Can Kofi be a *future* MitB holder?

[The Extract]

There is a reason why I believe he is a future Money in the Bank contract holder. He has most tools needed to be a star. He has decent(not great but not the worst) mic work, he is good in the ring, and he has charisma. No he is not first on my list of future WWE or World Heavyweight Champions, but he is nowhere near the last! I'm sure at least most of you remember his feud with Randy Orton.

He just needs one more good feud with a top star. To me, Daniel Bryan and Kofi would be a good feud. It would give Daniel Bryan something to do if not in a title picture. Kofi couls show some aggression towards Bryan with Daniel going on about how he didn't need anger management but Kofi does. I'm not saying this should happen before the next MitB match, because I believe that if Barrett doesn't win the world title before then, then he is destined to win it.

So here are my questions to you:

1. Should Kofi hold the MitB case?
2. If yes, then when?
3. Who would you have Kofi feud with to try to make it to the top?
4. Could Kofi hold his own against the best in the WWE?

 

[Principino]

He's just so irrelevant now, he hasn't had a meaningful feud for a long time and his tag team with Truth is very stale. To be honest I'd rather have a number of other guys win the briefcase before him. Thing with Kofi is, he can put on a great match but his character has nothing special about it, its just the typical in your face babyface. A tweak to his character could change everything for him, let him get angry a bit more, he doesn't always have to be Mr Smiley Smiley. Like you said, perhaps getting him into a feud with a big gun like Bryan would do him the world of good.

Should Kofi hold the briefcase? Only after a change in character and more meaningful feuds (Bryan, Rhodes etc). Otherwise, not a chance.

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

I'm sure at least most of you remember his feud with Randy Orton.

Kofi was very "hot stuff" back then. Unfortunately WWE doesnt see anything in this guy and even to me he is midcarder at best. He would fill in the spots when it comes to EC matches and stuff like that but he would probably never be big. He is good in-ring worker but terrible on the mic and it kills him. If he doesnt cut promos there is a big reason for that.

So

Should Kofi hold the MitB case?

No. His good in-ring skills are not enough to be champion. If it didnt happen all this time, I doubt it will happen at the future.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Sorry, but I don't see it. Kofi can consistently deliver solid matches, he's decent enough on the mic, but I just see a career mid-card guy. There's nothing wrong with that, but I honestly can't picture Kofi in the WWE or World Heavyweight Championship pictures in the future. When I think about future MITB winners, I think about Wade Barrett, or Damien Sandow, and possibly Chody Rhodes.

Kofi had his best chance to break into the main event a few years ago. He was pretty hot during his feud with a heel Randy Orton. I can still remember the enormous reaction he received during a Raw at MSG, when he Boom Dropped Orton through a table. Also, I think this was around the time of the Kofi/Orton botch on Raw, when Orton screamed at Kingston for being "stupid." Still, this was probably Kofi's best chance to become a main eventer, and hasn't been able to recapture the same amount of momentum since then.

 

[jacdnwarrior]

I'd love to see it. I doubt it will happen. He was hot for a while and then he makes a mistake against Orton in the ring. Orton acts like such a sorry piece of shit screaming stupid stupid in the ring bringing attention to the mistake and the next thing you know Kingston free falls to the lower card.

He has fan support. He is good in the ring and put on solid matches against any performer. I haven't heard him on the mike enough to say he's good or bad. If he's bad on the mike or boring on the mike, he wouldn't be the first to be champ or win MITB. It's the bullshit backstage that is keeping him in the lowercard. And he's joined by another performer who is also stuck in the lower card and good enough to do more,
R-Truth.

Kofi should win it, but not right now, give it 3-4 years after we establish his ability on the mike and see a series of great matches from him first

Kingston against Bryan, Ziggler, Swagger, Truth then Del Rio, Punk etc.

I believe he could do quite well against these performers and the top ones.

 

[prosenfi]

To those of you who are saying he's a mid-carder at best, remember...Dolph Ziggler was a mid-carder, Jack Swagger was a mid-carder (he is again, but he did win the belt), Edge, Orton, even Cena was a mid-carder at some point! The WWE is a cycle, those on the bottom work their way up to the top, as top spots become open and you prove yourself. Kofi has the skills needed and when the time is right, I see no reason why he can't become a main eventer eventually.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

It wouldn't bother me to see Kofi get an opportunity, but I just don't see it happening now. I have a feeling that Kofi is someone that the WWE has come to depend on for providing good quality matches and generally being a stable figure within the mid-card scene. I kind of look for Kofi's overall role in WWE to be similar to that of Christian: someone that's dependable, can work with just about anybody and still be relevant as a mid-card guy that occasionally has a main event run.

