Has Kofi's Steam run out?

[Dwayne_Jason]

So, at Survivor Series I watched Team Rey vs Team Rio and I saw Kingston make his entrance. The pop was decent, not gonna lie it wasn't the greatest. And then something caught my eye. He was one of the few people left in the ring along with Show and Swagger and at Bragging Rights he was the first guy to be taken out.

I also see a lack of faces on Smackdown and Kofi can easily transition into a main event if given proper direction and proper opponents. His program with Orton was absolutely spectacular until it was dropped when Orton snapped (Or atleast that's my theory. If you think Kofi sucks, please tell me why and we'll talk about it.)

He's that generic superstar that Creative does not know what to do yet is still at the top of the upper/mid card and ready to transition into an ME for a little while if not permanent. He's not the wrestler of year, but he can put on a great show in the ring. His promo skills are decent when given lines (I assume that breaking Randy's car was a given promo).

Guys like Swagger, Del Rio and even Reks can be involved in a feud with him and he'd still be quite entertaining. Not to mention when he wants to show intensity he can (Putting Orton through a table at MSG, Dolph Ziggler vs Kofi Kingston).

So he has good intensity, decent (if given) promo skills, great in-ring ability it was a no-brainer why he was pushed against Orton.

But ever since that feud (It's almost been a year now) there has only been 2 memorable feuds that Kofi has had (Drew, Ziggles).

So my question is, is Kofi a victim to backstage politics and still paying for what happened to Orton? Do Creative not see a program for him?

And do you think he should be a filler for ME, or atleast be one of the contenders for the WHC in the future?

ATTENTION MIZARDS...

And I quote...

Spoiler

AAAWWWWEEEESSSSSOOOOOMMMMEEEEE!!!!!!

 

[Tna-WWE]

I think that Kofi's steam ran out barely due to the fact that he does not have great matches anymore. I think the last great match was when he faced Dolph Ziggler it was quite entertaining. Yup i think now Kofi kingston is not the same person he was on ECW He is worst but every wrestler had a downfall on their career am i right.

 

[Johnny Scumm]

The only time I did find him entertaining was in his feud with Orton, when he trashed the car.

Recently, I've found him to be really boring, just not exciting anymore, I think however, the way to get this back, is give him a match with Daniel Bryan, anyone who has a match with him comes off REALLY good.

 

[CH David]

Kofi still has the crowd behind him. They aren't huge on him like they were for him against Orton or anything but he can still get a fairly nice pop. It's the lack of a feud right now. Quite possibly also that Michael Hayes is the head booker and has been called a racist. You really never know. There's nothing to care about with him anymore. Since his deal with Ziggles ended there hasn't really been much thrown his way. It's not his fault, the guy does his best in the ring and just needs to be given a story. I tell you this, put him in a solid story with someone and he will be rock solid again. But that goes for any wrestler.

 

[sharmaq]

For me Kofi had built up a lot of steam during his feud with Orton last year...the crowd went insane when he boom dropped Orton through a table and when he pinned Orton clean at SS. For whatever reason though, WWE didn't go all the way - he jobbed clean to Orton in their first singles match at TLC, then again on RAW and that pretty much was that. It was a real momentum killer and made him look that he really didn't belong with the big boys. I'm not sure what the reason for this was...I don't believe it was anything to do with race, as Hayes has overseen the pushes of King Booker, MVP (in his first heel run) and Shelton Benjamin when he was US champ for a long time. But even though Kofi's not as over with the crowd now as he was, he's still over enough that if they gave him a compelling enough storyline and got him to show his more serious side again, he could build up a real head of steam again.

 

[CM Pulsar]

Kofi is still very over with the fans, I think they just don't know what to do with him at this point. It looks at this point like they are going to push a Dolph/Kaval feud so that leaves him out of the Intercontinental picture for a while. I would love to see him go after the World Title against Kane but I don't see that happening or the fans buying into it at this point. What might be a good move would be having him team up with MVP as a tag team, or maybe even turning MVP heel and having them feud.

