Kofi Kingston...Does He Need A New Gimmick?

[DML960]

Kofi Kingston is a former 4 time IC Champion, 2 time US Champion, and former tag team Champion. He has basically had the same gimmick since he has been in WWE, and has yet to get a push. Personally i think he is exciting to watch but his gimmick is stale. He needs to turn heel or something or he will be known as a glorified mid carder. Like comeon he lost the IC title, then goes for the next mid card title the US belt and wins that a month later.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

Very much so.

I am still awaiting on a Kofi Kingston heel turn which would be perfect. He'll garner instant heat, because some people for whatever reason enjoy seeing him, when really he's bland. Just give the guy a personality. That's all I ask, he then may be watchable.

 

[thegreekhero]

Remember his little feud with Randy Orton in 2009 (correct year?) ? Well, if he were to bring that back and become a heel, he can totally pull it off. I loved his aggressive character and I think that his Jamacian/Ghanian gimmick is too corny. He should join to dark side and bring back his serious, ruthless persona. Then, he would be a believable champion.

 

[Wade's Public Transit Bomb]

I am not a fan of the boom boom, but let's be real here.. The guy is perfect as a second-level person in the PG Era. The guy is what kids what to look up too: Nice guy who does flips. I know there is that opinion on the forum that Kofi is stale, but as long as he fits in with that demographic the WWE is catering to, I see no rational reason to change him.

 

[BritFan93]

WWE dropped the ball with Kingston, I can't see him ever being a main event player, with or without a gimmick change. When he had his feud with Orton, Orton was the big heel in the business and Kofi was kicking his ass literally all over the arena. That was when the transition from mid-card to main event should have been made, it wasn't and we will never know just how good (or bad) a champion Kingston would have been.

 

[Mercer the Ruthless]

Like Eboney said I don't see a reason to change him, albeit, it would be a good idea. However, in order to give him a new gimmick they need a new gimmick for him. If anything at all, just up his aggression sometimes it's not a gimmick, it's the aggression and move set and pairing him up with a superstar at the right time. He should learn a a few suplex variants, people love them and I have a love for German and Northernlights suplex. I mean he's a more technical/high flying guy doing not so technical/ somewhat high flying moves. If you get what I mean.

 

[LegendKiller716]

I think he needs a mentor. I would love Booker T to mentor him. I thought they were gonna do it on Smackdown, because every week Booker would talk about his potential, but criticize him for loosing.

He needs to change his music, attire, and taunt. He needs to drop the happy-go-lucky Jamaican gimmick and have more of an attitude. However, I don't think that he should turn heel. He is very over with the crowd, which is not easy to accomplish.

I think with the help of Booker T, or any other manager, Kofi can get really over.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

He doesn't need another gimmick. It's not always about another gimmick. What Kofi Kingston needs is some personality. I will always offer his work against Randy Orton and the Legacy as the most edgy, inspired work Kofi Kingston has done, and likely will do in the WWE. During that month Kofi didn't change his gimmick or become some other lame character. He was given lots of mic time, a program against a top tier talent, the opportunity to go over a few times, and was a lot more intense. Kofi doesn't need to be the new super-hero-of-the-month, he just needs intensity and fire. He needs to talk. He needs to not be "the guy who leaps all over the place" and become Kofi Kingston.

 

[lazeric]

Count me in as 1 of the many who think its time for a change with Kofi and I got a few ideas that mite work. Idea #1: everyone's always talkin about a new Nation of Domination so it would be logical to include him in that or idea #2: team him with R-Truth and have them become a heel tag team

 

[lilnev2009]

yes absolutely. Kofi Kingston has become the new MVP. They put a secondary title on him and then take it off of him with no heavyweight title shot even being close. Kofi can talk better than R Truth, he can wrestle better than the miz and is way over with the crowd. What do those others have that Kingston doesn't? Heel turn. It is time. Dont become MVP or Shelton Bejamin. If he did a Heel turn right now, he would be right there in the title picture for Raw especially with Punk leaving. There is an opportunity there because people are tired of seeing the raw title rotate among 3 or four guys. Thats why it was so big when Miz won. I mean Alex Riley is getting more of a push then Kofi at this point and that says alot about the current staleness of his character.

