Is Kofi "Back?"

[The Crock]

Kofi Kingston is a talented, but overlooked member of the roster. He's been a midcard mainstay and a tag team wrestler, but is he finally on the way up again? We all remember his initial push, when it seemed like he would break through to the main event. He faced Randy Orton and really took it to a different level -- both in the ring and character development wise. Kofi showed intensity and the ability to hang with the top guys, but it was short lived, as his push fizzled out shortly thereafter. Kofi plodded along, winning some titles on the way (Intercontinental, United States, Tag), but he never seemed like a real threat to make his way up the card again.

This last Monday, Kofi started on a different road. With his tag team partner long gone and nothing to do, the WWE finally seemed to want to use his abilities. Not only did they give him a spot in the Raw Elimination Chamber, but he scored a win over former WWE Champion The Miz. While many will see him as nothing but a filler, I disagree. The Elimination Chamber environment will be perfect for Kofi to thrive in, for Kofi to showcase his talents. With a good performance in the Chamber, Kofi will put himself in line with the other men in the match, he'll be a viable contender. Now, that's not to say Kofi will win the WWE Championship, but I see no reason why he can't be a guy like Chris Jericho or Rey Mysterio, where he can be called up to the main event when needed, but given opportunities in upper midcard when not. Not only that, but having Kofi in the main event will allow the WWE to have some flexibility. He'd be a good holdover feud for someone like, just an example, a John Cena, when he's not contending for the title. He could even be used as a bridge between the midcard and the main event, putting over young talent and helping them ease into the main event, but he doesn't need to be a midcard fodder to the likes of, another example, Jack Swagger.

Kofi has a good connection with the crowd, he has a unique look, he's very talented, his moves/abilities captivate the crowd (Royal Rumble, anyone?), and he might very well be poised for his break-out moment sometime very soon.

What are your thoughts on this? Will Kofi be able to break through or is he just not good enough?

 

[#hamler]

Kofi Kingston is certainly good enough to break through...on Smackdown. Maybe it's just me but Kofi will not be able to shine on Raw unless it is the mid card division. Raw's roster seems to be full of talent and Kofi won't exactly shine through on his current face gimmick alone. On Smackdown, it seems to be alot easier for guys who do all their talking in the ring rather on the mic and Kofi fits that bill perfectly. Kofi Kingston has a unique ability to make his opponent's look good. If the WWE realizes this, they will eventually work toward getting him into the main event and utilizing Kofi to his full potential. While I certainly don't think he's ready to carry a World Title yet, moving him to Smackdown can certainly push him toward one. On Raw, he’ll likely put on a good showing in the Elimination Chamber, Money in the Bank at Wrestlemania, then it is back to doing nothing. He desperately needs Smackdown if he hopes to shine through.

 

[JWGunslinger]

I've been a Kofi fan for a long time, his actions and abilities speak for themselves(Money In The Bank 2010, Royal Rumble) and especially after the incredible potential he showed us in his feud with Orton I want to see this man out of the midcard hole he's stuck in. He hasn't had that intensity since the feud of his career but I think we could see that very soon, he's a tremendous athlete and he has always gotten good reactions from the fans. I do feel like even though he hasn't been involved in anything big recently he's still been improving every time we see him and he continues to perform amazing feats. I do see his win over Miz as a big sign, he won't be playing the R-Truth of last years Elimination Chamber, I expect to see him go on a tear and maybe even eliminate a guy or two, he won't win but he's gonna show he means business and hopefully that will get him in some sort of WWE championship match this year, I say it's time for Kofi to move up atleast to upper mid card if not main event. The only problem is that there are so many talented guys like him on Raw that he might get passed up once more. But I feel Dolph has had his chance, Jericho will and then he'll step up to the plate.

 

[Paralyzer Z]

I briefly mentioned it in the Raw chamber discussion but I believe that Kofi could put on a "John Morison like" performance this year.

As we say in just about every Money in the Bank ladder match he has been in has well as the Royal Rumble match last Sunday, he is more athletic and able to take higher risks than his moves-set allows him to. Not saying that he should change his move-set because it is familiar with the audience but the Chamber environment is a chance for him to prove himself and breakthrough. Like Morrison last year it will probably wait until after Mania but if he can put on a stellar show in that match then good things await for him. I always thought Kofi wasn't that great in the ring (not always only sometimes) and every time he has proved me wrong. His win over the Miz last night came as quite a shock and I am beginning to show interest in him again. Ever since he feud with Orton ended he's been rather a filler guy and an eternal carder, but within the past weeks WWE has shown that they are interested in him again.