 

[Xemmy]

Kofi Kingston is sort of a mystery to me. I've never really seen a bad match of his, but I haven't seen really ANY work on the mic. Kofi's pretty over as a face, so I'm just not getting it. I think he's suffering from "Shelton Syndrome", "Morrison Syndrome", "ect Syndrome". He's one of those guys that has the tools, but for one reason or another, he's not there. It bugs me even more, when a spot is open, and it still doesn't happen. Kofi has the PERFECT opportunity to be elevated on Smackdown. Why it's not happening is beyond me. I don't think it's backstage politics though. But I'm not infallible. I could be dead wrong.

 

[Dwayne_Jason]

It's funny because I haven't heard any stories from Wrestlezone for Kingston receiving backstage heat. I mean it's kind of stupid to keep Kofi in smackdown and not do anything. We got Reks, Rhodes, and shit we even had Punk. Put his ass back on smackdown. These guys I can garuntee will blow the roof of the place.

This guy is used on a weekly basis and they STILL have no idea what to do with him. He needs a monster push sort of like the Miz. Have him just go out and beat wrestlers. Kind of like what Orton did after Mania. Just go out beat people and dip. He shouldn't be all Viper-y and shit, he can still be himself. He just needs to start taking people out one by one.


I swear I'll be pissed if they drop the ball on Kofi.

ATTENTION MIZARDS

And I Quote...

Spoiler

AAAAWWWWEEEEEESSSSOOOOOMMMMMMEEEEEE

 

[LSN80]

I think to say that Kofi is still the victim of backstage politics due to Randy Orton is quite foolish. They're not even on the same show anymore! Besides, that was almost a freakin year ago, so if he's still in the dog house by now because of that, that Im sure he would have gotten the Kennedy treatment.

You forget, he was put over strong to win the IC title when he burst onto the Smackdown side. First he won the vacant IC title, then after being stripped of it, he went over "The Chosen One" in Drew McIntyre on consecutive PPV's.He did a nice job as IC champion too, before losing the title to Ziggler in a controversial fashion.

Since then, he's been a conundrum. It could be that creative has nothing for him, or they're simply biding their time with him until he gets into a good program. He's going to be in the KOTR tournament, so whose to say that might not be the way they elevate him? Ive been confused as to how they've booked him recently, including him being the first one booked to be eliminated at the Bragging Rights match. Hopefully this means they have something in store for him later, because Ive always seen Kofi as a special talent.

 

[KRKO KING OF KINGS]

i do believe that kofi lost some steam. when his feud with orton was happening i really felt he was getting his push but then he went to smackdown. even on smackdown though i believe he was still doing pretty good with the drew feud and the dolph feud but after that he just died down and tbh he just doesnt excite me anymore. i think kofi needs a good chance to prove he deserves to be in the big time. give him a run in the smackdown main events and see what he does im sure he can take edge and kane to the limit.

 

[Disturbed]

I think, Kofi's character is getting old and stale. He still has that same old jamaican gimmick but yet isn't jamaican. I don't think it has anything to do with polotics but maybe WWE not having any programs in mind for him. If he is going to be a top star he needs a gimmick change.I think Kofi should come out and say he is tired of the WWE Universe and they are getting him nowhere. He would then change his name and quit pandering to the crowd, thus obviously turning heel. Kofi could work some programs with kaval and help elevate him in the process. I think they could put on some good matches together. Then after he has some victories over Kaval, he could move to feuding with someone above Kaval on the card, maybe even John Morrison. Eventually, he could turn face again and be a top face in WWE. Kofi Kingston explains WWE's poor booking and it has nothing to do with Orton.

 

[Alastor]

I think the problem is Kofi doesn't have anything to fight for at the moment. Most of his feuds revolved around the IC title and once he dropped the title he didn't have anything to do. If I remember correctly they tried change that whereby Kofi will lose control when he gets really angry. I think the idea was normal Kofi was 'controlled frenzy' but the enraged Kofi becomes total frenzy. It sounds dumb and it didn't get over and it made Kofi look more heel than face.