 

[Negrodamus]

Kofi should join up with R-Truth in the conspiracy angle as there is only so far an african american can go. S the only way he can get a main event push is as a heel and that will be the biggest reactions he will get in the main event scene. Look at R Truth if he didnt turn heel with this he would not be relevant and would be released, Kofi is going the same route he gets the crowd entertained but thats it, the crowd only sees him as mid card.
it is what it is and thats why R Truth conspiracy program works so well because they tip toe the racism line for the pg rating, it looks like Mark Henry is going along that line as well after last fri smackdown. Vince knows this its not racist its business.
People talk about the best characters are the ones that are extensions of themselves except African Americans cant do it because it wont appeal to the masses properly. this is why the conspiracy/racist theory if done right always works because its what the masses can relate to and can easily generate great heat and also shows the true talent in that person. Kofi needs this to get noticed again and then after that its like R Truth right now keep the people interested and its up to him sink or swim.

 

[aboynameddirt]

WWE dropped the ball with Kingston, I can't see him ever being a main event player, with or without a gimmick change. When he had his feud with Orton, Orton was the big heel in the business and Kofi was kicking his ass literally all over the arena. That was when the transition from mid-card to main event should have been made, it wasn't and we will never know just how good (or bad) a champion Kingston would have been.

Couldn't agree more. That was the Kofi that should have stayed. At that time Kofi definitely should have been pushed into some main event positions.

 

[J.J.]

I don't see Kofi as a maineventer despite whatever he does. To me he will forever be a glorified mid Carder. He really hasn't changes even during his stint on Smackdown. Fans love him - he's a high flyer with an incredible leaping ability. That is his gimmick and it gets over well with the fans. He doesn't need to be aligned with anyone, a heel turn would be interesting though.

 

[M-Eklipse]

He doesn't need another gimmick. It's not always about another gimmick. What Kofi Kingston needs is some personality. I will always offer his work against Randy Orton and the Legacy as the most edgy, inspired work Kofi Kingston has done, and likely will do in the WWE. During that month Kofi didn't change his gimmick or become some other lame character. He was given lots of mic time, a program against a top tier talent, the opportunity to go over a few times, and was a lot more intense. Kofi doesn't need to be the new super-hero-of-the-month, he just needs intensity and fire. He needs to talk. He needs to not be "the guy who leaps all over the place" and become Kofi Kingston.

This, about a thousand times over.

Kofi doesn't need a gimmick change, they just need to give him another high-profile feud and let him shine. Without a doubt, Kingston's program against Orton was his best work, but I also think he did good work with Dolph Ziggler when they were feuding with each other for the Intercontinental Title. With the intensity he brought in his feud against Dolph, someone high up on the card to help put him over, and some actual time on the mic, I think he easily be back up to the upper mid-card and eventually move on to the main-event. Kofi can still be the cool Boom-Boom guy, but he can also be the guy who will kick your ass all over the area if you piss him off.

Edit: Also, there's already enough heels on both RAW and Smackdown as it is; maybe he could work as a tweener, but he doesn't need a heel turn.

 

[JWGunslinger]

He most definitely needs to mix things up, he's a very talented and entertaining performer but he has been boring me to death as of late. What he needs is personality and passion, and more promos to showcase it in,As several mentioned above me, his feud with Orton was the not only the best in ring Kofi we've seen but it was Kofi at his most exciting. He was able to hang with Orton for some time which says alot, plus him wrecking Randy's stock car was pretty fun to watch. Anyway the bottom line is he needs to get back to being the ruthless Kofi who's on a mission, that is what will get him out of being stuck as a mid carder and propel him into the world title zone.

 

[Notorious718]

Both shows are heavy on heels. Kofi Kingston does NOT need to turn heel. What he needs is a meaningful feud that the fans will care about. His work with Orton was the most interesting stuff I've seen out of him and that was the first time anyone took him seriously as a main event waiting to happen. Adding some of that edge and fire he had in his Orton feud back into his personality would make him interesting again. He has the in-ring work down to an extent so all he really needs to work on is personality. Let him speak and cut promos as he did very well at that in his Orton feud as well. Otherwise, he'll just be seen as a flippy spot monkey and I'd personally like to see him go further than that.

