• Look Back In History
• Pmessages
• Quiz
• Stump The Staff
• Top Fifty
• Close

Nikki Knight: Unwilling Pawn In The Wrestling Game

Posted: Aug 26th 2010 By: CMBurnham

There are plenty of second generation competitors in professional wrestling. But not many of them can claim to have 2 fathers who are both involved in the business. Nor can they say that one of their fathers conspired to steal them away from the other and then force them into a lifestyle they detest.

Not any of the others are Nikki Knight.

Knight, who bears the name of the man who raised her and who she thought was her father, broke in to professional wrestling early, serving as valet for Dexter Hardaway at SRPW shows in 2005. But when George Knight left the business, Nikki went with him and many thought she would just be a footnote. George returned as senior referee for SWCW this year and brought Nikki with him. And as luck would have it, Nikki ended up striking up a relationship with TAP Adrenaline Champion David Kyzer. Kyzer even convinced her to accompany him to ringside, although she refrains from actually standing near the ring, usually taking a seat at the bell table to watch her man in action.

Nikki soon became embroiled in Kyzer's feuds as Kyzer faced the wrath of Outlaw, who had declared war on all the rookies in SWCW. Kyzer, who was voted Oklafan Fresh Face of the Year for 2009, was everything that Outlaw couldn't stand. And when Kyzer defeated Outlaw to become the first SWCW All-American Champion, Outlaw was incensed. So much so that he revealed something he had kept secret all his life: he was the legitimate father of Nikki Knight. And he made it his goal at that point to get her away from David Kyzer.

Kyzer soon found himself facing competition from all the members of the group that would soon call itself the Hardcore Connection. He faced Outlaw on several occassions, even forcing him to submit in a Submission Match on July 24. Then, on August 14 in Tulsa, Kyzer aggravated the situation with the Hardcore Connection by winning the SWCW Hardcore Title from Kareem Sadat. Sadat quickly took advantage of the 24/7 rule that the title has in place and regained the belt for an 11th time, but Kyzer had shown he was a serious threat and Sadat and his associates planned to deal with the threat once and for all.

The death of Sadat's former manager Skandar Akbar seemed to have inspired him at the August 22 show and he promised to "raise hell in honour" of "The General". But Kyzer had plenty of backup as he had been inducted into X-Rated in Tulsa and helped defeat the Hardcore Connection in a 6-man Tag Team match there. Kyzer accompanied his teammates to ringside for Bobby Star's match against SWCW Tag Team Champion Shane Sanchez, but his presence wasn't enough to bring a win to X-Rated's record there. Kyzer had his match to focus on during the Kevin James Sanchez/Maniac Mike match and, thanks to the watchful eye of Crazy Charlie, he wasn't needed as Charlie saw the infraction by Kareem Sadat, who brought a chair into the ring and hit Sanchez with it. That evened up the X-Rated/Hardcore Connection bouts and left the main event with more at stake than before.

Intially, Sadat was to put his SWCW Hardcore Title up against David Kyzer's SWCW All-American Title. But Sadat also announced to the crowd that if he won the match, the Hardcore Connection would get the services of Nikki Knight. Kyzer had plenty of confidence in his abilities, having defeated all the HC members put in front of him before, so he saw no reason to back down from this one. But with the Hardcore rules in place, that allowed for plenty of interference and the match was full of that. Sadat suffered a deep laceration early and his crimson mask flowed brightly for most of the match. Both men put a ladder to good use use, punishing their opponent by bouncing their bodies off of it. Both men even carried the match under the ring at one point, making a huge raucous noise as their fellow partners stared on in amazement. With the rest of X-Rated at ringside along with the Hardcore Connection, the odds were good that things would break down soon and they did. But X-Rated was always outnumbered 4-3 (as Nikki Knight is not a licensed competitor and wouldn't be able to come in contact with the guys anyway) and that numbers advantage played into the end. With Shane Sanchez & Maniac Mike dealing with Bobby Star and Kevin James Sanchez outside the ring, Outlaw went into the ring with a steel chair as Kyzer had Sadat in an ankle lock. Outlaw hit Kyzer with the chair in the back, then Sadat gave Kyzer a piledriver on the chair, knocking him out. Sadat then rolled the prone champion over and pinned him, becoming a dual champion.

The look on Nikki Knight's face showed the horror she felt at the situation. Outlaw came to her in a twisted way and tried to comfort her, promising that she would be OK. Sadat then gloated to the crowd, demanding all the belts he'd won (including the SWCW Luchadore Title belt, which, while inactive, was still being carried by Kyzer as it had been unified with the All-American Title) and then telling the fans that this was the last time they would ever see Nikki Knight's face. The next time they saw her, it would be with a burka on. Kyzer grabbed the mic and said that he had Sadat ready to tap out and their issue wasn't over. He proposed a rematch for September 12 and said that he had done everything Sadat wanted. He'd met Sadat in his match, the Hardcore Match. This time, he wanted Sadat to meet him on his terms. Sadat said that Kyzer had a choice to make and needed to let everyone know which was more important: his title or Nikki Knight. Kyzer said that the answer to that would be clear on September 12 and a side of Kyzer would be revealed that had never been seen before.

Trapped in all of this was Nikki Knight, who was forced to go with the Hardcore Connection to the dressing room and was quickly escorted out of the building. George Knight was inconsolable as the fight to protect the girl he raised as his own seems to be over. And whatever David Kyzer has planned, he's keeping tight lipped about it. Nikki Knight now simply waits in hope that rescue will come on September 12. But if Sadat has his way, the legacy of 9/11 will live on the next day and his reign of terror over SWCW will reach new heights of glory.

Tags: Nikki Knight, Dexter Hardaway, SRPW, George Knight, SWCW, David Kyzer, TAP, Outlaw, Hardcore Connection, Kareem Sadat, Skandar Akbar, X-Rated, Bobby Star, Shane Sanchez, Kevin James Sanchez, Maniac Mike, Crazy Charlie