LA Knight wins Slim Jim Battle Royal

WWE’s SummerSlam Battle Royal featured 20 WWE Superstars, but centered around only one question: Will LA Knight win this Battle Royal or nah? Thankfully, the answer was a resounding “YEAH!”

LA Knight’s undeniable rise has coincided with an organic groundswell of support for the throwback WWE Superstar. Fans have been clamoring for Knight to score a big win, whether it be at Money in the Bank or during the United States Championship Invitational.

Ever the control freak, WWE has taken its own, sweet time with Knight’s push until they feel the time is right. WWE clearly understands how popular Knight has become, and as a result, the machine has gotten behind Knight by rolling out a line of merchandise—which continues to fly off the shelves—and featuring Knight in a series of entertaining pre-match promos. Despite not wrestling on SmackDown’s return to Madison Square Garden on July 7, Knight appeared in a pre-show segment to placate WWE’s top market. The LA Knight wave is here, WWE knows it, and with a win at the WWE SummerSlam Battle Royal, WWE will have made its buy-in official.

WWE SummerSlam Battle Royal Results

• Apollo Crews | Eliminated by Omos
• JD McDonagh | Omos
• Rick Boogs | Omos
• Otis | IMPERIUM
• Giovanni Vinci | Chad Gable
• Viking Raiders | Tommaso Ciampa
• Shinsuke Nakamura | Ciampa
• Tommaso Ciampa | Bronson Reed
• Cameron Grimes | Austin Theory
• Austin Theory | Santos Escobar
• Santos Escobar | Karrion Kross
• Ludwig Kaiser | Chad Gable
• Matt Riddle | Omos
• Butch | Omos
• Omos | Multiple WWE Superstars
• Miz | LA Knight
• Grayson Waller | Sheamus
• Karrion Kross | AJ Styles
• Chad Gable | Bronson Reed
• Bronson Reed | LA Knight
• AJ Styles | Sheamus
• Sheamus | LA Knight—Winner

WWE Superstars entered to “Born to be Wild,” while The Miz, AJ Styles and—of course—LA Knight all received their own entrances. MVP crashed the Battle Royal by announcing a surprise entrant: Omos.

Omos slowly sauntered to the ring as the SummerSlam Battle Royal got underway. Omos made quick work of JD McDonagh, Rick Boogs and Apollo Crews. The field then ganged up on Omos with a collaborative 10 Beats of the Bodhran.

Then it was time for Tommaso Ciampa’s moment as he made a run, scoring three quick eliminations of his own. Bronson Reed promptly doused Ciampa’s fire by dumping him to the outside. There was a meta moment between Miz and his clone Grayson Waller, who essentially recreated the Spiderman meme.

Omos regained control of the match with more eliminations before LA Knight stood up to Omos, much to the delight of Ford Field. Omos received huge heat for cutting off Knight’s comeback. Eventually, the SummerSlam field eliminated Omos with help from LA Knight.

In the storyline-building department, Santos Escobar eliminated Austin Theory, while AJ Styles eliminated Karrion Kross. Kross got his revenge by grabbing Styles’ leg from the outside, allowing Sheamus to eliminate Styles with the Brogue Kick. The field was ultimately whittled down to LA Knight and Sheamus, allowing Knight to win with a clothesline to the loudest pop of the Knight.