I hope we Kingston last long and really show off what he can do in the chamber match, there just might be a chance for a push if that happens.

 

[IHW]

The mid card needs guys like Kofi Kingston. He helps that division. Not all guys need to move up. Plus, he is young. He has plenty of time to move up. He is still in the part of his career where he finds that Main Event Character and personality.

 

[LilShippy97_WWE]

Man I sure hope so. I doubt it though. I think we shouldnt overlook this now as there is always one mid carder in the elimination chamber match. (Carltio, Chris Masters, Morrison) But I do hope that in the furture he gets back to the level he was when in the Orton rivalry. I remember watching that rivalry and being like,"This is stealing the show!" Although, if he doesnt get to the top now... I do think he is the future. There has never been a African-American WWE champion (Rock is samoan, not black) and I think Kofi will be the first Black WWE champion. In many years to come. In 5 years... We will see Dolph Ziggler/Cody Rhodes vs Kofi Kingston in a world title match. If they wanted to give him a push now, I think he would feud nicely with Alberto Del Rio, Wade Barrett, or Christian

 

[Richard Blonoff]

Kofi will always be a solid midcarder on Raw. He picked up a win over Miz Monday night, which I was a bit surprised over, but overall he will lose to guys in Miz's position more often than not.

If he goes to Smackdown, where the actual in ring aspect is emphasized more than mic work which Kofi is average at best with right now, he will be a bigger star. I could see him holding the IC title again and I honestly think he could be given a World Title reign in a few years if they can just utilize his in ring ability.

I for one am a big Kofi fan and I'm glad he is getting the ability to showcase some of his talents in the EC.

 

[Honkey_Kong]

Man I sure hope so. I doubt it though. I think we shouldnt overlook this now as there is always one mid carder in the elimination chamber match. (Carltio, Chris Masters, Morrison) But I do hope that in the furture he gets back to the level he was when in the Orton rivalry. I remember watching that rivalry and being like,"This is stealing the show!" Although, if he doesnt get to the top now... I do think he is the future. There has never been a African-American WWE champion (Rock is samoan, not black) and I think Kofi will be the first Black WWE champion. In many years to come. In 5 years... We will see Dolph Ziggler/Cody Rhodes vs Kofi Kingston in a world title match. If they wanted to give him a push now, I think he would feud nicely with Alberto Del Rio, Wade Barrett, or Christian

Um do you know who The Rock's father is? He's Rocky Johnson (and he's black). The Rock is half black/half samoan. But never mind.

People in the IWC bitch about people who can't work a mic or do anything interesting (outside of wrestling). Well what personality or mic work can you even think of in regards to Kofi? Nothing stands out. He's a workhorse and a career midcarder. They gave him the chance with Orton and he blew it.

 

[jacdnwarrior]

I have to admit I haven't been watching WWE lately. Is Kofi back ? I hope so. I think Kofi is good, really good. Could he be a main eventer or some one who holds the belt ? I think so, but I need to see him speak more on the mike and work with some more of the higher end talent like Cena, Punk Miz etc. I think Smackdown would be a great test to see how he does. The problem with that, is it seems that WWE bosses are trying to build the program around Orton and Sheamus primarily with a few performers being transitional champions ie. Henry and Bryan.

As far as him blowing it with Orton, that's total bs. He makes one mistake in the ring against Orton, Orton acts like fucking child about it, drawing attention to it, and Kingston gets fasttracked down the roster. Orton has fucked up plenty in the ring, many performers have, you finsih the match, give some constructive criticism so it doesn't happen again and move the fuck on. Instead Orton screams 'bullshit bullshit', runs to complain about it to the WWE bosses, and they shove Kingston down the roster. That's typical Kliq bullshit all over again.

 

[JamJam]

I hope so. With a new top face in CM Punk, it would be awesome to have some new people in the main event scene. However, I gotta agree with Hamler here. I think he could really shine on Smackdown. If you read GCB's BT, he made Kofi a credible main eventer and boy is it doing wonders.

