LA Knight awarded ESPN’s Breakthrough Wrestler of the Year for WWE’s excellence in 2023

The year 2023 is ending with a bang for WWE’s very own Megastar, LA Knight. He is leaving behind an unforgettable legacy of epic matches and phenomenal moments this year.

Recently, ESPN has decided to recognize the best of WWE by announcing a series of awards in different categories to celebrate the company’s excellence throughout the year. While Cody Rhodes has won the Male Wrestler of the Year award, LA Knight’s contribution to the company wasn’t overlooked but rather appreciated.

Rising star LA Knight takes center stage with ESPN honors

WWE superstar LA Knight has been recently honored with a major accolade from outside the company. Although he began 2023 with a feudal loss against Bray Wyatt, he managed to pick up his game midway through the year, defeating some big names such as Sheamus, Austin Theory, Rey Mysterio, and The Miz. Knight also secured a win against Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa by teaming up with John Cena at WWE Fastlane 2023.

In 2023, Knight participated in the Crown Jewel premium live event, where he faced Roman Reigns in a match for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship but unfortunately lost. However, despite the defeat, LA Knight managed to grow his fanbase. It is also believed that The Megastar will continue to receive a huge push in the upcoming year.

ESPN has recently announced that Knight has won their “Breakthrough Wrestler of the Year” award. The sports network employs a 17-person panel to vote on the winners of its annual pro wrestling awards. Brandon Caldwell, a member of the ESPN executive team, examined Knight’s recent ascent and how he was able to maintain his position at the top.

“Knight is now positioned as one of the faces of Friday nights, a position few envisioned him having at this point in December 2022. And even as the top gets crowded, he’ll quickly remind people whose game we’re all playing: his,” Caldwell wrote in his report.

LA Knight receives the key to the city from Hagerstown

WWE superstar LA Knight was awarded the key to the city of Hagerstown for his exceptional performance in wrestling. The ceremony took place at University Plaza, located at 50 West Washington Street.

The Megastar was given a warm welcome by the City of Hagerstown, Maryland, where he was cheered on with cries of “Welcome Home” and “You deserve it”. Being a popular WWE babyface, LA Knight used this opportunity to address his hometown crowd and express his gratitude for their support.

During his speech, he addressed the younger members of the audience, urging them to pursue their dreams despite any obstacles they may encounter. Knight also reminisced about his hometown, which remained the only constant in his life during his pro-wrestling journey.

“When you think about doing something like I’m doing now, it’s not real, It’s not attainable. It’s not a real goal, a real job that you can go do. At least in your mind, you’ve got to get past that. I always had. For me, Hagerstown’s a place that has that small-town kind of blue-collar feel, but with a big-city kind of dream. As you can see, everything around here is building up. There are new developments, all that kind of stuff. You have to think about where you want to be, what you want to do, and find a way to get there any way you can.”

“If you’ve got dreams, follow them, but at the same time, it’s not just following those dreams. Do you know how many times I should have quit? Do you know how many times I shouldn’t have made it? Weirdly, I shouldn’t be here right now. There’s a 100 times where I should have said, ‘This is enough.’ People around me said, ‘Hey, man, it’s time to get a real job. It’s time to do this, it’s time to do that. It’s time to forget about this and do something else.’ And I said, ‘Nah, Nah.’”

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