I think WWE could be just letting Kofi drift back to his previous happy-go-lucky attitude to let the crowd forget about the failed gimmick before deciding how to push him. I could see him have a good showing in the KOTR tournament and be named the number one contender if Kane retains at TLC for a test run at the Royal Rumble.

 

[Dwayne_Jason]

I think he should go back to his ECW ways when he was more of a deadly force then he is now. The "focused" Kofi looks very bland. He should just have a happy face in and out of the ring. At times get mad, but other then that he shouldn't talk a lot (unless they gave him a promo) and should just focus on kicking ass.

 

[KOFINATIC]

WHERE'S ANGRY KOFI AT? I would love him to come on my TV on Friday nights again
I wish things were like last year around this time Kofi was pissed at Orton and ran around tearing up cars, putting Orton through a table & acting crazy until that 1 mess up in Minnesota , then he was traded to smackdown & had fights with Drew & Dolph over the IC title. When he went off on Dolph those 2 times during their feud I wanted Kofi to stay aggressive & crazy, but NOOOO he had to go back Happy Boom Boom smiley KofiThey need to let him talk more. WWE needs to let Kofi work, cause Im sick of the same-old guys gettin' the WHC I don't want kofi be in the mid-card forever.

 

[Kidd]

It's good to see that I'm not the only Kofi fan here.

I was really pulling for him during all his MITB matches but for what ever reason, he never won them.

Can someone clue me in on what happened between Kofi and Orton? I remember the feud and I also remember it ending rather abruptly but never knew why. So can someone please tell me what happened?

Also, I too miss angry Kofi. I loved watching him lose it and beat the shit out of Ziggler. If anyone knows why this angle was dropped, I'd appreciate it if they told me why this happened as well.

It's a real shame to see talent like Kofi's go to waste. It seems to me that he'll start getting a push then for whatever reason, the company backs off from it.

 

[Sparky]

It could be a mixture of things. He could be depressed and have things going on behind the scenes, he could be putting on sloppy half assed matches to get put into a decent fued, because he hasn't done much worth while lately. or he could just well be burnt out. Wrestlers don't just wrestle once a week. Hell it could even be that he is sick with the flu or something but still wanted to make an effort.

If he makes it into the ME scene it won't be for years yet. he might be a fan favourite but he will be one of those people that has to be built up alot more before he is ready for the main event.

 

[Isaac Kaye]

I think Kofi has great potential and has actually improved in the ring this year. I don't think there needs to be any rush with him though. He's not that long come off a decent IC title reign and a good feud with Ziggler so I'm sure they are just waiting to see when the time in right. He hasn't run out of steam imo - he is still a solid midcarder. I do think they need to give him the mic A LOT more though - he's is really quite impressive with the stick but they hardly ever give him the chance to talk - seriously he got one chance in the Ziggler feud, I can't remember him getting one at all in the McIntyre feud.

If you want my opinion they should keep him kinda relevant until WM and then maybe give him MITB. Looks like Morrison will get KOTR and I can't see any other viable babyfaces ready yet.

I think he deserves a chance but they really need to build his character by giving him the mic more often

 

[grandia]

has anyone seen the match he had with swagger on SD? A* match right there, great chemistry and loads of counters, hot crowd for the match too. 2011 should be the year he wins the world title, maybe off kane?

 

[Da Solo]

I think to say that Kofi is still the victim of backstage politics due to Randy Orton is quite foolish. They're not even on the same show anymore! Besides, that was almost a freakin year ago, so if he's still in the dog house by now because of that, that Im sure he would have gotten the Kennedy treatment.

