It was so close, yet so far for LA Knight as he failed to stop the Roman Reigns juggernaut in Saudi Arabia. At the Crown Jewel PLE on November 4, Reigns and Knight locked horns in the main event at the Mohammed Abdu Arena in Riyadh. After jostling for a little over 20 minutes, The Tribal Chief managed to retain his Undisputed WWE Universal title, thereby extending his current reign.

On the heels of the heartbreaking loss, Knight has received valuable advice from a WWE Hall of Famer, who has dissected the 40-year-old’s performances in the WWE since the latter struck a chord with the fans and his chance of a title run in the company. After his defeat fans wonder what is next for Knight, will he stay relevant and rework his way to the main event or will he fade away?

Bully Ray gives a no-holds-barred take on LA Knight’s future

Bully Ray– who the WWE Universe fondly remembers as Bubba Ray Dudley of the iconic Dudley Boyz, spoke about WWE’s Crown Jewel PLE on the latest episode of The Busted Open Podcast. One of the topics the 52-year-old discussed was LA Knight.

Ray, who is a self-confessed fan of the SmackDown star, had words of wisdom for Knight. He opined that while Knight has been over with the fans, his stardom is still at the tip of the iceberg. Ray said that Knight still has to put up a lot of work to attain success.   

“I also call this as real as real gets,” he said. “He [LA Knight] still has work to do, and when I say work to do, I’m not saying he’s lazy or this. You need time. Loved babyfaces who draw money, are not built in a day,” Bully Ray said. He also cited the example of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin as the “barometer” of the success of a babyface in WWE.

Bully Ray also pointed out areas where the WWE could have done better with Knight’s storyline at the Saudi Arabia event.

Bully Ray reckons WWE missed an opportunity with LA Knight against Roman Reigns

The veteran had critical comments for the Stamford-based promotion as well. As Knight lost the man, he rolled over and walked away, which didn’t sit well with Bully Ray. He said in the same interview that the writing could have been different.

Read more- LA Knight Still Needs to Prove His Worth to WWE Despite Insurmountable Support at Crown Jewel

Knight had several promo wars with Reigns before the bout, where he matched blows with the current champion on the mic.

Bully Ray said instead of the finish that the crowd saw, the WWE could have facilitated Knight to hit Roman Reigns with a finishing move and stand tall in the ring, despite the loss.

“… that would have been a nice little touch for him moving forward,” he said. “But the fact that they didn’t, and LA Knight just rolled out of the ring, and you didn’t see him anymore and all you saw was Roman [Reigns], was everything that you need to know,” he said, hinting that the title picture for Knight is still a longshot. Was Ray right in his assessment?

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Is a title win in the WWE still far away from LA Knight? Only time can answer these questions. For now, Roman Reigns sits tight with his gold and will wait for the next challenger to emerge.