Kevin Knight talks signing with AEW, reveals he's still signed with NJPW

[Chris]

Kevin Knight Talks Representing Both AEW & NJPW, Facing Will Ospreay & Best of Super Juniors Tournament (Exclusive)

Kevin 'The Jet' Knight has become the latest star to sign with All Elite Wrestling and has been having a whirlwind past two weeks since the announcement was mad

www.si.com

Kevin "The Jet" Knight has become the latest star to sign with All Elite Wrestling and has been having a whirlwind past two weeks since the announcement was made on March 29.

Facing off with "Switchblade" Jay White on the March 29 AEW Collision, Knight came up short, but received a stamp of approval from the former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion and then Tony Khan announced that he was officially "#ALLELITE".

"It was like man, 'The Jet has arrived, The Jet has touched down,' you know what I mean," Knight told The Takedown on SI. " I just want to show the people what I'm all about, character wise, in-ring wise and it's amazing the first two people I get to work with are New Japan people as well."

"The Jet" followed this breakout match with White by taking his place in the Owen Hart Foundation Men's Tournament where he faced Will Ospreay in the opener of the AEW Dynasty 2025 pay-per-view.

Starting out his time in All Elite Wrestling facing two former champions in New Japan Pro Wrestling felt poetic in a way for the 28-year old star.

"It's like as I was coming into New Japan, they were kinda making their way out, so we never really cross paths, so it's kinda ironic that my first two within the company was against two former leaders in the New Japan realm, so it's kinda like full circle moment. So it was a great moment these last couple of days."

The electrifying opening match with Ospreay had the Philadelphia crowd at AEW Dynasty on their feet and roaring for the stunning action both men put on.

"Man, I feel obviously I wish i would've came out with the win to move on and get a chance at that AEW World Championship, but the feeling, the atmosphere, the match, the energy was top tier."

"I expect nothing less whenever I step in that ring, I'm expecting things to go well, I'm expecting things to go my way. It was nothing for 'The Jet' to pull up and put on a classic, especially when you're working with the best in the world. It's kinda hard to flub that, so it was, it felt natural, I felt like I was at home under the bright lights and everything, so I felt great. I felt great going into and I felt great afterwards."

On facing Jay White and Will Ospreay in back-to-back singles matches, Knight feels like he was able to test his mettle against two AEW main event talents that he never got to face one-on-one despite their own history in his long time home promotion, NJPW.

"It's like as I was coming into New Japan, they were kinda making their way out, so we never really cross paths, so it's kinda ironic that my first two within the company was against two former leaders in the New Japan realm, so it's kinda like full circle moment. So it was a great moment these last couple of days."

With six years experience before signing with All Elite Wrestling, being able to go at it with two of the best in the company right off the bat felt like a "measuring stick" for where he is at in his young career and see where he is currently in his own progression.

"It was kinda of a measuring stick, you know what I mean, just seeing where I really am as a performer, as a worker, and I feel like I measured up pretty well, I feel like I stood my own," Knight said. "I didn't feel out of place, you know when I first met those guys, I was still a young lion, so obviously they knew who I was, but they didn't know what I really can bring to the table."

"So I feel like now that I'm fully finding myself in my character and who I am they really get to see not only my in-ring ability, but just my personality and just what I really bring to the table and I feel like I really matched up well. Obviously I didn't come up with the W, but I didn't feel out of place working with those two top stars."

Knight found himself at the center of a "bidding war" of sorts earlier this year when his contract expired with New Japan Pro Wrestling. After his deal expiring, his name popped up in the headlines and reports with even WWE expressing interest in signing the former NJPW LA dojo graduate.

"The Jet" revealed to The Takedown on SI that he has signed with both New Japan Pro Wrestling and All Elite Wrestling to work with both promotions moving forward.

"Well I can actually say this right here, right now, I'm representing both AEW and New Japan, I'm still contracted with both companies, so there's no threat 'The Jet' is still here to stay."

After being at the center of all the speculation regarding where his landing spot would be, Knight reflected on his reaction to all the fans wondering what his next move would be over the past few months.

