Kofi Kingston Is The *NEW* WWE United States Champion

[Jack-Hammer]

As we saw on Raw last night, Kofi Kingston defeated Antonio Cesaro to become WWE United States Champion for the 3rd time in his career. I thought they had a great match, though I can't say I'm terribly excited at the moment.

We've seen Kofi have numerous mid-card title runs that ultimately seem like he's just the next guy to carry the strap for a while. His last IC title reign generated some promise early on but WWE stopped his momentum. On top of that, they've spent almost the whole of WrestleMania season burying the United States Championship. Frankly, Cesaro deserves better for the hard work he put in. At 240 days, his run is tied for the 7th longest in the overall history of the title. His character wasn't all that much to speak of, but he's consistently had high quality matches. His match with Kofi last night was no different.

WWE has done the whole stop/go pattern with guys like Kofi and Wade Barrett that it's difficult to muster enthusiasm that he's US champ once more. I like Kofi personally, he's constantly entertaining to watch in the ring and has demonstrated solid ability on the mic. Now that WM is over with, one can only hope WWE is finished burying the mid-card title scene and picture altogether and gets some heat back into it.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

The wrestling world has not been shaken to its very core by the news that Kofi Kingston is the new I.C. champion.

Cesaro deserved better, he's WWEs most reliable mid-carder, but it wasn't like his reign was memorable or even worth watching. It had to end soon and it did. The only issue is that they chose to put it on Kofi by default. A guy WWE has hardly used all year and who's never achieved anything whilst holding numeroud mid-card titles.

I've drawn up a list of instantly more appealing champions:

A member of The Shield
Fandango
Big E. Langston

Then again, I suspect Kofi is a transitional champion and he'll drop the title in the next couple of weeks to one of the above anyway.

 

[justinsayne]

If WWE is smart then they'll take advantage of the fact that Kofi is billed from Ghana, West Africa, & have Coulter & Swagger turn their attentions toward him & the U.S. title, like they should've done in the first damn place.

I like Kofi & don't mind him being champ at all, I do however feel that Cesaro deserves better, & should at the very least get his rematch on PPV at Extreme Rules.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I thought they had a great match, though I can't say I'm terribly excited at the moment.

Yeah, it's another "here we go again" event in the 'E. Every so often, they do some sort of mini-push for Kofi, once again making it seem as if we're supposed to get excited for him. The good thing about the IC and US titles is that they allow mid-carders to get some glory without having to be elevated to main event level.....which would be stretching our imaginations a little too much.

All in all, it's a good concept because without it, guys like Kofi would never get to wear title belts.

Still, I figured last night's Cesaro-Kofi match was going to be a win for Antonio, one of the few he's had as US champ. In fact, he's the "losing-est" champion I can recall, and that's why I figured he needed a win....and in Kofi, he had someone he could beat.

That Kofi won is nice, but neither here nor there as far as events in WWE are concerned.

Congrats, Kofi. Let's see how long they let you hold the strap this time. Fans shouldn't blink their eyes or they might miss his title reign.

 

[DX Mols]

Yawn. Unless Kofi changes something about himself, I could give a rat's ass if he's the US Champion. I actually kind of feel bad for Cesaro. He's got potential but he too hasn't done anything to stand out.

My guess is Kofi just got the strap so Fandango can take it from him in a few weeks on Smackdown.

Kofi really is the 2013 version of Shelton Benjamin. Athletic in the ring...average on the mic. Never will be World Champion.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Much is being made of this "heel turn" but why is it really needed? Kofi reminds me of a Tito Santana or Ricky Steamboat, someone who was always a face and made a very good career as upper mid-card performer.

Kofi is the biggest victim of the ridiculous conveyor belt system that deems talent a failure if they do not win the World title within a set time period. Santana never won it but was involved in major matches for over 12 years in the WWWF/WWF and built a legit Hall Of Fame career out of never being a world champ.

