LA Knight Looks Back On Relationships With WWE Legends

Long before there was LA Knight, there was Shaun Ricker, a rising star in NWA's Championship Wrestling from Hollywood in the early 2010s. During this time, Ricker notably captured the NWA Heritage Tag Team Championships alongside Brian Cage. Additionally, he had the luxury of being guided by Paul Bearer (formerly known as Percy Pringle III), one of wrestling's most legendary managers. While appearing on "Casual Conversations with The Classic," Ricker, now in his current form as WWE's LA Knight, opened up about his relationship with the late icon.

"[He's] just a great dude, always having fun, just messing with people all the time," Knight said. "He always had goofy little nicknames for people and stuff like that. I know I've told a hundred people this story, but [when] other guys are doing promos, we do these pre-tape promos during the day before we got the show started, and he's over here showing his ass to people just trying to get them to break while they're in the middle of talking to the camera. He was always very easy to go to and like a real friend."

According to Knight, the relationship between he and Bearer began as strictly professional, but eventually evolved into a friendship as well, with Bearer being especially complimentary of Knight's work with the promotion. Knight noted that he also took the opportunity to learn from Bearer behind the scenes too, so much so that Bearer actually thanked him for asking for advice.

"[He's] just a great guy and I miss the hell out of him," Knight said of Bearer, who died in 2013.

Elsewhere in 2013, Knight partook in "The Hero," a reality competition show hosted by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Knight's tenure on the TNT series spanned four episodes, as he was eliminated halfway through the game. About a decade later, Knight and Johnson crossed paths again, this time under the banner of WWE.

"We haven't spoken extensively or anything, but there was one time where he saw me backstage and he came by and just said 'Hey, what's up? Haven't seen you in a while,'" Knight recalled, "just kind of cordial hellos and how have you beens." Currently, Johnson serves as a member on the Board of Directors for TKO, the parent company of WWE.

With his charismatic persona and popular catchphrases, such as "Yeah," Knight has also often drawn comparisons to Johnson as well as WWE Hall of Famer "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. The "WWE SmackDown" star doesn't seem to be too caught up in them, though, as he is focused on forging his own path, separate from theirs, in WWE.

"Was I influenced by those guys watching them grow up? Yeah, bet your ass, of course I was. At the same time for me, I don't want to be either of those guys," Knight said. "I want to be better than those guys, so as far as I'm concerned, I would say I am better than those guys. Have I risen to the level of fame and popularity that they had? Not quite yet, but for me, I think my talent package is on a whole other level."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Casual Conversations With The Classic" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.