So? Punk got the doghouse because of talking about Cena and they immediately took his title and then shitted on him/ruined the S.E.S. and he's still feeling the effects up until he joined the RAW broadcasters. So who's to say Kofi didn't catch that? He pissed off Orton, and that usually comes with (unfair) repercussions. But Kofi couldn't get the Ken treatment, because:

1. How would it look if Orton got 2 people fired because of his attitude? A brand new Kliq...
2. Kofi got mad over from that feud, whereas Ken just got back from injury, and before that he was feuding with a nobody like Burchill, so it's safe to say he lost a bit of steam.
3. Kids love Kofi
4. IWC might go ape shit (which really doesn't matter unless it gets as insane as it did for when they fired Daniel Bryan/Mickie James/Shelton Benjamin).

Can someone clue me in on what happened between Kofi and Orton? I remember the feud and I also remember it ending rather abruptly but never knew why. So can someone please tell me what happened?

Kofi refused to take the punt kick, so Orton had to end a match with the RKO. Orton got pissed and killed his push (how ironic, Orton got Ken fired because he wasn't safety conscious, yet he was mad at Kofi because he was.)

 

[TheEraofAwesome]

Problem with WWE Creative is when they get a guy hot with the crowd like Kofi, they pull the rug beneath their feet and don't allow them to shine any further. Prime example was Kofi's feud with Randy Orton. That feud started, and it looked like Kofi was going to be put over. Kofi looked pretty good in the beginning. Then towards the end, Orton decimated him, making everything Kofi did to get over pointless.

It's not his inability to have a good match - It's the fact that, to me, the fans lost hope in this guy becoming a main eventer because of how he's booked.

 

[Jonnie Walker]

I think Kofi is going to get the Morrison treatment. That treatment is, get a BIG push, when a midcard title, lose it, fade off for a little while, and get a second BIG push. Kofi isn't losing any steam. He won last night in a pretty good match, and was one of the last guys at Survivor Series. He still gets good reactions, is exciting in the ring,and can only get better from here. Kofi will get a push eventually, and it may not be a World Title push, but it'll be a push nonetheless. Kofi is one of the best young guys around right now, and should get to the Main Event eventually.

 

[The Wrestler`s Wrestler]

The problem with Kofi is even before his feud with Orton he was already a former IC & tag team champion. The feud with Orton should of been the point where Kofi springboards off to the next level (Pardon the pun) As I remember people was accepting to Kofi @ the time too, But his push was killed. Since then he was held the IC title a couple of times (Which I thought nobody would care since he has already held that title a few times) But he still had interest with the fans. But now that he has lost it again, He has lost his steam.

It hasn't totally gone, But Kofi coming out n clapping hands with the fans n getting a few meaningless wins here n there is going to run out FAST. Kofi has to turn heel for anymore future in the wwf, Because I dont see Vince putting Kofi over Kane for the world title anytime soon considering Kane has beaten Undertaker 3 times ina row on ppv.

 

[JBK2008]

Kofi has lost some steam but like previous posts, he should just beat everyone on the SmackDown roster. Maybe cut a promo here or there, but for the most part he should kick ass, then leave. Doesn't matter who to start with as he has seemed to face everyone on the roster by now and he's used every week. Who knows I think it's shame he hasn't main evented yet. His promos may be average, but the crowd is behind him, and he can put on a decent match when given the chance.

 

[Pat9010]

He's over with the Kids, sells a lot of shirts and stuff. He's put on some good matches the last couple of weeks too.

I think he can make a career out of being a mid carder who feuds with up and coming Heels (like Christian does) and is a 90% lock to make them look good and entertain the crowd. He is too small to be a believable main-event guy.

 

[RazingCane]

He's over with the Kids, sells a lot of shirts and stuff. He's put on some good matches the last couple of weeks too.

I think he can make a career out of being a mid carder who feuds with up and coming Heels (like Christian does) and is a 90% lock to make them look good and entertain the crowd. He is too small to be a believable main-event guy.

He's too small to be a believable maineventer? Punk is a 3 time world champ. The Miz is a world champ. Kofi is just as tall as both of these guys (at most an inch short) and is more muscular than both of them as well. So how exactly is he too small?