Absent WWE star to answer LA Knight's United States Championship open challenge? Exploring the possibility 

After winning the United States Championship at SummerSlam 2024, LA Knight made his first title defense against Santos Escobar on SmackDown last week. While Escobar tried his best to win the contest, it was Knight who prevailed and retained his belt.

However, it seems the United States Champion has his eyes on more than just defending his title against Escobar. On SmackDown's upcoming episode, Knight will be issuing an open challenge for his United States Championship. This challenge could be answered by absent star, Shinsuke Nakamura.

While Nakamura is on Monday Night RAW, there is a possibility he could move to SmackDown and answer LA Knight's challenge. With Randy Orton, who is originally from SmackDown, making appearances on RAW, it would make sense to move Nakamura to the blue brand.

Also, during WWE's recent European Tour ahead of Bash in Berlin, Shinsuke Nakamura was seen challenging for the United States title. These reasons could very well lead to the Japanese superstar answering Knight's challenge on the upcoming episode of the blue brand.

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LA Knight reveals his plans for the United States Championship

When LA Knight beat Logan Paul to win the United States Championship at SummerSlam, he won his first title on the main roster in front of his opponent's home crowd. This was a huge moment because the WWE Universe had been looking forward to seeing a belt around Knight's waist for a while.

Now that he is finally champion, many are interested in knowing what he will do as the United States Champion. In a recent interview with La Causerie, Knight was asked if the United States title needed more prestige. While Knight did not comment on the issue, he revealed his plans as champion.

LA Knight said:

"Whether it needs to regain prestige or not is not for me to say. I don't know that. All I know is that now that I'm holding it, I'm going to make it the most important title that I possibly can. And if that means I've got to face somebody this week, next week, or the week after, then that's what we're going to do."

He added:

"I can, for damn sure, say that you're going to see it defended a lot more now that it's on me instead of Logan Paul, just by virtue of me being around a lot more. So, whether that gives it more prestige or not, we'll see, but you can bet that it's going to be an important title for sure," Knight said. [2:56 onwards]

On Monday Night RAW, Gunther added to the prestige of the Intercontinental Championship when he became the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion. It will be interesting to see if LA Knight can replicate the same. Becoming the longest-reigning IC Champion did wonders for Gunther. If Knight can do something similar, it will be beneficial for him.