Maybe that handstand at the Rumble made the people in the back see something about Kofi. He'll surely put on a show at the Elimination Chamber, but he will not win for sure. So to answer the question, I believe this is the beginning of something for Kofi, but we'll just have to see.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

The most impressionable memory I have of Kofi is the Piper/Orton/MSG segment and the first time I heard him talk with DX in the ring when he dropped the accent. The ladder used as stilts at Mania and his great matches in 2010 had convinced me that Kofi is someone who will give you an exciting match and will be an interesting character.


He is not a typical spot-monkey (I hope that isn't racist here). I have heard him talk, and he is someone who can be more than a kiddie friendly attraction. I would love to hear him to be given more mic-time to actually see how much he has, and now that he is flying solo, well kinda. He has expressions, and actually has a good voice as weird as that sounds. I'm not gonna sound like 'oh he has so much potential', he does, we know it. But everyone can't work with Cena. He is a solid mid-carder and I see him as such, with the WH shots sprinkled in between.



If there's one reason to be thankful of synthetic marijuana, it is this.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

It's all about personality and being able to cut a promo. Ask John Morrison why he never got the push...

To be fair to JoMo he had a lot of his momentum killed when he refused to play nice back at Mania. He wasn't great on the mic but he had some minor pushes here and there, he just let that incident get in the way and it cost him

 

[AustinHartLesnarHBKTaz80]

to me, kofi's act is too kiddy, kiddy. his 'boom boom boom' act is played out, he overreacts in the ring, and he annoys me by catering to the crowd too much and jumping around nonsensically.

his character is clearly marketed towards little kids, and i'm just not too keen on this goody-two-shoe fan lover guy. its too cheesy and i'd like him better if he had more of a mean streak in him.

he needs a new finisher too, the trouble in paradise is a good signature, but i feel he needs something more aerial to end matches.

IMO, kofi needs to showcase more aerial moves, get meaner, tweak his look a bit, and maybe i see potential for the guy to move up. but for now, i don't see him going farther up the card with his current persona.

 

[Monkey_Mania]

I really hope he's "back" to doing nothing. Sorry, I just don't like him and don't see any upside to him. Also how he didn't get caught that synthetic marijuana with Bourne is beyond me. Truthfully though, he's good in the mid-card, but doesn't have what it takes to be a main eventer in the WWE.

 

[Jerichoholic8894]

I have to agree with Monkey, BUT, he may be able to have a decent WHC run during the Summer, maybe even just a month to see how he can do. but I feel like Vince is just playing with Evan Bourne by putting Kofi in the Chamber

 

[Mustang Sally]

Truthfully though, he's good in the mid-card, but doesn't have what it takes to be a main eventer in the WWE.

That's the size of it. He bounces between the upper and lower mid-card, and whenever he works in the higher range, many folks think he's ready to make a move, but I think the company is happy with what he's been doing all along and realizes he doesn't have the "it" factor necessary to be a main eventer.

Frankly, I doubt Kofi's unhappy with this. Whether he's in a tag team, jobbing to the stars or going for a mid-level title, he's on TV a lot of the time.....and that's probably what performers shoot for. It's mostly for kayfabe that wrestlers want to win championships.....in real life, they just want to keep working and get decent on-air exposure.

Kofi is The Happy Warrior and I was glad to see them put him right back into singles matches after Evan "I Know a Sure-fire Way to Beat the Drug Test" Bourne messed up. That could have unfairly effected Kofi, too, and it's a measure of his solid standing in the company that it didn't.

 

[Nemesis3000]

I think that Kofi is over with the fans - i.e. the pop at RR for his walking on hands. He brings something different to the table as a main eventer, he is not your stereotypical "big guy", is a high flyer and exciting to watch. I was watching RR with a few mates who aren't into wrestling, but were captivated by him, so he could be a way of attracting a new audience, who aren't fans. just by his athleticism. First post by the way so go easy

 

[Workrate]

I was really impressed they put him over The Miz. Sometimes I feel like WWE -- and wrestling companies in general -- are afraid to have their stars lose. That's why we get squash matches and dirty finishes. But having guys from different levels of the card get clean wins goes a long way toward strengthening the entire roster.