 

[ATLMIATEX]

Turning someone heel doesnt solve the problem, look at Christian and R-Truth.If they turn him heel then they are just making another boring rivalary.The way to get Kofi Kingston to "the next level" is to give him a WWE title shot vs John Cena.Simply by after Cena beats Punk or Punk beats Cena, well 1st if Cena beats Punk at Money in the Bank then have like a battle royal on Raw to determain a new #1 contender.Or if Punk wins have a tournament on Raw for the vacant WWE title, make Kofi go to the title match vs someone like Alberto Del Rio or The Miz.Dont let him win the title just make him have an exciting match have Kofi vs whoever steal the show and have the other guy win by just a quick roll up.Or have Miz or Del Rio cheat to win.Kofi Kingston has potential they just havnt found it yet.

 

[Honkey_Kong]

Turning someone heel doesnt solve the problem, look at Christian and R-Truth.If they turn him heel then they are just making another boring rivalary.The way to get Kofi Kingston to "the next level" is to give him a WWE title shot vs John Cena.Simply by after Cena beats Punk or Punk beats Cena, well 1st if Cena beats Punk at Money in the Bank then have like a battle royal on Raw to determain a new #1 contender.Or if Punk wins have a tournament on Raw for the vacant WWE title, make Kofi go to the title match vs someone like Alberto Del Rio or The Miz.Dont let him win the title just make him have an exciting match have Kofi vs whoever steal the show and have the other guy win by just a quick roll up.Or have Miz or Del Rio cheat to win.Kofi Kingston has potential they just havnt found it yet.

I disagree about Christian, but nonetheless. I think what you're trying to say is Kofi doesn't have "it." He's a program filler, nothing more. He's basically like what MVP was. Even if they turned him heel and put him in a racist black conspiracy faction, he'd still be a mid-carder because R-Truth or Mark Henry would be getting the spotlight. Simply because Kofi doesn't have "it."

 

[gwumusic10]

I would love to see him go heel and then have a long program with Sin Cara. I am a huge mark for both Kofi and Sin Cara so I guess I am a little biased.

I thought the WWE really hit on something a while back when they had Kofi go ape shit on Randy Orton. I wish they would have continued that. You don't really want to have another black guy going crazy because right now you have a psycho case in R Truth and now apparently Mark Henry is going banana sandwich.

I think it would be awesome to team up Kofi and Sin Cara for a while with Kofi turning on him. I feel that these two would make a dynamic program.

 

[d_henderson1810]

This thread just proves the problem with the IWC today, and having listened to Eric Bischoff's interviews last week, I agree with him about the 10% of internet fans, who trash talent.

So, you bag Kofi, saying he is bland. I actually find him quite a good wrestler to watch. Yet your answer to changing him is to turn him heel. Yeah, why don't we just turn everyone heel? That's the answer to everything.

You people have a screw loose. You refuse to see the talent in John Morrison, R-Truth or Kofi. Everyone complains about seeing the same guys in the main-event, (e.g. Cena, Orton etc), yet whenever anyone is pushed, the IWC comes on here and says they can't wrestle, are bland, aren't good on the mike yada yada. You say to turn everyone heel, yet the fans turned the best heel in a decade, Randy Orton, and made him a bland babyface. If anyone is itching for a turn to get their mojo back, it is Orton. He's so boring now (what's with his stupid beard anyway).

Performance in the ring isn't good enough for you people. You want personality. Yet when someone has awesome matches in ROH, you rave about him, even though ROH isn't about character development, but about ringwork. You think unless a WWE wrestler can talk like the Rock, or evoke emotion like your beloved "Stone Cold", you refuse to invest in them. Yet you all rave about Zack Ryder, some bland "Superstars" wrestler who doesn't even have matching pantslegs, yet because he makes Youtube videos, does some comedy and goes on Twitter a lot, you anoit him the next "superstar". Give me a break!

In regards to Kofi, what would work for him is to have another major storyline, like he did with Orton. Maybe have a story where he is "storyline" injured, or maybe a heel takes out a member of his family, which changes Kofi from the smiling, fun-loving guy, to a guy wanting revenge. He doesn't have to go heel, but is driven to making the heel pay for what he has done.

