What happened to Mike Knox? Keep reading to discover how the former WWE Superstar left the company and found new life in a career after wrestling.
Who Is Mike Knox?
Mike Knox joined WWE in 2006 as part of the revived ECW brand after spending several years on the independent scene.
He was a huge specimen, featuring a large beard and an interesting pose reminiscent of a clock. He was not a fan favourite, but grew a cult following over the years thanks to the OSW boys.
He started out as Kelly Kelly‘s boyfriend on ECW, running in and stopping her stripteases, much to the ire of the fans. On ECW, he feuded with CM Punk but lost every single match against the former AEW Champion.
His highest profile match during that time was at Survivor Series when he was part of the Team Rated-RKO which lost handily to Team DX that featured Knox’s ECW rival, CM Punk.
During the match, Shawn Michaels famously superkicked and pinned Mike Knox, before asking “Who was that?”. This completely buried the ECW star and stopped any push he would have had in his tracks.
He was drafted to Smackdown in 2009, with little success. He defeated R-Truth on his debut, but went on to lose every single match he had on television from that point.
After his 30th loss, Mike Knox was released by the WWE.
Why Was Mike Knox Released By WWE?
On April 22nd 2010, Mike Knox was fired by the WWE.
The former ECW Superstar’s release was a shock, as he had been a big part of Smackdown over the weeks prior. Knox featured in a number of high-profile matches and even wrestled that same day.
Knox’s final match was a loss to JTG on the April 22, 2010 edition of SmackDown. Later that day, his release was announced along with six other WWE Superstars.
These were:
- Mickie James
- Katie Lea Burchill
- Shelton Benjamin
- Kung Fu Naki
- Slam Master J
- Jimmy Wang Yang
- Mike Knox
There was no reason given for his release. WWE would regularly perform a mass release after WrestleMania, shipping out some of the deadwood they had no plans for.
While Mike Knox had been featured regularly on Smackdown, it was clear he was not in the WWE’s plans. He did not have the talent to main event pay per views and was simply not as good as other big monsters, like Kane or Mark Henry.
What Happened To Mike Knox?
After being fired by the WWE, Mike Knox worked on the independent scene before signing for TNA.
Wrestling under a mask to hide his identity, he joined the ill-fated Aces & Eights stable, wrestling alongside stars like Brother Devon, Mr Anderson and Taz.
He picked up some big wins against Kurt Angle before he was unmasked and revealed as being Knux. The group would last for too long and become overly convoluted, with Knux just a symptom of that.
After the group disbanded, he formed his own stable called The Menagerie. In storyline, his father owned a disused carnival and he didn’t want to follow in his old man’s footsteps.
So, obviously, he started his own carnival-themed stable. It made little sense and was really peak TNA thinking. It did not last long, and Mike Knox was not impressive in any of his endeavours.
Mike Knox left TNA in 2015. His final match was a win over Kenny King at TNA: One Night Only, shortly before he left the company.
However, he has continued to wrestle to this day, fighting on multiple independent shows as recently as 2023. He also signed up for Billy Corgan’s NWA promotion, where he currently wrestles as Mike Knox.
He was offered a return to the WWE in 2016, although Mike Knox turned it down. He knew he couldn’t do the job as good as he could and wanted to live a good life, as he said in an interview with Paltrocast,
“I was a realist, I always have been. Back then, especially then, I was 330 pounds, 320, you know what I mean? I hadn’t worked and my knees were freaking really bothering me, my back, my neck was kind of screwed up, you know what I mean? Like, I was starting to forget sh*t.”
“I still want to live an awesome life, you know what I mean? I don’t want to be, you know, have a head full of mush and two broke legs … I want to be able to run the streets and howl at the moon.”
What did you think of what happened to Mike Knox? Do you want to see him back in the WWE? Let us know down in the comments!
