Looking at the offers he had at the time, Knight decided not to return to WWE and instead stayed in Impact as Eli Drake until 2019. He then wound up in Billy Corgan’s NWA for a brief time before finally heading back to WWE in early 2021.

“I knew I was going to have to take a pay cut coming in, but I was willing to take the pay cut on the bet that I could turn it into much more,” Knight said. “I had hit the ceiling, basically, in Impact. I had an awesome time in NWA for that little bit that we were able to do it before the pandemic hit.”

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Knight felt as though his career had reached its peak, and didn’t believe he would make it to the heights he had once envisioned. As a last-ditch effort, he sent an email to Paul “Triple H” Levesque and WWE talent relations with some highlights.

While he isn’t sure if the email to Levesque is what made the difference, the company signed him, though there was some concern about his indecision over joining WWE in 2016, 2017, and 2018. However, he was able to calm their concerns, and Knight says he found the environment backstage very welcoming when he did arrive. Less than three years later, Knight is at the top of the card, currently preparing for a Fatal Four-Way at WWE Royal Rumble 2024 with Roman Reigns’ Undisputed WWE Universal Championship on the line.