AEW TNT champion Kevin Knight reflects on rising stardom

“The Jet” Kevin Knight can be seen flying above the pro wrestling ring for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) on Wednesday and Saturday nights on “Dynamite” and “Collision” respectively.

Knight is the AEW TNT champion and was a trios champion with Adam Page and “Speedball” Mike Bailey and with Bailey and Místico. It’s only been about seven years since Knight started to get into the industry and his meteoric rise has led him to become one of the stars in AEW.

The 29-year-old recalled in an interview with Fox News Digital that he moved to Seattle out of college to get started in the business.

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“Who Kevin Knight, ‘The Jet,’ is – a lot of things rolled up into one,” he said. “I’m originally from Brooklyn, New York. Raised down in Atlanta. I started my wrestling career when I moved to Seattle after college. And about six months in, I moved to LA to join the New Japan LA Dojo. For those that don’t know, it’s like a Japanese style-based training.

“So, I was living a Japanese lifestyle in LA during the pandemic. So, it was a lot of different factors going on. I think that’s why I call myself ‘The Jet,’ because I have so many different flavors from every different city in the world just all rolled up into one. I live in Orlando now. Just a cool, fly guy who just loves to do cool stuff.”

Knight called training during the coronavirus pandemic an “adjustment period,” but he acknowledged that he could be doing anything he wanted.

He said there were certain intricacies of pro wrestling that drew him in – from the superhero appeal of the wrestlers themselves to the pageantry in the sport.

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“I could be doing anything. I could be flipping burgers, I could be going to space or something, I don’t know,” he told Fox News Digital. “But just about pro wrestling, I just loved the presentation of it. I love the showmanship, the pyro, everything about it. It just seemed like real-life superheroes coming down the ramp.

“You saw the commentators, you saw the action. And then, people have cool theme songs and cool costumes. I know what it was immediately and I just like the pageantry of it and it was like my version of watching superheroes or Spider-Man or whatever. I wasn’t too much into superheroes when I was young. But wrestlers, they were my superheroes growing up. So, that’s what attracted me to it.”

Knight made waves in New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), but for a split-second, he became a free agent. Any company could have signed him – and really, Bailey as well.

Last March, Knight and Bailey both decided to sign with AEW. Knight explained the X-factor that AEW had to make the promotion stand out above the rest.

“AEW allows freedom, freedom of expression, to be yourself and you can walk right up to Tony (Khan), talk to him, have regular conversations with him,” he said. “It’s not like, you have to walk on eggshells. It was just be yourself and being yourself is just a great gateway to just being creative and being your best self. There’s no extra added pressure of, ‘Oh, I gotta say hi to 50 other people that I just saw earlier today,’ and all of that stuff.

“So, AEW, just in the fan base, the roster, the catering, man, everything about AEW is like 10 out of 10. I can’t complain. In my free agency, I explored all my options and I feel like this was just the best fit.”

Knight won the vacant TNT Championship in a six-man casino gauntlet match at Dynasty last month. It was the first singles title of his career and the 32nd champion altogether, following the likes of Darby Allin, Kyle Fletcher, Christian Cage, Jack Perry and others.

“It’s been the workhorse title. It’s been the title that people do the open challenges for. The best wrestlers in the world have held this title, the TNT Championship,” he said. “For me to be able to hold this and for this being my first-ever singles championship in my career, was an amazing feat especially on the one-year anniversary of my AEW pay-per-view debut.

“Like it’s just shown in the short amount of time, just how fast you can rise up in the ranks just by believing in yourself, hard work, discipline and just being in the right place at the right time. It’s been an amazing journey and we’re just getting started.”

Now, Knight earned a shot at the AEW World Championship on Wednesday night on “Dynamite” against Allin. He defeated Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) to earn the shot while Allin defeated Brody King to retain the championship last week.

For Knight, he suggested it was a full-circle moment for him as he utilized Allen’s advice when he was getting started in the industry.

“This match means a lot to me because I came from the same school that Darby Allin came from up in Seattle – the Buddy Wayne Academy,” Knight told Fox News Digital. “And when I first met Darby, maybe I was 3-4 months into my career, and the No. 1 thing that he told me was do not waste time, do not waste time. And, I feel like I did just that with my time in AEW. Here we are, a year later, I’m already a champion. I’ve won the trios titles twice already.

“So, I feel like I’m just listening to what he said and it’s all coming to fruition. It’s coming to a head this Wednesday. Definitely not going to waste any time. I think this would be the first time there would be a world championship and a TNT Championship on the arms. So, I’m ready for it.”

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But don’t expect MJF to get another shot at the world title any time soon.

“Honestly, he’s in the back of the line. He’s in the back of the line. He lost against Darby. He lost against me as well. He’s had two losses in a row. So, I’m not sure what his resume speaks for to get a shot at the title,” Knight said. “I know he’s gonna try to ringworm his way into the title picture again. If it’s up to me, the first person that’s getting a title shot is ‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey. MJF, back of the line.”