LA Knight won The Slim Jim Battle Royal at SummerSlam and got what had to be one of the biggest pops for a meaningless gimmick match in the history of wrestling. Given his prior booking, WWE fans were euphoric about The Megastar finally winning a match at a premium live event, and the talk immediately turned to how Triple H and company would continue his push. Would he go after Austin Theory’s United States Championship? Would he be elevated to the main event and start feuding with someone like Seth Rollns? Well, we got our answer on Monday. It looks like he’ll be feuding with The Miz.
I suspect some fans may have groaned when they saw it teased early on Raw with a photoshoot interaction between the two superstars, but later in the show, they delivered an absolutely fabulous promo battle that left both men looking better than when they came in. For about five minutes, they went back and forth, blurring the lines between a work and a shoot, with The Miz calling LA Knight an Attitude Era fanboy cosplaying in his ring and Knight saying The Miz has only been pushed for two decades because he’s a safe choice management can push around.
It was great work from both men that was universally praised on social media, and it has me really fired up for what could be one of the best feuds of the year, even if there’s not a single title involved. Here are 3 reasons why working together is exactly what both men need right now…
LA Knight Can Use The Miz To Help Him Make A Deeper Connection With Fans
LA Knight has built an incredible connection with fans over a very short period of time, but much of that connection has relied on his natural charisma and catchphrases. Most of his promos have been short outbursts in which he’s insulted his opponents and then interacted with the crowd. That’s a great recipe to build a superficial connection with fans, but if you want to be a performer working main events, you need to be able to talk to the audience on a more authentic and human level. It can’t all be pizzazz.
There is no one WWE employs who is better able to help him do that than The Miz. It already started in their first promo battle. Did you see how The Miz teed him up during his rant by going over all his own accolades and then asking what he’s been doing for the last twenty years? That allowed LA Knight to humanize himself in a very on-topic and plot relevant way. Expect to see more of that. The Miz is good enough on the mic where he can get himself over but also put his opponent in the best possible position to succeed. And right now, what LA Knight needs to go from flavor of the month to long-term megastar is more opportunities to talk about his hard luck story without seeming like he’s looking for sympathy. Everytime The Miz insults him and references how he hasn’t accomplished anything, it lets him do that.
The Miz Needs A Real Feud To Remind Everyone How Good He Is
The Miz is a first ballot Hall of Famer and one of the greatest talkers and mid-card guys ever. Like a prime Ted DiBiase, he’s able to carve out his own space to be interesting or he’s able to elevate himself to work alongside the main eventers. He can do it all, and I’m happy that most people have really learned to appreciate him and all he’s done the last few years. But he really needs something important to do right now. The last meaningful storyline he had was with Logan Paul in mid-2022. He absolutely crushed his work there and helped lead the talented podcaster through his first match, but in the time since, it’s been a lot of putting other people over in random TV losses.
Right now, The Miz is still able to generate boos and crowd responses, despite having almost nothing to do. But that doesn’t mean that’s the best way to use him. He’s at his best when he’s involved in an extended feud opposite someone else the audience cares about. That’s LA Knight, and while the primary purpose of this feud will almost certainly be for him to put LA Knight over, if done right, it’ll also be a reminder to the audience of how skilled The Miz is. He needs to have a few more title reigns in his future, and hopefully, being involved with the hottest performer on the roster will help make that happen.
They’re The Best Two Guys WWE Has On The Mic
Fans talk all the time about how much fun it is to watch two legends work together. Two really talented performers can push each other to bring something extra out, something fantastic that would never come if they weren’t working with another all-time great. That dynamic normally plays itself out inside the ring, but here, we’re talking about two of the best charisma and promo guys in the business. If WWE gives them time and lets them cook, they could challenge and elevate each other. They could find some new creative inspiration that wouldn’t have come out if they were working with anyone else on the roster.
Their first promo battle on Raw was one of my favorites I’ve seen in a long time. Some fans on Twitter were even calling it a possible segment of the year candidate. I’m fired up about seeing them go to war a few more times, and I’m optimistic they’ll both emerge from this feud even sharper on the mic than they were when they went in.
