Kofi Kingston - New United States Champion

[Nate DaMac]

Lost in the shuffle of an overall excellent PPV was the crowning of a new US Champion, Kofi Kingston. So what are your thoughts on his victory? Where do you see this going?

Honestly, I see this as simply being a means to an end. Sheamus was drafted to Smackdown so obviously someone had to take the title over to Raw. I kind of wish it would have been someone else as Kofi has been an extremely boring mid card champion most of the time. But I assume it could be worse. Plus who knows, maybe this time it won't absolutely suck. I could see maybe a feud with Truth being somewhat entertaining.

More than likely, I see him just having a short reign until they feel the need to put the belt on someone new to push.

 

[911 JP]

I disagree, his list US title run was back in 09 I think and that was a very good run imo. I see him holding the title for a while to make him look as though he is a credible champion then having him hopefully drop it to someone like Masters, Ryder and getting them over. Or maybe someone like Punk etc will get a title run down the line?

 

[MizFit Brocko]

I dunno if anyone else really wants to see it, but i want to see The All American American as the US Champ. Kofi and Swagger have had matches before, and this could be a way of making Swagger relevant again after this whole terrible Michael Cole thing finishes up.

 

[WZMember####]

But... But...

Should we ignore the fact that Sheamus changed his ring attire to match his American (United States) Title?

Should we ignore the fact that Sheamus threaten to retire/quit the WWE if he couldnt beat Daniel Bryan for the US title?

Should we ignore the feuds between Sheamus and Daniel Bryan? Sheamus and SinCara? Kingston and Del Rio? Kingston and Wade? All of which pretty much started and ended between March and Now?

Should we ignore the fact that Kofi Kingston just lost the IC Title to Wade only to have an rematch that ended in a DQ?

I mean, is the fact that Sheamus is now on Smackdown really enough? Why did Sheamus get drafted in the 1st place? Why was the title even taken off of Daniel Bryan? I would of much rather seen Kofi vs. Daniel Bryan tonight instead.

Are we just suppose to accept that Kofi was the only choice? Not Drew? or even a much lower card wrestler like a Curt Hawkins. Trades are always possible after a draft.

I dont know...nothing against Kofi I am just saying ...this is the sort of thing that usually catches hell on the forums but for some reason I dont think anyone will care.

 

[Peep]

Give me Drew McIntyre. He's beginning to be on the verge of something special, but given the talent in Raw's main event right now, I doubt he challenges for the WWE Championship. He could benefit from a dominant United States Title run on Monday nights. The last thing I want to see is a long Kofi run here. He's been pretty boring on SmackDown for the past year, especially his intercontinental title run. It's nice he brought the US title back to Raw, but he is not the answer to that title being given credibility on Raw.

 

[The Calgary Kid]

Ho-hum. I'm bored to death of Kofi being in every mid-card title match. He's the mid-card Cena. It's not that I don't like Kofi, but I do find him to be rather ubiquitous and somewhat overrated. I'm hoping it was just a means of bringing it back to Raw. In a perfect world, he'll drop it to Ziggler at the next PPV. If they don't put Punk in the WWE Title hunt soon (which they should, if it's not going back to Miz), I can see them putting it on him, which would also be nice.

 

[MrPierrini]

Can I say Mid Carder for life, he is the definition of a mid carder, i don't really have anything against Kingston far from it but he is like a transitional mid card champion. What I mean by that is that he holds on to the belt until the WWE decides to give it to young heels who they want to build up such as Ziggler and Barrett. He's such a weird wrestler in that he can beat people like Sheamus and Orton but job in five minutes to a lower card wrestler.

They never used him whenever he had the IC title on Smackdown and i don't see him being used a lot on Raw with this belt and this is further evidence that WWE don't have the confidence in him to main event.

 

[JWGunslinger]

I'm with Nate 100 percent on this one. I think it way too obvious and I dont like the way it was set up but the US title did need to return to Raw. Kofi is an extremly boring mid carder dispite all his energy, and I see a short reign in his future. They really could have given someone else the oppertunity at holding the belt who never has, McIntyre is a great example especially since he hasnt done much of anything in weeks. But anyway the good news is the title is back on Raw so atleast that is positive, I definetly prefer that to having both the IC and US titles on Smackdown. Give the US title to either McIntyre, Truth(although i'd rather he pursue the WWE Championship) or Swagger.

