Is Kofi Kingston a token champion?

[Maddog Lionheart]

I honestly don't think that it's because of his skin color. It does have something to do with his mic skills. His mic skills aren't all that great and yes botching moves are a risky factor when it comes down to World Championships. If you think about it, Jeff Hardy didn't win the title in WWE untill he toned down some of his moves. And there has been a lot of African American/Hispanic superstars that were great headers. The Rock, Booker T, Bobby Lashely, Shelton Benjamin, Eddie Gurerro, Rey Mysterio....... (even though Booby and Shleton weren't World Champions, they were amazing.

To me it's all about mic skills. You can be the best athlete, but that doesn't NECESSARILY mean that you're going to hold a World Title.

 

[Tiger Hoods]

1) I don't know what you guys are talking about. He botched at first when he started off and I guess the Orton incident must be on everyone's mind, but he really hasn't botched since. And if you really think that was the case, Maffew from Botchamania would have a FIELD DAY with him, but that's not happening.

2) When Kofi has been allowed to speak, he's really not bad. They just DON'T LET HIM SPEAK. Hell, they kinda don't let Ziggler speak either. Hence, why Ziggler has Vicky Guerrero to keep him over. That's not to say that Ziggler isn't talented, but I think people wouldn't be as receptive as they are with him and Vicky.

3) Kofi is the Cena/Mysterio of the mid-card. Women like him, men like him, and kids love him. And that's why the haters...hate. I'm not a fan of Cena, at all. But those people that hate Kofi are the same ones that hate Cena and they make that association to fuel their hatred. So they create made up reasons that I have refuted in reasons 1 & 2.

4) Kofi is more of a "paper" champ than a "token." But it's because of WWE's failure to create new stars. People like Miz, Ziggler, Del Rio, Barrett needed to be elevated without beating a top-card performer. So Kofi fits the bill. If Del Rio beats Bourne, no one cares. If he beats Kofi, there's a bit more weight to it.

With all this said, despite all the pushing down that they've done to him, he's STILL remained over with both Smackdown AND Raw rosters. He's constantly speaking with people on tours. He was in a few of the commercials. He had a video showcasing him to the crowd again. He's had some really good matches recently. And he and Ziggler MADE that IC title relevant again. Really, do you even CARE that Barrett's IC champ right now?

Personally, with the Miz and Morrison hurt, and the lack of decent faces in the crowd, they HAVE to make new stars. Don't be surprised (especially since heels have won most of the recent MiTB matches) that he wins MiTB and gets some adequate mic time. Hell, I hope they push Ziggler as well, he actually has a rival, a key component to main event status.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

Kofi's in a position similar to a lot of people who came before him. He's stuck in the midcard much like RVD was for a long time, much like Booker T was for a long time, and much like Christian was for a long time. Now the common theme with all these people is that they have held a world championship at one point or another. I simply don't see that from Kofi. Kofi showed us something new and interesting from him in 2009 with his feud with Randy Orton. He played a more intense character, fed up of being bullied by Orton. Since then, Kofi's dived straight back into the midcard and is now basically the reliable midcard champion much like Van Dam or Christian was in the last decade. Kofi has shown great promise in the ring, but really not a thing in personality all the way through 2010 and now in 2011 too. He's exactly where he should be at this stage of his career.

 

[Uncle Phatso]

Kofi just dosen't scream world title holder to me. Sure he is over with the kids, but really he isn't in the picture for a good reason. His mic skills, Sheamus and Swagger are both young superstars and they got into the picture before Kofi. He should be right up there with them? Right?

Wrong, Both Sheamus and Swagger can cut a good promo. Kofi can't and what do we know about Promo's and the Me? They happen every week, you can't have someone who isn't strong on the stick week in and week out looking bad because of his mic skills. Sure he botches every once and a while. But he has a high flying style, they can turn that into just part of his style of wrestling. Take risks and get rewards. It's not a 100% for sure chance. But his mic skills are what's killing him at this point in my eyes.

 

[Daniel]

Kofi Kingston's current position is nothing to do with the colour of his skin. His future career - wherever that may be - will not be determined by the colour of his skin. Let's make that clear from the outset. WWE doesn't operate like that.

In the midcard, Kofi Kingston is a safe pair of hands. He is over, can put on good matches on a regular basis, and despite not being allowed to show it - he can talk well. But where he is now, he will not be world champion. That's because he doesn't have the personality that is required to hold one of the top titles. Whether that will come to him, I don't know. I hope it does because I am actually entertained by him on a regular basis.

His late 2009 feud with Randy Orton should have launched him as an integral part of WWE's main event future. It was perfect. A heel Orton can make any face look good. But now he's back to holding meaningless midcard championships. And like I said, that's fine. But if WWE want to advance his career, he's going to have to move away from them and replicate the magic he had with Orton with somebody else.

 

[Da Solo]

His mic skills, Sheamus and Swagger are both young superstars and they got into the picture before Kofi. He should be right up there with them? Right?

Wrong, Both Sheamus and Swagger can cut a good promo. Kofi can't and what do we know about Promo's and the Me? They happen every week, you can't have someone who isn't strong on the stick week in and week out looking bad because of his mic skills. Sure he botches every once and a while. But he has a high flying style, they can turn that into just part of his style of wrestling. Take risks and get rewards. It's not a 100% for sure chance. But his mic skills are what's killing him at this point in my eyes.

Did you seriously just say Jack Thwagger can cut a good promo?

And I love how everyone says he has bad mic skills when we all know how hard we marked out when he cut the promo that destroyed Orton's car.

So is his race or mic skills his problem? No. His problem is that Orton fucked up his opportunity when they gave it to him, and now it looks like Creative is a little wary to give him another one, which is funny since they've taken bigger chances such as Sheamus's 1st title win and Jack Thwagger's shitty run. You can't deny that even though he isn't as over now as he was before, Kofi at this point is still more over than Sheamus or Jack was when they won their world titles.

 

[The Crock]

Kofi COULD have been something more than just a midcarder, but his push got squashed after his feud with Randy Orton, and it became the same old Kofi Kingston we'd always seen. It's not that he has to be a career midcard champion, it's that he needs to break out of his shell and finally hit his stride again. When he had a "mean streak" the crowd was WAY behind him, even now they still love him. If only he could build on his mic work, he'd be main event material down the road. He's being written off far too quickly, there's no reason he'll never be a main eventer, especially since we've already had a taste of it.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Kofi is stuck in the midcard, but has been able to gather up a handful of impressive title reigns. He will be remembered as one of the better midcarders of this era at this point. We saw what he is capable of during his Orton feud, he just needs to get a little angrier sometimes. I think that he will always be in the US title scene on Raw unless he can get angry again like he did in 2010 because you need more than a happy laughing personality and flying moves in order to move up the card permanently. He had stated one of his goals was to win every championship WWE offers.... well, he has two left. The two world titles. I hope Kofi wins either at some point and isn't stuck where he is forever like some think.