LA Knight
Shaun Edward Ricker, better known by the ring name LA Knight, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand.
Ricker began his professional wrestling career on the independent circuit in 2003 and joined the NWA-affiliated CWFH in 2010. He signed with WWE in 2013 and performed as an enhancement talent under the ring name Slate Randall until being released in 2014. After adopting the ring name Eli Drake, he signed with TNA in 2015 and became a one-time TNA World Champion, one-time TNA King of the Mountain Champion, one-time TNA World Tag Team Champion, and a two-time Feast or Fired winner.
Ricker rejoined NWA in 2019, becoming a one-time NWA World Tag Team Champion. He re-signed with WWE in 2021, took the ring name LA Knight, and became a one-time Million Dollar Champion. He was then repackaged as Max Dupri, the manager of Maximum Male Models, in 2022; upon reverting to the LA Knight character a few months later, he began [|gaining popularity] and became a two-time WWE United States Champion.
Outside of wrestling, Ricker appeared on the reality television series The Hero and the comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine. He provided motion capture for other WWE wrestlers for the WWE 2K video game series and voiced a fictional character in WWE 2K22.
Early life
Shaun Edward Ricker was born in Hagerstown, Maryland, on November 1, 1982. He has two older siblings and started watching professional wrestling at the age of three. He graduated from North Hagerstown High School, where he played in the school's band and participated in track and field.Professional wrestling career
Early career (2003–2010)
Ricker moved to Cincinnati, Ohio and began training at the age of 20 on March 17, 2003, supporting himself with work at a lumber mill and a Ruby Tuesday restaurant. He began working regularly for the Heartland Wrestling Association later that year under the ring name Deuce. On November 9, 2004, Deuce won the HWA Television Championship, and dropped it on January 4, 2005.National Wrestling Alliance (2009–2012)
NWA Championship Wrestling from Hollywood (2010–2013)
In December 2010, Ricker moved to work for NWA Championship Wrestling from Hollywood. He joined forces with Brian Cage, forming The Natural Selection tag team and winning the NWA Heritage Tag Team Championship from The RockNES Monsters on December 8. After holding the titles for over 200 days, The Natural Selection lost them to The Tribe when Cage missed the event, causing the match to become a handicap match. Ricker then feuded with Cage for several months, staying even on victories until he defeated Cage to end their feud in late 2012.On December 24, Ricker unsuccessfully challenged Adam Pearce for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship. However, he won the Percy Pringle III Cup, where the winner earned a shot at any championship at any time and place. On May 5, 2013, Ricker won the 30-Man Red Carpet Rumble for the CWFH Heritage Heavyweight Championship in homage to his late friend and manager Percy Pringle. That same night, he successfully defended the title against Ryan Taylor.
Ricker would lose the championship to Scorpio Sky in a Loser Leaves Hollywood match later that night; this match was scheduled to air on June 2, on tape delay, but was never aired due to the controversial finish. After the cameras went off, Ricker got on the microphone and thanked all of the fans for coming out, saying it would be the last time he would be seen in a ring for Championship Wrestling from Hollywood. All of the wrestlers came out from the back and gave Ricker a standing ovation. However, he made one more final television appearance, defeating Sky's fellow Experience members Big Duke and Xtian Cole.
WWE (2013–2014)
In May 2013, it was reported that Ricker and other independent wrestlers were undergoing the medical tests required to be signed by WWE before reporting to the WWE Performance Center. He had previously performed sporadically in WWE over the years, starting with an appearance under the name Dick Rick, where he teamed with Jon Moxley in a losing effort against Big Show in a dark handicap match in May 2006. He later teamed with Gene Snitsky in a losing effort against Cryme Tyme on ECW in 2008 and played a security guard during a segment featuring CM Punk and Kevin Nash on Raw in August 2011.Upon signing with WWE, Ricker was given the ring name Slate Randall and made his debut by defeating Yoshi Tatsu in a dark match during an October 2013 taping of NXT. Following that victory, he competed as a jobber for NXT, losing to names such as Baron Corbin, Mojo Rawley, and Mason Ryan. He was released from his WWE contract on August 1, 2014.