Kofi is someone who can always be a mid-card champion, move up for the occasional main event and be popular with children which is no bad thing, and a positive role model competitor like Santana and Steamboat were (the biz does need them). He is someone who doesn't have the "world champ" aura about him and making him heel isn't going to make that happen unless it's a gimmick so shocking and controversial that if it fails, it kills his career. He'd have to go so far away from what has got him where he is that there would be little hope of him ever getting it back...

If they're gonna do it, then they kinda have an obvious out... Big E. is already wearing what looks like a Nation uniform... Kofi reforming the Nation Of Domination as a way to get himself to the next level might make sense but he isn't really a leader type. Mark Henry doesn't have the mic skills and R-Truth doesn't work with the Little Jimmy stuff being so popular. Or they bring back MVP and have them join and then feud over money, something Kofi has never been interested in. He is no Butch Reed, where it's easy to believe he is a mercenary. Kofi would have to do something VERY despicable for its time to make a turn work and thus burning his stock as an "African-American Hero" it would have to be guaranteed to work.

Others have been in this position, even recently they are having to go with "heel" Ryback just months after he was the next big hero... When it bombs, not if, Ryback will be just another Hercules/King Kong Bundy type and if the worst happened then Kofi could be easily in that Ahmed Johnson/post Nation role - nowhere despite a year prior being touted as "the next world champion".

There's the old saying "a bird in the hand" and Kofi getting the mid card titles for 12 out of every 24 months for the next decade is better than taking the risk of killing your career for the chance of the"main event". As it stands he is over, sells merch and almost guaranteed to be in a job this time in 2 years... if they turn him and he can't make a push work then he could be gone very quickly. Sure if you don't WANT to be the top guy, your place should be under threat, but if you and Vince understand your role isn't to be that top guy, but a foundation block then your place will never be under threat unless you screw it up.

I can see they are likely to put Swagger and Coulter against him or potentially a unification/3 way feud with Truth and Evan Bourne (as there is an angle there) but realistically this is a step back for the US belt.

 

[The_Reptile_]

I think I'm gonna capture the essence of a lot of folks who watched the switch happen: So what? No, seriously, so what? It's not like Kofi ever does anything of note anyway. Whenever WWE seems like they're gonna give Kofi a decent push it suddenly dies out as fast as it happens despite the obvious support the crowd has for the guy and every time I see him get one of the mid card titles I always think at how much they could use him but don't for whatever reason.

There is a story with Kofi vs Swagger to be told but I honestly doubt if WWE even realizes it and as the weeks go by I hope I'm wrong but expecting to be disappointed. As usual when it comes to their handling of Kofi.

 

[Radical]

I'm not a big fan of Cesaro's look so I'm not too disappointed in the way he was jobbed out as US Champ and now losing the strap to Kofi.

In PRINCIPLE I don't like the idea of jobbing a title holder that badly but now they've got a new title holder to work with.

Mid-Card titles SEEM to be getting a resurgence with a new US title holder and a IC #1 Contender Battle Royal on the horizon.

I'm fine with Kofi as US Champ. Sure he's a transitional champ and unlikely to be holding this belt for more than 2-3 months but that's fine.

In terms of his character change? Heel? Are you kidding me? NO WAY. There are guys who just really shouldn't be heels and Kofi is one of them. Rey Mysterio is another (can't really count his WCW Filthy Animals thing). Evan Bourne is another example.

There is NOTHING wrong with certain Superstars always being face or heel. Sometimes it is just right for their style.

That said, Kofi has made some changes to his attire and added some new moves over the years (dropped the fake accent) and that's a fair amount of change for a face.

Kofi is a great mid-carder. He's exactly the type of performer you want to put in a mid-card title match for great spots and action. He's also a guy you can use once in a while in a surprise victory to get him a chance at a World or WWE title. Like being in a triple threat, elimination chamber match, ladder match, etc for the top titles. He won't likely ever win but he's good to put in the match. However... maybe he is due for a quick World title run like Christian had. I think it would be fairly believable depending on who he faces and how he wins.

