LA Knight 2023 - Net Worth, Salary, and Endorsements

LA Knight is a WWE star who currently serves on the main roster. Formerly also known as 'Eli Drake', the wrestler started his career in the industry in 2006. Since then, he has worked on a number of promotions. Having worked in NXT before, he returned to the developmental brand after several years in 2021.

After working under NXT for a year, WWE finally drafted Knight to SmackDown in 2022 for the first time. Despite enduring criticism pertaining to his gimmick, the 40-year-old has so far been able to survive in the promotion, increasingly becoming a 'fan favorite'.

LA Knight's Salary and Net Worth in 2023

Shaun Ricker, born in Maryland, US, on November 11th, 1982, currently works as a full-time wrestler. So, the majority of his income comes from his well-established career in the pro wrestling industry.

After taking an estimate of his WWE salary, commercial endorsements, royalties from video games and merchandise, and other factors responsible for income, LA Knight's net worth in 2023 appears to be around $5 Million.

His salary in WWE is rumored to be around $500,000 per year. Moreover, he also earns from the royalties that come in regularly, thanks to his brand name.

Early Life and Marriage

Shaun Ricker was born into a family with three total siblings. The SmackDown superstar is the youngest of all three. He was interested in watching wrestling growing up ever since the age of three. Knight studied at and graduated from the North Hagerstown High School.

Not much information is present about his siblings and parents, but for now, Ricker lives in Orlando, Florida with his wife Michelle Yavulla, who is reportedly a fitness instructor.

LA Knight's Wrestling Career

Despite taking a long time to get over as a star in WWE, Knight's career could be regarded as a success even before his current WWE run. Prior to appearing on NXT in 2021, Knight had successful careers in Impact Wrestling, NWA, and TNA.

Although he currently does not currently hold any titles in WWE, Knight has had the experience of being a champion multiple times during his wrestling career.

His most popular run in WWE is the one that started in 2021. However, Knight has worked with the Stamford-based company even in 2013 in their developmental brand and has also made appearances before his current run.

Questions on LA Knight's gimmick

Recently, Knight was facing numerous accusations that his gimmick was not original. According to a number of wrestling stars and legends, the character that he plays is pretty similar to that of The Rock and 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin.

Because of this, LA Knight even had a running online feud with one of WWE's former employees, Kevin Nash. The WWE legend had called out Knight in an episode of his podcast. To this, Knight's supporters bombarded Nash with the reality of how popular the SmackDown superstar is becoming in WWE.

As a result, Kevin Nash had to publicly apologize to the wrestler for his words.

Career Achievements

Knight has become champion a number of times during his wrestling career. This also includes his time in other promotions, even during his independent circuit.

Starting with his time in 'Championship Wrestling from Hollywood', Knight secured the CWFH Heritage Heavyweight Championship 1 time. During the same run, he also acquired the NWA Heritage Tag Team Championship twice alongside Brian Cage.

He has been the Ironman Heavymetalweight Champion in 'DDT Pro Wrestling' and has also secured the FSW Heavyweight Championship twice and the EWF Heavyweight Championship once.

His time in TNA includes a long list of achievements in which titles and other major accomplishments are included as well.

In WWE, Knight has only won the Million Dollar Championship so far. Apart from this championship, he won the 'Slim Jim Battle Royal' at SummerSlam this year in 2023.

In the year 2018, Pro Wrestling Illustrated also honored the wrestler by listing him as the 32nd rank out of the 'top 500 singles wrestlers' in their 'PWI 500' list.