doesn't mean LA Knight is oblivious. He knows that people compare his mic work to The Great One and Stone Cold. He was even asked about it last week on Cheap Heat. LA Knight replied, “Are there similarities? Sure there are. There is Kobe [Bryant] to [Michael] Jordan, those kinds of comparisons. If you want to make me the Kobe to their Jordan, I’ll take it.”

One name from the past might not like LA Knight, but the massive ovations he gets anywhere he goes, despite not getting a big push, shows that Knight is doing something right. He is connecting with fans on a level few wrestlers have in a very long time.