Anyway... as for his spot now ... Good.

He'll feud with Cesaro in a rematch. I expect Kingston to retain and then a new challenger(s) will emerge.

Swagger would be a good one for Kingston to go over (because of Swaggers court date and all WWE is probably happy to put him in a feud that he loses and in effect making Kofi the champ look better).

But ultimately someone like Fandango would be a good next US Champ.

 

[Pedigree1]

Two things. First of all Cesaro got screwed this year. He is the US Champ tied for 7th longest reign in the history of the belt. That in itself is an accomplishment. Antonio deserved better,he deserved his spot on WM but the E completely buried him.

He doesnt wrestle all that much and almost you forget he was the US champ. Dude is strong as all hell and is a talent. Kofi is a talent also. But the E loves to toy with him why i dont know.

Kofi one week can be a jobber getting squashed by Cesaro then the next week beat him for the strap. I have no idea why the WWE cant make up their mind when it concerns Kofi. But dont blink because next week Kofi could be the ex champ

 

[HBK89Bill]

When is WWE going to re-learn that developing long term fueds is so much better than what we have now. Kofi and Cesaro fueding for a month or two before he won the title gives the payoff for the fans. It develops connection.

This is why Kofi can't get momentum as a singles star. His title wins are quick and random and he drops it the same way. He's there and then he's gone. It's flippin' annoying and it kills the midcard titles. Cesaro was so reliable and he lost the title with no build up and no payoff. It's bad business. I don't care about the US title because of it. The only reason I care about the IC belt is because of what it used to be and who I've seen hold it.

We want to get Kofi over as champ? He holds it for awhile with good consistent matches. Last night's match was good. Keep the fued with Cesaro over and boost Kofi and the title. Cesaro can easily go do other things. He's basically the Popeye of the company. That guy will find a way to get over.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

Cesaro lost - oh well. Kofi won - oh well. Why does it matter. Why is this important. What are the benefits of this. Answers? It doesn't, it's not and absolutely none.

The characters are not compeling, they're half baked, unfinished, lack depth, lack development. Therefore, people don't give a shit.

Kofi will lose it, some other schmuck will win it and we keep rolling on. Boring. The only reason people are given belts in the WWE these days is so creative doesn't have to write anything for them. Instead of developing people it freezes them solid and they just wrestle random ass feuds with no purpose (other than the belt) until they become SO boring and uninteresting that WWE reboots their character, hypes them up, you get excited and they do it again.

'Member when Kofi was feuding with Orton? Pepperidge farm remembers.

 

[Gentleman]

This is why the Weatherman Heel gimmick is so key. A name change as well to develop a further connection. Instead of Kofi Kingston, we can have something original like Lash LeRoux, Weatherman. That sounds like a good weatherman name. Once he's Lash LeRoux, Weatherman he will hail from Sunny Santa Cruz, California!!! Or maybe San Francisco to appeal to the growing LBGT audience. They love weathermen in San Francisco too. Once that happens you just need to have Kofi, sorry, Lash LeRoux work his magic on the mic and talk about the weather. So many catchphrases are possible with this brilliant dynamic gimmick I have thought up.

"You've been... THUNDERSTRUCK!!!"
"I'm Lash and I'm looking for gash!"
"There's a weather system coming, and I predict stormy days ahead for KANE!!!!"
"Hey WWE Universe, the forecast says you suck!!!"

and so on!! I love Kofi, and I am so excited for this transition into Lash LeRoux, Heel Weatherman!!! This will establish the connection you guys are talking about, I just know it!

 

[Trance Metaphor]

Yeah. This really is stale. Kofi Kingston has won the United States Championship for like the hundredth time. He's always winning every Mid-Card title multiple times within a short span of months. He goes out there and loses matches on a consistent basis if he's not the Champion. Rinse and repeat. He's the same old Kofi that debuted, except he's no longer Jamaican. He had one story feud with Randy Orton and that was it. There was nothing he was doing that was memorable before and after.