That said, Kofi's on a nice hot streak: his hand stand at the Rumble was one of the lone memorable moments, he gets a spot in the Chamber, then a win over The Miz. I don't think they're pushing him to main event status by any means, but they've done a nice job of restoring his relevance and credibility.

 

[Undertaker17]

i really enjoyed kofi's matches against Orton, i will always remember when he turned up on raw and fought orton through the croud it was one hell of a match, really showed that he could be up there, i just think round about that time there was alot of guys coming through that maybe had more of a say backstage or with vince due to their size and it pushed kofi back, tbf he took it and became successful in the mid card, he was always a better competitor then evan bourne, so yeah, i guess hes back, just hope to god they havent put him in the EC for the exact same reason they did a few years ago when he got attacjed by edge before he got in there

 

[j2dlyc]

I sincerely hope not, I cannot stand his character and would frankly stop watching WWE if he ever held either of the top 2 titles

 

[Notorious718]

I think it's too early to tell. A large part of me thinks that Kofi was inserted into the Elimination Chamber in order to give the match some exciting spots and to ensure John Cena isn't in the match. I don't think we'll have a good idea of whether or not Kofi is back until Wrestlemania. I agree with Hamler. I think a move to Smackdown could do wonders for him. I feel that while Kofi can put on exciting matches, he's overshadowed on Raw by the likes of Cena, Punk, and company. I feel like on Smackdown, he has a better chance of breaking through to the main event whereas I feel he'll never make a permanent move above the upper midcard on Raw. It would be nice to see Kofi in the main event more often. He showed glimpses of brilliance during his feud with Orton years ago and I was so disappointed when he slowly fizzled out. I hope he can find his niche this time around since it looks like he's in line for a big push now.

 

[ECW Dan Selby]

to me, kofi's act is too kiddy, kiddy. his 'boom boom boom' act is played out, he overreacts in the ring, and he annoys me by catering to the crowd too much and jumping around nonsensically.

his character is clearly marketed towards little kids, and i'm just not too keen on this goody-two-shoe fan lover guy. its too cheesy and i'd like him better if he had more of a mean streak in him.

he needs a new finisher too, the trouble in paradise is a good signature, but i feel he needs something more aerial to end matches.

IMO, kofi needs to showcase more aerial moves, get meaner, tweak his look a bit, and maybe i see potential for the guy to move up. but for now, i don't see him going farther up the card with his current persona.

Yeh, I'm going with this.

The guy has the tools, but it hasn't "clicked".

I'm also a firm believer that not everyone has to be a main eventer. But i'm also a believer in getting the best out of everyone, and I don't think Kofi's hit it yet.

I liked his feud with Orton. I think a mid to upper card SD! feud would be a nice litmus test and allow Kofi to expand.

The act is stale, pretty one-dimensional and is in need of some extra layers. Or perhaps even a complete re-think/re-branding if he were to make a move to SD!

 

[Born To Fly]

Of course he is! Oh, I thought you forgot to add an 'L' in the third word.

In response to your question, Elimination Chamber will put him in a good spot to succeed. Can't see him winning, but he'll probably eliminate somebody and have a few good spots. From there, I'm not sure what the future holds.

 

[Serious Mozzarella]

He's fun to watch in the ring. But his mini-"feud" with Randy Orton showed that he wasn't ready for the main event yet, despite that pretty-decent promo where he destroyed Orton's car.

In terms of being "back"? Eh.

He hasn't been as fun as he used to in the ring lately, save for the Royal Rumble, and he only did that because we didn't have John Morrison flipping up to the moon for everyone to lose their shit over. I wish they would give him a chance with a very solid, mid-card feud that actually gets some air time, kind of like how mid-card feuds in the '90s did. I've never disliked him, but I just don't care about him, because he never really gets the chance to do anything.

 

[LoudClearVoice]

Back? Um, he was never here in the first place so how can he be back?

Kofi's got talent, no doubt about that but I'm afraid he's a midcarder at best. He can't talk on the mic, he's too kid friendly, and he's really not that interesting. He can wrestle but that's it. In the modern WWE that alone won't get him anywhere. It's cool that they're "giving him a chance" even though I think he's in that chamber just because ADR is out. If ADR wasn't hurt, Kofi wouldn't sniff that Chamber.

Does he suck? No. Is he main event material? Hell no.


So, no he's not back. He wasn't ever here in the first place.