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“The Jet” Kevin Knight can be seen flying above the pro wrestling ring for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) on Wednesday and Saturday nights on “Dynamite” and “Collision” respectively.
Knight is the AEW TNT Champion and was Trios Champion with Adam Page and “Speedball” Mike Bailey and with Bailey and Místico. It’s only been about seven years since Knight started coming into the industry, and his meteoric rise has seen him become one of the stars of AEW.
The 29-year-old recalled in an interview with Pakinomist Digital that he moved to Seattle after college to get started in the industry.
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Kevin Knight enters the ring during New Japan Pro-Wrestling at the National Yoyogi Gymnasium in Tokyo on May 17, 2025. (Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)
“Who Kevin Knight, ‘The Jet,’ is — many things rolled into one,” he said. “I’m originally from Brooklyn, New York. Raised in Atlanta. I started my wrestling career when I moved to Seattle after college. And about six months after that I moved to LA to join the New Japan LA Dojo. For those who don’t know, it’s like a Japanese style based training.
“So, I was living a Japanese lifestyle in LA during the pandemic. So it was a lot of different factors going on. I think that’s why I call myself ‘The Jet,’ because I have so many different flavors from all different cities in the world, just all rolled into one. I live in Orlando now. Just a cool, flying guy who just loves to do cool stuff.”
Knight called training during the coronavirus pandemic an “adjustment period,” but he acknowledged he could do whatever he wanted.
He said there were certain intricacies of professional wrestling that attracted him – from the superhero appeal of the wrestlers to the sport.
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“I could do anything. I could flip burgers, I could go to space or something, I don’t know,” he told Pakinomist Digital. “But just about pro wrestling, I just loved the presentation of it. I love the showmanship, the pyro, everything about it. It just seemed like real superheroes coming down the ramp.
“You saw the commentators, you saw the action. And then people have cool theme songs and cool costumes. I know what it was right away, and I just like the spectacle of it, and it was like my version of watching superheroes or Spider-Man or whatever. I wasn’t too much into superheroes when I was young. But wrestlers, those were my superheroes that gravitated to me growing up.”
Knight made waves in New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), but for a split second he became a free agent. Any company could have signed him – and indeed Bailey.
Last March, both Knight and Bailey decided to sign with AEW. Knight explained to The X Factor that AEW needed to make the promotion stand out from the crowd.
Kevin Knight competes in the ring during New Japan Pro-Wrestling at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo on May 15, 2025. (Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)
“AEW allows freedom, freedom of expression, to be yourself and you can go right up to Tony (Khan), talk to him, have regular conversations with him,” he said. “It’s not like you have to walk on eggshells. It was just being yourself, and being yourself is just a great gateway to just being creative and being your best self. There’s no extra added pressure of, ‘Oh, I have to say hi to 50 other people that I just saw earlier today’ and all that.”
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“So, AEW, just in the fan base, the roster, the catering, man, everything about AEW is like 10 out of 10. I can’t complain. In my free agency, I looked into all my options and I feel like this was just the best.”
Knight won the vacant TNT Championship in a six-man casino gauntlet match at Dynasty last month. It was the first singles title of his career and the 32nd champion overall, following the likes of Darby Allin, Kyle Fletcher, Christian Cage, Jack Perry and others.
“It’s been the workhorse title. It’s been the title that people do the open challenges for. The best wrestlers in the world have had this title, the TNT Championship,” he said. “For me to be able to hold this and for this to be my first ever singles championship in my career was an amazing accomplishment, especially on the one year anniversary of my AEW pay-per-view debut.
“Just showing in a short amount of time how quickly you can rise through the ranks just by believing in yourself, hard work, discipline and just being in the right place at the right time. It’s been an amazing journey and we’re just getting started.”
Kevin Knight enters the ring during the New Japan Pro-Wrestling Wrestling DONTAKU 2023 event at the Fukuoka Kokusai Center in Fukuoka, Japan on May 3, 2023. (Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)
Now, Knight earned a shot at the AEW World Championship on Wednesday night at “Dynamite” against Allin. He defeated Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) to earn the shot, while Allin defeated Brody King to retain the championship last week.
For Knight, he suggested it was a full-circle moment for him when he used Allen’s advice when he started in the business.
“This fight means a lot to me because I came from the same school that Darby Allin came from in Seattle — Buddy Wayne Academy,” Knight told Pakinomist Digital. “And when I first met Darby, I was maybe 3-4 months into my career, and the No. 1 thing he told me was, don’t waste time, don’t waste time. And I feel like I did just that with my time in AEW. Here we are, a year later, I’m already a champion. I’ve already won the trio titles twice.
“So, I feel like I’m just listening to what he said and it’s all coming to fruition. It’s coming to a head this Wednesday. Definitely not going to waste any time. I think it would be the first time there would be a world championship and a TNT championship on the arms. So I’m ready for it.”
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But don’t expect MJF to get another shot at the World Championship anytime soon.
“Honestly, he’s at the back of the line. He’s at the back of the line. He lost to Darby. He also lost to me. He’s had two losses in a row. So I’m not sure what his resume speaks for to get a title shot,” Knight said. “I know he’ll try to worm his way back into the title picture. If it’s up to me, the first person to get a title shot is ‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey. MJF, back of the line.”