Depending upon what WWE's ultimate plan for MITB is, it's hard to say. The MITB ppv was originally scheduled to be shelved this year and for an MITB match to take place at WrestleMania 28. Wade Barrett's injury but a kaibosh on that idea as he was said to be the one penciled in as the winner. He wasn't back in time for SummerSlam in order to build up an rumored MITB match for that event either. If WWE intends to do away with MITB as a ppv and go back to having just a single MITB match that takes place at WM, then I don't look for Kofi to be the guy anytime soon. If Barrett's push goes on as planned, I expect him to be the next Mr. MITB. I could see Daniel Bryan winning MITB once again, maybe Sheamus if he drops the title before WM and doesn't face the new champ at WM 29, perhaps Cody Rhodes will be the guy next in line. Maybe Jack Swagger if he returns and WWE is able to make him into a sustainable star this time around. It could be new talent on the roster like Sandow or guys waiting in the wings to be brought up from NXT like Seth Rollins or Dean Ambrose.

As far as being an MITB winner, I think there are a lot of other guys currently ahead of Kofi.

 

[#heel420]

I like Kofi. He's entertaining in the ring, but I don't really see him going beyond the upper mid-card. He could possibly be a transitional champion at some point. Most likely he will take up Shelton Benjamin's former role in producing some big moments in the MITB matches but ultimately coming up short.

 

[Trance Metaphor]

First of all, I'm not a fan of Kofi Kingston. I never was and never will be. However, I acknowledge his exciting in-ring skills. He's a good Mid-Carder. The problem is, he's done everything there is to do in the Mid-Card. He's won all the Mid-Card titles multiple times and I am quite sick of him always holding some Mid-Card title. What he needs is another memorable feud. He's lost a lot of steam since his feud with Randy Orton and I don't mean from just a step down, but from losing matches within 2-3 minutes. How am I supposed to take him as a serious competitor when he's losing matches within 2-3 minutes?! Right now as a Tag Team Champion with R-Truth, he's fine and the Tag Team division could really use some refining and relevance. But, that can only last so long for him until he really needs a new goal. Sometimes I don't even hear the crowd chanting BOOM BOOM BOOM when he does his pre-Trouble in Paradise sign. It's kinda sad. At the least, he should probably win the King of the Ring tournament like William Regal, just to top his career as a Mid-Carder that could but won't.

 

[HBKistheHOF]

Nope. Not even close.

WWE completely missed their oppritunity w/ Kofi.

Coming off of being tag champs w/ Punk & his only really solid rivalry (Kofi/Ziggles were great matches in the ring but who remembers any other time they interacted outside?) w/ Randy Orton, I probably would have said yes. He was developing more as a performer & realistcally WWE could have made him a transistional champion then & most people (casuals atleast) would have eaten it up.

The man has become an even less entertaining Rey Mysterio, never changing a thing (besides fun looking outfits ofcourse).

Everything he does outside the ring is boring & just plain bad sometimes. He is a part of the worst tag teams champs I can remember in awhile, especially for holding the belts for awhile now, and their whole schtick is just Truth & lil Jimmie. And sometimes Kofi reacting to Truth. ALL of Kofi's talent is in-ring.

I say:
-Keep him away from any titles.
-Make him a regular staple on Sat. Morn. SLAM & Superstars for the kids & fans who enjoy him.
-Add him to all the MitB's, etc. to perform cool spots & get that bonus.
-Let him sell all his merch & make his money

Essentially just put him back only on smackdown, so he can do what he does best & stop wasting so much RAW, PPV, title, and all the WWE "exclusives" time.

 

[FarFromFine]

He's closer to being future endeavored than being a MiTB winner. He's a cartoon character, same as Truth (though Truth was at least interesting during the start of his heel turn. The Little Jimmy bs killed him), and no one takes him seriously, nor should they. He has no in ring psychology, can't carry a match, and just has his few high spots that make the crowd go "ahhhhh" (his crossbody is the best ever). The problem isn't necessarily that he's in the Brodus/Santino category of just entertaining the kids, the problem is that he is poor on the mic, below average in the ring, and viewed as someone that can't beat even your upper mid carders.

To answer the questions:
1. No he should never win a MiTB match and should only be in them to give 1 OMG moment
3. I think he could have a good feud with Damien Sandow with Damien going after him for not wrestling a more "sophisticated" style.
4. No. He is a sideshow attraction there to jump really high and lose.

 

[d_henderson1810]

People here will never say that Kofi should be a main-eventer, just like they didn't rate John Morrison, Shelton Benjamin, Christian, The Miz, R-Truth or Jack Swagger. According to the IWC, none of these guys have "it". You see, only their favourites should be main-eventers, as if WWE should top their card with guys who are approved by internet smarks.

Yet the fans get behind Punk and Bryan (which I doubt they would, if they hadn't fought in the bush-league ROH), and also Dolph Ziggler, because it is cool to do so.

