Making the Case For an LA Knight Heel Turn on WWE Raw

The LA Knight heel turn, when WWE pulls the trigger, will reshape the main event landscape.

Call it a when conversation now, not an if . All that stands in the way of a Knight turn is proper timing in that main event scene, so it can be pulled off to its full potential.

Right now, one could argue WWE has fans right where it wants them with Knight. He just dropped another title bout with Roman Reigns, this time at Money in the Bank. He's the lovable loser in that Dolph Ziggler role who can't win the big one. He's even got a modern splash of behind-the-scenes pity due to those documentary-like appearances where Triple H and others are just down on him.

Feel free to call it wishful thinking. But it takes one flip of the switch to capitalize on all this midness and turn it into greatness.

Because that's where we're at with Knight. He's still generating massive crowd reactions. The payoff is still banked. This isn't a case of needing the perfect window that has an expiration date. He's not cooling off, which, for better or worse, makes him quite the asset for WWE.

All of this is fuel, too. Knight is "old," he "botches," Oba Femi, Bron Breakker and Penta have passed him by. His chances of winning are so slim that WWE throws his big championship match out as the opener just to get the crowd worked up at Money in the Bank. It goes on and on. Now he's back in tag/stable purgatory.

It's all fuel. Knight can twist these things to his advantage in his character work, railing against corporate overlords who hold him back. Everyone knows he has the look and a violent streak that can create violent heel moments.

Everyone else's gain can be Knight's, too. It's not like he's going to stop moving merchandise or being super-over with live crowds because he goes heel. He might even sell more merchandise and draw bigger reactions.

And if we're talking about sales concerns? The little kids who don't want to buy his merch anymore still have Jey Uso, Femi and a bunch of others. There's room for a guy like Knight to shift and do more interesting things than be a 2000s catchphrase emulator.

Look at the upcoming slate for possible examples. Maybe Knight's big heel moment is helping The 946 take down The Bloodline at Survivor Series. That keeps Roman Reigns looking strong and could let Knight fully break free on his own solo run.

Maybe there's an angle up for grabs with the Money in the Bank contract. If Penta cools, the company could always throw out a curveball, like Knight finding a way to "win" or "steal" the briefcase before cashing it in.

Sound silly? Easy to forget this is pro wrestling. There's always a way out of a corner or a way to unlock new things. No need to overthink Knight's character finally snapping and doing pretty much whatever he wants. He can even loop in meta things for his rampage, such as threatening to leave for other wrestling promotions, too.

Not to wax too poetic, but Knight could really be a good example or a bridge between the faker characters of the past and modern "Superstars" who just want to be great and break kayfabe on their Instagram accounts.

The Megastar is sort of torn between two times, and it would be fun for fans to explore these themes and go along for the ride with him.

Again, it's almost to his detriment at times, but Knight's love from fans isn't fading. That gives all involved some leeway to pick and choose the right spot. But it's not indefinite, and fans can only watch a beloved wrestler miss the brass ring so many times before moving on to something else.