Over the weekend, AEW officially announced that they have made a new acquisition in Kevin Knight, who had made a few appearances in the promotion in the past. A recent update has provided more details about his switch to AEW and WWE's interest in signing him.
"Fightful Select" had previously reported Knight spoke with AEW CEO Tony Khan and AEW executive Rocky Romero in February about a potential move to AEW, and is reported to have had conversations with WWE too during that time. According to a new report by "Fightful," WWE was interested in signing him, and Knight would've begun in "WWE NXT" if they had signed him. While speaking to those behind-the-scenes in the Performance Center, "Fightful" was told by these sources that they were surprised WWE wanted Knight to have a tryout considering his vast experience in numerous pro wrestling promotions. However, they were pleased that WWE at least attempted to sign him. TNA sources that "Fightful" talked to were also convinced that Knight who had previously wrestled in TNA too would only return to the promotion if he was to be signed by WWE.
Knight, a two-timeIWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion alongside former WWE and TNA star Kushida, began his NJPW career in 2020, just a year after making his pro wrestling debut. The 28-year-old American made his first AEW appearance after signing with AEW on the February 29 edition of "AEW Collision," where he lost a singles match to Jay White.
Knight is one of a few stars whose NJPW contract expired or is set to expire soon. A report in February had claimed that the contracts of other NJPW stars like Gabe Kidd, Zack Sabre Jr., and David Finlay are also set to come to an end soon.