The WWE gets criticized for not building new stars, yet when they push anyone, fans just give the thumbs-down to anyone advancing upward. So, why would Kingston or any of the other guys get pushed, when anything they do is just "not good enough" anyway?

 

[IT Factor]

So here are my questions to you:

1. Should Kofi hold the MitB case?
2. If yes, then when?
3. Who would you have Kofi feud with to try to make it to the top?
4. Could Kofi hold his own against the best in the WWE?

Answers:

-Yes, Kofi should get the opportunity to hold the MITB briefcase.

-He should only get that opportunity if and when he steps his game up enough to merit getting that shot.

-Kofi would have to try new things to even get that shot. I'd say turning him heel and making him more dominant and cocky about his ability would be a step in the right direction. He also might consider buzzing the dredlocks off and dropping the Jamaican thing. We all know he's not what he's claiming he is, so why portray something you aren't? Fans pick up on that and will not accept him until he portrays something he actually feels as opposed to something he doesn't.

-Simply put, yes. I believe Kofi has the ability and potential to become a megastar within WWE is used properly. He reminds me alot of ways of Shelton Benjamin. He's great in the ring and athelethically gifted as hell. He falls flat of being a great character and needs alot more work on the mic. Once he gets that improved upon then and only then, will he be able to advance and become a main eventer.

 

[justinept]

People here will never say that Kofi should be a main-eventer, just like they didn't rate John Morrison, Shelton Benjamin, Christian, The Miz, R-Truth or Jack Swagger. According to the IWC, none of these guys have "it". You see, only their favourites should be main-eventers, as if WWE should top their card with guys who are approved by internet smarks.

Yet the fans get behind Punk and Bryan (which I doubt they would, if they hadn't fought in the bush-league ROH), and also Dolph Ziggler, because it is cool to do so.

The WWE gets criticized for not building new stars, yet when they push anyone, fans just give the thumbs-down to anyone advancing upward. So, why would Kingston or any of the other guys get pushed, when anything they do is just "not good enough" anyway?

I don't get it. I mean, you aren't new here. You've been posting on these board for four years. Maybe you just have a terrible memory. Christian, Shelton Benjamin, JoMo and The Miz were ALL IWC darlings at one point. People complained for years that Christian was never given a title run in the WWE - and then blasted the WWE for taking the title off him after only a few das. People on these boards thought Benjamin was the best wrestler in the company despite his inability to get over. People thought JoMo was going to be the next Shawn Michaels. People marveled at the Miz's transformation from bottom feeder to main event talent in 2009-10.

It doesn't matter if guys are ROH guys, TNA guys or AAA guys. If the guy is entertaining, then he'll get over. If you don't find Punk or Daniel Bryan entertaining, then you should just quit watching wrestling because nothing short of the full-fledged return of the Attitude Era is good enough for you.

You know what entertains me? Actual wrestling. I enjoy it when a wrestler is put in an STF, barely escapes and then struggles to put weight on the "injured" leg for the remainder of the match. That's stuff that Punk, Bryan, Ziggler, Rhodes and a number of other guys do. I'm not entertained when a wrestler gets folded like a pretzel, barely escapes, shakes it off and then acts like nothing happened. I'm not entertained when a wrestler takes two elbows to the back of the head that knock him across the ring and his response is to SPRINT across the ring, JUMP up to the middle rope and perform a belly to back suplex. I'm not entertained when a wrestler gets the crap kicked out of him for the better of 25 minutes, Hulks up, gets a pin and then runs around the ring like the match never happened.

That's why I enjoy Punk, Bryan, Ziggler, etc ... because aside from being entertaining on the mic, they're actually entertaining and believable in the ring. It has NOTHING to do with their previous employment experience.

As for Kofi - he has needed a makeover for a while. He has a decent look and is decent enough in the ring to get a chance, but the WWE really dropped the ball with him. It's one thing to give him a Jamaican gimmick, but once he dropped the accent and the Jamaican billing, he should've dropped the rest of the gimmick as well. That includes his name, the island colors he wears and his entrance theme. He could also stand to do something with his character. It's stale and has zero unique characteristics to it. There's nothing about him that stands out, and that's the worst thing you can say about a wrestler.

 

[J.J.]

Kofi reminds me of a modern day Steamboat. He's one of those guys you can't help but like. He's reliable and can put on a good match. Not every superstar has to be good on the mic to get over with the crowd. He shines through what he does in the ring as a competitor - that's how he gets over. For those of you that watched wrestling and saw Steamboat in the 80s you'd understand. Personally I feel his opportunity in the main event scene came around the time when he was snubbed in favor of Sheamus few years ago. To me he is a mid card fixture, we need those typical babyfaces like Kofi. Need more emphasis on the US and Intercontinental title scene than main event. He's fit just for that.