 

[Straight-Edge]

I think Kofi was just a "scapegoat" to get the Title back to RAW. He'll most likely drop the Title to Swagger, Truth (But, as JWGunslinger said, I'd rather he go after WWE Championship), Reks or (most likely) McIntyre. I'm hoping this happens soon because I'm tired of Kofi's mediocre matchs.

 

[The Deadly Viper]

I'm a bit annoyed. Kofi has easily earned the right to get in the main event, and the WWE has just decided to give him the US title. I think it's an outrage. Yes I suppose a title is a title and that's cool, however lets hope he is just being used to bring the US title to RAW

 

[JBK2008]

Kofi winning the United States Championship is just another way of saying the higher ups don't know what to do with him in the main event yet. Hopefully this title reign will be as good as his 09 U.S title run or better. Dropping it to Masters, Ryder or someone like that will at least be meaningful.

Raw obviously needed to get the title back, but a battle royal or something could've been more fun, but this works for now. Congrats Kofi on yet another mid card title run.

 

[Henhouse]

It's sad that in all likelihood Kofi will finish his career with a few midcard belts but no real success because WWE don't know how to use him. They just think of him as a high-flier who the kids kinda like. But he's proven he could hang up there with the best.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I don't see this lasting. Kofi has been US Champion before and they simply needed a way to get the belt back over to Raw. This will promote Sheamus further up the card on Smackdown, and Kofi gets the chance for another midcard title reign. I think that he will lose the title to some random heel, possibly McIntyre. As soon as they find someone else to push in the midcard, Kofi will lose the title because the only reason he has it right now was to bring the belt back to Raw.

 

[M-Eklipse]

It's kind of a bitter-sweet win to be honest. I mean, I'm obviously a big fan of Kingston, but I too get the feeling that this is just a transition to get the US Title back on RAW. I'd hate to see Kofi get lost in the shuffle again, and I really want to see him go on to bigger and better things, but it just seems like WWE doesn't really know what they want to do with him. If things turn out good, then the US Title will be a stepping stone for Kingston to reach the top once he loses it, and I certainly hope it turns out that way. Things were slow for Kofi before this title win, but he definitely wasn't (and isn't) a boring guy at all, champion or otherwise, but that just my opinion.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Well, at least this match gives hope to all mid-carders who thought their push was gone forever. Honestly, that's what I thought about Kofi; they had tried him out as a headliner and he didn't make it. I figured there was no chance they'd be giving him any more title reigns. That they did is actually sort of nice.

In all, I think this result is more about Sheamus than Kofi. I think they took the U.S. title from him because they intend to put him in the mix for the world title on Smackdown now that he's changed brands.

And I think he'll eventually win it, too.

 

[mykeymayhem]

my question is why kofi....i get it they needed a mid card title on raw but kofi has had so many mid card runs that just end because he really isn't that great to watch....yea he's over with the fans but all he really dose is that boom thing i don't ever see him excaping the mid card...put it on someone whos going to evolve as a wrestler....and go for the wwe championship....i may be off base but kofi will ever have the wwe title maybe the whc but i doubt it highly hes just keeping the belt warm for someone else.

 

[Theo Mays]

Kofi won the title because he was the best guy to chose from. Remember he beat Sheamus at the draft and then Friday on SD Sheamus attacked him prior to his match. A quick setup was there and made enough sense to go through. Kofi is champ because he is over with the crowd and it isn't going to tarnish him or the championship if he holds it.

I for one believe this will be a short reign for young Kofi. And the person that makes the most sense to me is Drew McIntyre. DrewMc needs a little spark back into his character and some relevance. I think it is obvious they see something in McIntyre, they just need to figure out what it is. DrewMc was interesting when he was IC champ and then things fell apart. An US title reign could throw some interest back in the young Scotsmen.

