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#4 The stop-gap title challenges are over
Following Kofi Kingston’s WrestleMania 35 victory over Daniel Bryan, his next two PPV opponents were Kevin Owens (Money In The Bank) and Dolph Ziggler (Super ShowDown and Stomping Grounds).
The general feeling amongst fans was that Ziggler had been brought back to WWE television as a stop-gap opponent for Kingston at Super ShowDown because Owens had refused to compete in Saudi Arabia.
However, “The Showoff” recently revealed in an out-of-character interview with the Sunday Night’s Main Event podcast that his rivalry with Kingston was pitched three months in advance, which suggests that WWE had a long-term plan for the New Day member to keep the WWE Championship at least until the Owens and Ziggler feuds were over.
Now, with respect to those opponents, neither looked likely to win the title from Kingston so soon after his WrestleMania triumph. Samoa Joe, in contrast, is the first post-Mania opponent who appears to be a legitimate threat to the WWE champion.
