What Was LA Knight Doing Before the YEAH! Movement and Topping Merchandise Charts in WWE?

LA Knight is a well-known name in WWE. After joining the promotion in 2021, he has amassed a massive fan following in just two years. Along with The Miz, he headlined the main event at WWE Payback this year after he won the Slim Jim battle royal at SummerSlam. Now he is set to form a tag team with John Cena and go against Solo Sikao and Jimmy Uso of The Bloodline. With his famous catchphrase YEAH! which gave birth to ‘YEAH! Movement’, the SmackDown star has etched his name on the hearts of the fans. 

After garnering a lot of fame at WWE, fans have been wondering where was the 40-year-old star all this time.

LA Knight or Dick Rick?

The star hails from Maryland, and his name is Shaun Ricker. He started his training at Cincinnati’s Heartland Wrestling Association. He made his in-ring debut in 2003 under the name Deuce. But he decided to change it to Dick Rick, and that made his identity. He had made his debut along with other stars such as Jon Moxley, and Nigel McGuiness to name a few. Moxley also happened to share a room with Knight. During this period he happened to get a couple of tryout matches at WWE.

In 2006, Dick Rick and Jon Moxely went off against Big Show in a handicap match. But they were taken out by the star. In 2008 he made an appearance in a dark match where he had teamed up with Snitsky. A year later, he made his way to California where fans saw him on Mach One Pro Wrestling which was affiliated with National Wrestling Alliance. He quickly became a regular there under his real name Shaun Ricker. Ricker was a part of the circuit until in 2013, he was signed by WWE and began his first developmental run at the promotion. In WWE’s developmental he performed under the ring name Slate Randall.

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However, without any televised matches, he left WWE after 15 months in 2014. But fortunes changed for him when he found a new home in the spring of 2015.

Shaun Ricker became Eli Drake

In the spring of 2015, Ricker became a part of Impact Wrestling. He had debuted under a new name, Eli Drake, and was a prominent baby face at the circuit. He was a part of Drew Galloway’s stable, The Rising. Later on, he turned heel and started a feud with his former stablemate. During his time at Impact, he happened to reach a wider audience compared to his previous workplaces.

He developed a reputation for his mic skills and was given a show called Facts of Life. He also went on to become the King of the Mountain champion at Impact. In 2017, he participated in a 20-man gauntlet match where he captured the Impact World Title and held on to it for more than 4 months.

After leaving Impact in 2019, he found his way to National Wrestling Alliance. He was a regular face at the NWA Powerrr under the same name. He had formed a tag team with former Impact star, James Storm. In 2020, they became the NWA World Tag Team champions after dethroning The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express. They held on to the title for more than eight months. After this, he was released by the company.

In 2021 he was again signed by WWE and appeared on NXT, where he went on to win the Million Dollar Championship title under his new name LA Knight. He then quickly rose the ranks and became part of the SmackDown brand as Max Dupri and part of Maximum Male Models. Later on, he split from the group and reverted to his NXT name LA Knight, and created waves.

After having a long career in the pro wrestling world, LA Knight now stands tall with John Cena. Even John Cena has commended the star for his never-give-up attitude. His popularity has soared as he was reportedly WWE’s highest merchandise seller for the month of September this year. With this, the star has made a name for himself and has become a prominent figure in the world of pro wrestling.

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