WWE's Bizarre Booking of LA Knight, Keep Adam Cole and MJF Together, More Quick Takes

All hope may not yet be lost for LA Knight in WWE.Credit: WWE.com

The LA Knight phenomenon continues to grow by the week despite his lack of in-ring success in WWE as of late.

The raucous reactions he's been receiving since the beginning of the year are enough evidence that he's organically gotten himself over with the audience, and yet there's no clear path for him following his latest loss on Friday's SmackDown.

For WWE to not do anything of note with Knight in the immediate future would be egregious, just as it would be for AEW to break up the hot tandem of MJF and Adam Cole prematurely.

The winners of the Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament have become the best thing going on the show and have a chance to become tag team champs on Collision this Saturday. A one-on-one match for the AEW World Championship is inevitable, but it would be wise of the company to continue running with them as a tandem for longer than expected.

This installment of Quick Takes will analyze forthcoming plans for Cole, MJF and Knight, what Santos Escobar vs. Rey Mysterio could be leading to, Darby Allin remaining relegated to the AEW TNT Championship picture, and more.

With every week that passes, WWE fans are more and more justified for fearing that LA Knight's anticipated push may not materialize despite his immense level of popularity.

In addition to being left off most of this year's premium live events including WrestleMania, Knight has largely been directionless. He came up short in becoming Mr. Money in the Bank earlier this month and failed to advance in the United States Championship Invitational.

During the Money in the Bank post-show press conference, WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H advised the audience that "great things come to those who wait" in regards to Knight. There has been little indication since there are actually bigger plans in place for him.

Nonetheless, he shouldn't be written off entirely until his television time dwindles or he racks up more losses. WWE seems to be aware of how hot he's gotten based on how well his merchandise has reportedly sold and the recent mic time he's gotten on SmackDown.

Turning him babyface officially is the only acceptable option, but there are no heels he can logically be paired with at the moment. Post-SummerSlam, WWE will have to prove they're committed to pushing him prominently or risk wasting what could have been.

In lieu of LA Knight, Rey Mysterio won the second SmackDown Fatal 4-Way on Friday night to advance to next week's number one contender's match for the United States Championship. He'll face fellow LWO stablemate Santos Escobar for the first-time-ever one-on-one.

Interestingly, it was on that same show that Escobar defeated current champ Austin Theory in non-title action. That would seem to suggest that Theory vs. Escobar isn't the ultimate match for the championship after all.

The most likely scenario would see Theory crash Mysterio vs. Escobar and set up a Triple Threat for the title, but an Escobar heel turn could also be imminent.

Mysterio scoring a surprise win over Escobar with Escobar then costing Mysterio his match with Theory would be the best way to execute it. It would an end to the LWO's short-lived run as babyfaces, but elevating Escobar to the next level should be the top priority and feuding with Mysterio would accomplish that.

With Knight transitioning into a babyface role, SmackDown could use another heel on its roster and Escobar is the perfect person to fill that void.

The conclusion of Friday's exciting Royal Rampage match saw Darby Allin emerge victorious as the new number one contender to the AEW TNT Championship, a spot he is no stranger to but has since outgrown.

AEW's use of the TNT title this past year has been highly questionable, to say the least. It means far less than it did when Allin first held it three years ago, and only when he regained it earlier this year did it regain some of that lost credibility.

His second stint with the strap was cut short, but already he finds himself back in contention for it. As one of the promotion's biggest fan favorites, him returning to the TNT title picture comes off as a significant step backward.

He proved during his program with MJF in late 2021 as well as in the buildup to Double or Nothing 2023 that he's earned the status of a main event player. It wouldn't be far fetched to think that he could be the one to dethrone MJF eventually as AEW World champion, but that won't happen as long as he's relegated to midcard mediocrity involving the TNT Championship.

Allin's pursuit of the prize should be brief to allow him to transition into something more meaningful, specifically chasing the AEW World Tag Team Championship with Sting or feuding with a top-level heel.

Dominik Mysterio remains one of WWE's most despised Superstars and his NXT North American Championship win last week will only add to the unbelievable heat he already gets from fans.

The title change was a bit unexpected, if only because Mysterio hasn't been a regular in NXT up until now. However, this could turn into a major positive for both Dirty Dom and the brand itself.

The top takeaway is that The Judgment Day storyline is strengthened by the group collecting more gold. Rhea Ripley is the reigning Women's World champion, Damian Priest is Mr. Money in the Bank, Finn Balor will be contending for the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam, and Mysterio now has gold of his own.

Expect more tension to be teased once Balor loses at SummerSlam and is the only one without a championship or contract in his possession.

Meanwhile, NXT has received a noticeable ratings boost from main roster stars making appearances in recent weeks, and Mysterio can benefit big time from pulling double duty on Monday and Tuesday nights.

Him bringing the belt to Raw increases NXT's exposure and will culminate in a memorable moment when he's eventually beaten for it.

AEW struck gold when they paired Adam Cole and MJF together as a team for the Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament, which was always designed to prolong their program ahead of a rematch for the AEW World Championship at either All In or All Out.

All signs pointed to them vying for the AEW World Tag Team Championship this Saturday on Collision and coming up short as a result of MJF betraying Cole, but that would be too predictable of a path to take at this point.

Granted, predictability isn't necessarily a negative in this case, but there's much more AEW can get out of them as partners before the time comes to split them up. That includes a possible run as AEW World Tag Team champions.

FTR are arguably the best tag team in the world, but the reality is that they need credible challengers. Cole and MJF pulling off the inconceivable and becoming champs would give FTR a fun feud to keep them busy for at least the next month.

The MJF and Cole breakup is inevitable, but it shouldn't be on the sooner side as originally expected. The execution is key as Cole shouldn't be made to look foolish by not seeing MJF's betrayal coming, but keeping them friendly for now would be the smartest course of action.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.