If you turn everyone heel, you won't have many faces left. Besides, since you lot are Cena-haters, if you keep some guys face, you can then slot them into the face main-event spot, and move Cena to a second-string feud.

Until you people change your perceptions of what makes a superstar, no-one will ever appeal to you. The Attitude Era is over, get over it. The Rock is gone, and Austin is gone. You people need to get with the times, and move on from an era which was eleven fricking years ago. Besides, you lot don't speak for the majority of wrestling fans anyway.

 

[salopstick]

This thread just proves the problem with the IWC today, and having listened to Eric Bischoff's interviews last week, I agree with him about the 10% of internet fans, who trash talent.

So, you bag Kofi, saying he is bland. I actually find him quite a good wrestler to watch. Yet your answer to changing him is to turn him heel. Yeah, why don't we just turn everyone heel? That's the answer to everything.

You people have a screw loose. You refuse to see the talent in John Morrison, R-Truth or Kofi. Everyone complains about seeing the same guys in the main-event, (e.g. Cena, Orton etc), yet whenever anyone is pushed, the IWC comes on here and says they can't wrestle, are bland, aren't good on the mike yada yada. You say to turn everyone heel, yet the fans turned the best heel in a decade, Randy Orton, and made him a bland babyface. If anyone is itching for a turn to get their mojo back, it is Orton. He's so boring now (what's with his stupid beard anyway).

Performance in the ring isn't good enough for you people. You want personality. Yet when someone has awesome matches in ROH, you rave about him, even though ROH isn't about character development, but about ringwork. You think unless a WWE wrestler can talk like the Rock, or evoke emotion like your beloved "Stone Cold", you refuse to invest in them. Yet you all rave about Zack Ryder, some bland "Superstars" wrestler who doesn't even have matching pantslegs, yet because he makes Youtube videos, does some comedy and goes on Twitter a lot, you anoit him the next "superstar". Give me a break!

In regards to Kofi, what would work for him is to have another major storyline, like he did with Orton. Maybe have a story where he is "storyline" injured, or maybe a heel takes out a member of his family, which changes Kofi from the smiling, fun-loving guy, to a guy wanting revenge. He doesn't have to go heel, but is driven to making the heel pay for what he has done.

If you turn everyone heel, you won't have many faces left. Besides, since you lot are Cena-haters, if you keep some guys face, you can then slot them into the face main-event spot, and move Cena to a second-string feud.

Until you people change your perceptions of what makes a superstar, no-one will ever appeal to you. The Attitude Era is over, get over it. The Rock is gone, and Austin is gone. You people need to get with the times, and move on from an era which was eleven fricking years ago. Besides, you lot don't speak for the majority of wrestling fans anyway.

that is one of the best posts i have read on here ever

as for kofi he suffers like a lot of wrestlers in having no personality or not letting the writers allow him to have any

the days that bookers became scriptwriters are the problem with wwe and wrestlers now

 

[WWWYKI777]

Yeah he needs a new gimmick.

I like to call the ideal gimmick for him "Actually talking"....

For a short while Kofi would actually get promo time in a fued with Orton but they never pulled the proverbial trigger on him when he was being that way and they had him go back to being a jolly silent spot monkey...

 

[World Class]

If you don't get mic time, you will be called bland by the IWC, thats the way it works. But i would agree with a gimmick change though. He's great when he's jumping off things but apart from that there's not alot to him really for the casual fan to take much notice of him.

 

[redmethod09878]

kofi just needs to get on the mic more. we havent really seen all of the current kofi kingston character yet because of it. for example in his fued with orton he should depth to his character that we never saw. plus turning heel is not the answer. wwe right now is overloaded with heels and kofi would just be lost in the deck

 

[Vintage]

So what I get from all of is basically

Kofi can wrestle but is boring outside the ring.

Zack Ryder oozes personality but his ring work isn't as good as Kofi's.



There is no question why people want Kofi to turn heel, they want to like him and maybe a heel turn will help him stand out and develop a personality.

A gimmick change wouldn't help him in the least. How do you repackage a Jamaican with horrible accent turned West African with no accent who still comes out to his original Reggae music and his signature west indian style taunt...

You can't blame Russo for this one, Kofi is a mess. I'm not sure he can be fixed.