Big E has gone public with his admiration for two of professional wrestling’s most exciting young talents after a chance encounter at the gym in Las Vegas during WrestleMania 42 week. The former WWE Champion and current broadcaster shared his thoughts on AEW TNT Champion Kevin Knight and TNA X-Division Champion Leon Slater in a social media post that quickly resonated across the wrestling community.
“Ran into Kevin Knight and Leon Slater at the gym in Vegas a few days ago. Glad I got to tell those brothers what a joy it is to watch them do incredible things in this industry. Pro wrestling’s youth movement is a beauty to behold,” Big E wrote. The endorsement from someone of Big E’s stature and institutional knowledge carries genuine weight — he is not a performer with any promotional stake in either AEW or TNA, making his praise entirely organic.
Both Kevin Knight and Leon Slater Are Current Champions After Recent Title Wins in Their Respective Promotions
The timing of the encounter placed both performers at career highs. Knight won the vacant AEW TNT Championship in the Casino Gauntlet at AEW Dynasty on April 12, pinning Daniel Garcia for his first major AEW singles title. Slater successfully defended the TNA X-Division Championship against Cedric Alexander at TNA Rebellion earlier this month, continuing a reign that has positioned him as one of TNA’s most prominent rising stars. Big E’s characterization of the youth movement in professional wrestling as “a beauty to behold” — coming in the same week that Oba Femi defeated Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 42 — feels like a broader endorsement of a generational shift happening simultaneously across multiple promotions.