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If you had told most wrestling fans that Kofi Kingston would be WWE Champion in 2019, they would have probably laughed. Although Kofi is one of WWE’s most talented performers, no one ever thought he would be in the main event picture.
In February, Kofi began the long journey of proving everyone wrong. He had an impressive performance in a gauntlet match on SmackDown Live and went on to impress inside the Elimination Chamber. Kofi’s Cinderella story culminated at WrestleMania 35 when he won the WWE championship from Daniel Bryan. Since his historic victory, WWE has been trying to recreate the KofiMania magic with varying levels of success.
Kofi’s latest title defense against Randy Orton at SummerSlam is proof that nothing lasts forever. Although the match had some spectacular moments such as the RKO from out of nowhere, it failed to live up to expectations.
Fans were especially angry about the finish and panned the match very vocally.
Sadly, that has been the story of Kofi Kingston’s title run. Despite the best efforts of Kofi and his opponents most of his defenses have felt lacklustre. Dave Meltzer gave Kofi’s first title defense against Kevin Owens 3.5 stars.
His subsequent title defenses have not been up to the mark, a far cry from the 4.5-star classic he put on with Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania. Fans are eagerly waiting to see how many stars Meltzer gives this latest title defense.
There are several possible reasons for this disappointing run but the main one is the lack of a convincing challenger. Despite how talented his opponents have been few people believed that they would beat Kofi.
Most of Kofi’s opponents have been opponents of convenience. Kevin Owens faced Kofi at Money In the Bank because Daniel Bryan was not cleared to compete.
Dolph Ziggler faced Kofi Kingston because Kevin Owens refused to go to Saudi Arabia. Samoa Joe faced The Dreadlocked Dynamo to give both men something to do at Extreme Rules. Randy Orton was Kofi’s most convincing challenger but their match suffered because of how it ended.
If the WWE improves on how they book Kofi Kingston and his opponents, they might be able to salvage the ship. If not, Kofi Kingston will go down in history as an iconic champion who never had a legitimate challenger.
What do you think? How can WWE improve Kofi Kingston’s title reign?
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article belong to the writer and doesn't necessarily represent Sportskeeda's stand.