"I think my main answer to that is I like to keep the people guessing. I like to see people scrambling and see where their mind goes just from their speculation and the main thing is I don't even say much publicly, you know, so I like to see people's reactions to nothing almost. People really have no idea the inner workings of what goes on in the background. "

"So it was just a matter of exploring all options and just seeing where the best place may be for me. All respect to New Japan, all respect to all the places I've been before," Knight said. "You know I love going over to Japan, I love traveling the world, so it was just a matter of what works for my schedule and where do I feel most comfortable and ultimately that led with me signing with both New Japan and AEW, so it's definitely been, it was definitely a different process because I never gone through something like that, but it was honestly interesting to see how people react just off of speculation, so it's cool what people say without having any information."

Recently, Knight was announced for NJPW's Best of Super Juniors 32 tournament, which will begin in Japan starting on May 10th.

This marks his third appearance in the tournament and he is excited to prove himself once again. This time, Knight will be alongside two men he trained with at the Buddy Wayne Academy in Clark Connors of the Bullet Club War Dogs and fellow AEW star Nick Wayne.

"And don't forget the third Buddy Wayne graduate, Clark Connors. You know me and Clark Connors go way back as well, so it's a Buddy Wayne-New Japan party up in there. So I'm ready to just show my skills and keep this momentum rolling," Knight said. "They say 'third times a charm' and this is my third Best of Super Juniors and I feel like I've done the work. I have the experience under my belt and I know what to prepare for, I know what the schedule looks like, I know how to keep my body prepared, and I feel like it's my time to show out really."

Knight brought up the current IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion El Desperado directly as someone that he has his eye on with the winner of this tournament getting a shot at the title later this summer.

"And Despe remembers, Despe remembers I beat him in last year's Best of Super Juniors, so he's on his heels whenever he's in the ring with me. So whether it's at Dominion or sometime this summer, at the end of Best of Super Juniors, I still want my title shot."

With two reigns as IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champion, Knight talked about what it would mean to even just get a shot at the top prize of junior heavyweight wrestling in NJPW.

"It means a lot. It's for the history of that belt. You look at who's carried that belt, you look at the Owen Harts, the Despes, the Takahashis, KUSHIDA, you look at Will Ospreay a few times. You look at the lineage of that belt, it's not too many people, they don't just give that, anybody doesn't just earn that belt, you really have to work and earn the trust of the fans, earn the trust of the company and really prove yourself to be the best super junior in the world."

Wanting to join other African American talents who have challenged for the prestigious title, Knight knows that he could make history with just getting the opportunity to fight for the gold.

"And not too many African Americans have challenged for that belt as well. I think only Ricochet and Lio Rush are the only other two, so me being the third if that possibly happens, that will be a great honor to give to my people, for my culture and I would love to put on for the rest of the world."

Representing his culture is something that is truly important to Knight. "The Jet" understands what it means to be apart of the African American community in pro wrestling and has garnered the experience around the world to see how much that means to fans out there as well.

"Man, it's just about setting that example and showing that you can do whatever you really want to do. Whatever you put your mind to, you really can do it, whether it's being a pro wrestler in America, I wrestled in CMLL in Mexico, and people that love the Japanese culture, you can come over and thrive and flourish."

"I'm not just a guy over here, I came up through the system, I've won belts and now I'm gonna be in contention to possibly go for a singles belt. So it's not just an opportunity just thrown away, it's something I'm looking to dominate the field, and someone to look up to."

Knight expressed his desire to make history as the very first African American IWGP Junior Champion, knowing that is what being a "jet setter" is all about.

"That's what I'm been calling myself lately, somebody to model their game after, 'a jet setter' in every sense of the word. There hasn't been an African American IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, so if I become the first, that will be a historical moment for sure."

After his rollercoaster past few weeks, Knight has no time to rest as he will be back on the road for AEW for the April 9 edition AEW Dynamite from Baltimore, Maryland as well as the April 12 episode of AEW Collision from Springfield, Massachusetts.

Also, Knight will be back in a New Japan Pro Wrestling ring when he teams with KUSHIDA as the Intergalactic Jet Setters at NJPW Windy City Riot this Friday, April 11. They will challenge The World Class Wrecking Crew for the STRONG Openweight Tag Team Championships on the show from Chicago, Illinois.