WWE legend slams wildly popular current star as ‘rip off’ of The Rock

WWE legend and Hall of Famer Kevin Nash has blasted hugely popular current star LA Knight as a ‘rip off’ of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.

Knight has enjoyed a huge surge in popularity during 2023 and was given a hero’s welcome by sold-out crowds in London over Money in the Bank weekend.

With a natural charisma and brashness, the 40-year-old continues to earn the adoration of fans despite working as a heel on screen in WWE.

READ MORE: WWE star warns potty-mouth Brits to curb bad language to secure WrestleMania in London

His ability to speak so confidently on the microphone has resulted in some drawing comparisons to past greats like The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin, whose rawness and edginess helped thrust them into greatness.

One man who is less than impressed with Knight’s presentation, however, is Nash, who enjoyed a rise from relative mediocrity himself in WWE in the mid 1990s.

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After toiling in WCW, Nash was presented in WWE as Diesel, and quickly gained popularity with fans for his impressive size and ability.

By the end of 1994 he was WWE Champion and went on to become one of the biggest names in wrestling in WCW.

He’s seemingly well placed to have an opinion on what makes for a successful wrestling star, and Nash was less than complimentary about Knight when speaking on his podcast, Kliq This this week.

Complaining that Knight’s presentation is too similar to that of Johnson – now one of the biggest movie stars of all time – he blasted: “Am the only one that sees an absolute rip-off of The Rock?

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“To the point where he cut the promo on f****** Paul… he said, ‘Yeah, stick it’ — the only thing he didn’t do was turn the m*********** sideways.

“What, does everybody have amnesia?”

Some fans came to the defence of Knight, one even accusing Nash of hypocrisy for later going on to heavily praise Damien Priest who they felt shared many similarities with Nash’s long-time friend, the late Scott Hall.

The reply read: So LA Knight is rip off but you praise second tier gothic version of Scott Hall, utter boring "I dont know what to say" Damian Priest. YEAH”

A former World Champion in Impact Wrestling, LA Knight began a second stint with WWE in their NXT brand in 2021.

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After winning the revived Million Dollar Championship there, he featured on Raw in 2022 before being briefly repackaged as Max Durpi.

Reverting back to his LA Knight gimmick before the turn of the year, he has seen his popularity rise steadily throughout the year, earning a stand-out reception from fans at Money in the Bank this past Saturday.

Fans had hoped the star would win the coveted Money in the Bank briefcase, but Knight was thwarted at the final hurdle by Priest who claimed the win.

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