Return to the independent circuit (2014–2019)
After his release from WWE, Ricker returned to wrestling on the independent circuit and began competing under the ring name Eli Drake. On September 5, at Full Impact Pro's Fallout, he participated in a trios tournament along with Mason Ryan and Michael Tarver, but they were defeated by the Full Impact Puerto Ricans in the semifinals. On November 21, Ricker defeated Kenny King at FSW Luck of the Draw.On May 11, 2019, Drake lost a fatal four-way match at a Maverick Pro Wrestling event. He made his debut for World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico at WWC Aniversario on August 17, wrestling Carlito Colon.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling / Impact Wrestling (2015–2019)
The Rising (2015–2016)
On February 16, 2015, Drake participated in TNA One Night Only's TNA Gut Check tournament, defeating Crazzy Steve to qualify for a five-way elimination match won by Tevita Fifita. On the March 27 episode of Impact Wrestling, he joined Drew Galloway and Micah to form The Rising, defeating The Beat Down Clan in his debut. On the July 1 episode of Impact Wrestling, The Beat Down Clan defeated The Rising in a 4-on-3 handicap match, forcing The Rising to dissolve.On the July 15 episode of Impact Wrestling, Drake turned heel when he cost Galloway a match against TNA World Heavyweight Champion Ethan Carter III. Drake defeated Galloway at No Surrender on August 5 but lost a No Disqualification rematch on August 19 at Turning Point. At Bound for Glory on October 4, Drake competed in the Bound For Gold Gauntlet, which was won by Tyrus. He then participated in the TNA World Title Series as a member of group Future 4, along with Jessie Godderz, Micah and Crimson, advancing in the round of 16 along with Godderz, where he lost in the round of 16 to Mahabali Shera, being eliminated from the tournament. At TNA One Night Only: Live! on January 8, 2016, Drake and Godderz competed in a 3-Way TNA World Tag Team Championship match, which The Wolves won.
On January 26, 2016, Drake won the Feast or Fired match and the briefcase that contained a title shot for the future TNA King Of The Mountain Championship. On the February 9 episode of Impact Wrestling, Drake was attacked by Grado, who had been fired after his Feast or Fired briefcase contained the pink slip. Later that night, Drake interrupted him backstage, telling him "he better shut up about whatever he thinks he knows" and attacked Grado again, having him escorted out of the building through the tunnel. On the following episode of Impact Wrestling, Drake lost to Grado, who was masked as Odarg the Great. On the March 15 episode of Impact Wrestling, he faced Grado in a ladder match with Grado's career on the line, but was defeated.
Fact of Life and Namer of Dummies (2016–2017)
On the May 31 episode of Impact on Pop, Drake cashed in his Feast or Fired briefcase for his shot at the TNA King of the Mountain Championship, defeating Bram, who was just viciously attacked by Lashley, winning his first title in TNA. He successfully defended the title against Bram on June 12 at Slammiversary. On the June 28 episode of Impact Wrestling, Drake hosted a Fact of Life segment, inviting James Storm as his guest and insulting him; Storm eventually hit Drake with the Last Call, igniting a feud between the two. On the July 5 episode of Impact Wrestling, Drake defended the King of the Mountain Championship against Storm, but intentionally disqualified himself to save the title. On the August 4 episode of Impact Wrestling, Drake lost the championship to Storm. He entered the Impact Grand Championship tournament, defeating Godderz in the first round but lost to Aron Rex in the semi-finals.At Bound for Glory on October 2, Drake won the Bound for Gold Gauntlet by last eliminating Tyrus. After this, Drake started a feud against Ethan Carter III. On the November 10 episode of Impact Wrestling, Drake cashed in his Bound for Gold opportunity, but failed to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship from Eddie Edwards. On the November 24 episode of Impact Wrestling, Drake faced EC3 in a title shot vs. voice match where if Ethan lost, he would lose his heavyweight title shot, and if Drake lost, he would not be able to talk for the rest of 2016; EC3 won by submission.
At One Night Only: Live! on January 6, 2017, Drake and Tyrus unsuccessfully challenged The Broken Hardys for the TNA World Tag Team Championship. Tyrus helped Drake take the red case during the Race for the Case on the January 19 episode of Impact Wrestling. On the February 2 episode of Impact Wrestling, Drake cashed in his Race for the Case briefcase for a match against Ethan Carter III, but lost. After the match, he and Tyrus attacked EC3, but were assaulted by the Death Crew Council. On the following episode of Impact Wrestling, Drake abandoned Tyrus during their handicap match against The Death Crew Council, causing them to lose. A match was scheduled between Drake and Tyrus two weeks later, which ended in a disqualification victory for Tyrus. After the match, Drake proposed more money to Tyrus for keeping him as a bodyguard, which Tyrus accepted.
On the May 11 episode of Impact Wrestling, with help from Tyrus and Chris Adonis, he attacked Impact Grand Champion Moose after his match against Marshe Rockett. On the June 1 episode of Impact Wrestling, Drake failed to win the Impact Grand Championship from Moose. At Slammiversary on July 2, Drake and Adonis lost to Moose and DeAngelo Williams.