The Money in the Bank premium live event represents the biggest opportunity for superstars to earn a world championship shot and even win a title on the same night.
It’s the luck of the draw. For six men and six women, all they have to do is climb the ladder, grab the briefcase and get the contract for a title match at any time. For others, the deck has been stacked against them for so long that the path to glory is more of a mirage than reality.
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LA Knight won’t need a ladder on Saturday night. He won’t need to climb a mountain, either. All he will have to do is flip table in where Roman Reigns resides as the head of and win the World Heavyweight Championship. It’s easier to say and type that than it will be to complete the task. Reigns has been the world champion since he defeated CM Punk at WrestleMania 42. Reigns declared he would not be taking any time off and with that, he knocked down any challenger that has come forth.
It truly feels like it’s now or never for LA Knight.
Knight’s popularity rose in 2023. The LA summer propelled him into a top babyface but even after challenging Reigns for the title, he could never find a way to beat him. To Knight, he has been screwed out of those opportunities thanks to The Bloodline – Reigns’ faction of family members who have had his back through thick and thin. Jimmy Uso was the culprit who cost Knight the title at Crown Jewel in 2023. Knight was then thrust into a fatal four-way match at Royal Rumble 2024. Reigns pinned AJ Styles to retain the Undisputed WWE Championship at the time.
Knight’s pursuits shifted after that. He defeated Logan Paul at SummerSlam 2024 and later lost it to Shinsuke Nakamura at Survivor Series: War Games more than 100 days later. But the odor of The Bloodline continued to linger even if it was Solo Sikoa who took over as the makeshift leader for a period of time.
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He had to fight, claw and even team with members of The Bloodline before getting back to Reigns. It was in Paris earlier this summer when Knight declared himself “unchosen” and put himself back on the path of the world heavyweight title.
“I may be unchosen, but every single one of you chose me,” Knight said at the time. “And more importantly than any of that, I chose myself, which means I do it my way, which means I get the job done. And I make you one single, solitary promise, which is I don’t know how to quit. I don’t know how to stop. I can’t stop the undeniable kavorka and I can’t stop being L.A. Knight.”
Doing it his way meant teaming with Sikoa and Royce Keys to topple Jimmy and Jey Uso and Jacob Fatu at SummerSlam in August. It meant waiting for Reigns to retain his title that same night. It meant waiting for the winner of Reigns vs. Penta in Mexico City last month.
Now, the wait is over. It’s now or never for Knight. If this doesn’t feel like the peak of what Knight is able to accomplish, then I’m not sure what is. He is among the most popular wrestlers on the WWE roster. He has the crowd behind him. He just needs the trigger pulled.
Knight said it himself on TMZ’s “Inside the Ring.”
“So many people ask, like, how has LA Knight not been world champion yet?” he said. “It’s almost like, put up or shut up, do or die. This is the time to do it. And if it doesn’t happen here, it’s just kind of like, where do I go from here?”
It’s the big question that looms over Knight should he lose. There will be a new contender coming out of the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match immediately. The Raw roster is filled with championship-level talent, including Keys, Oba Femi and Bronson Reed outside those on the brand who are in the ladder match (Bron Breakker, Penta, Je’Von Evans).
Saturday night could very well be Knight’s last chance to win the title. Knight’s fans will be watching with bated breath to see if he can pull through. Luckily, there was at least one person on the record pulling for him – WWE Hall of Famer Diamond Dallas Page.
Page told OutKick Dropkick he was putting it into the universe that Knight will win.
“I would love to see that. I would love to see that … LA and I have been, because of our careers, even though he started wrestling in his 20s, our career took off in our 40s and I would love to see that. Do I believe it’s going to happen? I’m going to say yes because I want it to be out in the universe for LA,” Page said in a recent interview, on behalf of Gambling.com, the guide to the best online sportsbooks.
We all will have to wait and see if the odds are in his favor.
Knight has made a point to say in recent weeks, almost commendable, that Reigns has been able to defend his title without the help of The Bloodline. Reigns sent The Usos on a quest to keep Fatu in line but with the emergence of the 946 – things have gone completely off the rails.
Keys, Bronco Nima and Lucien Price have sent pointed messages to The Usos and Fatu, which led to an all-out brawl. Jaida Parker then ran over Fatu with her car and signaled her allegiance to the 946. With The Bloodline preoccupied and Reigns seemingly rescuing Sikoa from the 946, one has to wonder whether the 946 will enter the fray.
Putting my fantasy book cap on for a second, I can see two other routes the World Heavyweight Championship match could go.
The first possibility is that Knight gets help from the 946. Keys could definitely cost Reigns the title, evolving the feud into November’s Survivor Series: WarGames. A branch from that could be Knight joining the 946. Let’s keep our antenna up for that just in case.
The other possibility is Sikoa screwing Knight over despite their supposed friendship. The two have cozied up over the last few months. But Knight made clear he really didn’t want to get into any of the 946 business.
Sikoa costing Knight and returning to The Bloodline as the “enforcer” is a real possibility. If Knight does lose on Saturday, that’s likely where his storyline will go. Did your lightbulb go off while reading that? Yeah, mine did too.
Whatever the case may be, Money in the Bank has the potential to be really chaotic.