 

[Reddog1146]

I hope Kofi's US reign will be more interesting and memorable than his last IC title reign. I am new to WWE but i did see the six pack challenge for the US title with him retaining the title and it was a pretty good match. Maybe he could put on more of those with guys like R Truth, Jack Swagger(after the michael cole thing is over with), evan bourne(in a multi man match), and other guys who need a mid card title to make them credible.

 

["Cool Guy" Jensen]

Kofi Kingston is anything, but boring! Over the years, he has shown to be a very good, fighting champion, which is why he continues to win championships after only 4 years in the WWE. Anytime Kofi Kingston is given a new title reign, I never worry about him being boring, because I know how he is when he is the champ... it's part of his character.

As far as why he won the title, that's not really an issue. Anyone could have won the U.S. Championship from Sheamus... WWE picked Kofi for some of the reasons I've listed above.

There will be a nice variety of potential opponents on Raw for Kofi Kingston to face and defend his title against. There's The Big Show, Chris Masters, C.M. Punk, Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre, Evan Bourne, Jack Swagger, John Morrison, Primo, R-Truth, Santino Marella, Zack Ryder.

The list of possible opponents is virtually endless. It's WWE's choice on who will get that chance, but with Kofi involved... the feud and the title will be just fine.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I enjoyed Kofi's first run with the title back in '09 and, at this particular point in time, putting the title on him was the most obvious choice. His matches are almost always high quality and he's over with the fans.

As a few others have mentioned, there are a number of fun feud possibilities for Kofi against the likes of Drew McIntyre, Jack Swagger and Dolph Ziggler. Young guys on the roster that could at least be given a good rub in a feud with Kofi like Tyler Reks, Curt Hawkins & David Otunga. Possibly feuds with established stars to really elevate Kofi such as Rey Mysterio, CM Punk, possibly John Morrison, etc. There are a lot of potential great options for Kofi at this time and I'm curious to see what they do with him.

My guess is that Jack Swagger might be the one next in line for a shot at the United States Championship. Swagger's career has gotten a shot in the arm with his involvement in the Michael Cole storyline. Cole is, no doubt, going to be bragging on his victories over Jim Ross & Jerry Lawler so it's a good opportunity to push Swagger.

 

[The Calgary Kid]

I was thinking about where they can go from here and came up with a name that no one has thought of: Alberto Del Rio. He had an unresolved mini-feud with Kofi leading up to WM, and they can build on that if we need a back story (which also makes provides good SD advertising). Could he actually take a step back and do something other than talk about his destiny and lose in WHC matches? The schtick is getting stale, and with all of the hype, the guy needs to do something in order to make us believe that he is capable of winning.

Ziggler could benefit from having the title, and despite my disdain for McIntyre, I'll concede that he could do more with it right now than Kofi. Having an All-American American United States Champion could lead to some brilliant promos. Giving it to Punk could help keep him happy, but I'd prefer they involve him in the main event if they don't give the WWE Championship back to The Miz. The (somewhat) anti-American Del Rio being able to gloat about being US Champion could be entertaining though. He'd put on some good matches, and as I said, it would keep Creative honest while not continuously pushing him to the moon but never winning. I could totally live with that.

 

[SpoodBeest]

I hope Kofi winning the title opens an opportunity for a mid-card heel to step it up and prove their worth. I personally hope for Zack Ryder's sake that he will be given an opportunity to prove his YouTube videos speak truth. By that I mean I hope for Ryder to be given an opportunity to feud over the US title. This is a good opportunity to see if Ryder has what it takes, see if he can make the most of an opportunity.

If he works than thats great award him with the mid-card strap and have him feud with other faces for the title like Kofi afterwards, if he fails miserably than well just drop back to where he is now doing YouTube videos and singing "Friday" but unless he's given a serious opportunity I don't see why they shouldn't give him a chance to try and shine. So in an ideal world I would like Kofi Kingston to feud with a pushed Zack Ryder over the US Championship rather than see another Kofi/McIntyre or Kofi/Swagger feud. Kingston is a popular enough face that he has the ability to put Ryder over as serious contender and possible champion.