As for Antonio Cesaro? They had a good thing with him as the multilingual heel. He was a solid United States Champion and was stacking a good win-loss record. Then all of a sudden, he started losing every match AS United States Champion. After that, he drops the title to Kofi who got ONE win prior to winning the United States title again. I understand that he wasn't getting much of a crowd reaction and that he came off as being one-dimensional, but making him lose match after match really hurt the title.

All of this is just stupid. Cheap victories over cheap Champions to gain cheap Championships. They seriously need to give Kofi a new angle and opponent and a new storyline worth feuding over. Otherwise, I'm skipping. It doesn't matter how entertaining the matches are when they're random with no build-up or anything substantial.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

They already have a second tier championship. It's called the World Heavyweight Title.

This is more like a third or fourth tier belt now. Time to get rid of it.

 

[123NewChamp]

No I will say this. Kofi is a great athlete and great wrestler in the ring. During his tag team championship days with R-Truth, R-Truth suffered a knee injury, and Kofi went one on one I think it was Dolph Ziggler. Yeah it was a midcard match, but that match stole the show even though Kofi Lost. The WWE had it planned that Kofi was going to get a singles push since that match. He got his push as Intercontinental Champion. Held it for a little while and then lost it to Wade Barrett. And he's been buried since, and basically got his first big victory of the year to Antonio Cesaro last week on Smackdown. Yeah he won matches on Superstars and Saturday Morning slam, but that don't count. We all can whip the Curt Hawkins, Santino Marellas, Yoshi Tatsu and the JTG's. But my point is I won't put it on Kofi's ability but that just like how people says Cesaro deserved better, Kofi deserved a longer mid card title reign just like the length of Him and Truth Reign as Tag Team Champs or even longer. If Kofi don't ever get a WHC he can be like others (Scott Hall, and Mr. Perfect) known for having some of the best Mid Card Reigns of all time and not winning the World Heavyweight title in WWE. I know many of midcarders were unhappy about not appearing on WrestleMania like Rhodes, Sandow, Kofi, Cesaro, and Miz and Barrett did deserve more than the preshow. But WWE Dropped the ball on them. So is Kofi is a deserving champ? Yes he is. Can the WWE do more than make him appear as a random champ and increase his reign by 6 or 7 months? Yes They Can. So it's not all Kofi's call of when to win and lose the belt, it's them boys in Stanford Connecticutt.

 

[Chicago1989]

If the WWE wants to prevent from having this title reign be forgotten about quickly, they should at least change Kofi's character a bit. If not, it's just another bland reign where no one's going to care or remember about.

 

[ndotk2012]

This is the issue I have with WWE...Kofi Kingston has been jobbing practically for the last year and then all of a sudden he beats the &th longest reigning US champion in History...Nonsense

 

[Jack-Hammer]

If WWE is smart then they'll take advantage of the fact that Kofi is billed from Ghana, West Africa, & have Coulter & Swagger turn their attentions toward him & the U.S. title, like they should've done in the first damn place.

I agree. I think Coulter has done well as Swagger's mouthpiece, ol' Dirty Dutch can talk, but it does look like WWE jumped too quickly when it comes to Swagger.

Given the anti-immigration aspects of Swagger's character, having him go after the United States Championship as it was held by a non American could have worked out well. Maybe then, if Swagger's time as US champ resulted in a strong heel run, he could have been moved into the WHC scene. As the US champ, it would have been "Jack Swagger's America" and, if it worked out alright, the WHC could have been a metaphor for Swagger's message going global. A "Jack Swagger's World" if you will.

 

[DirtyD79]

I agree. I think Coulter has done well as Swagger's mouthpiece, ol' Dirty Dutch can talk, but it does look like WWE jumped too quickly when it comes to Swagger.

Given the anti-immigration aspects of Swagger's character, having him go after the United States Championship as it was held by a non American could have worked out well. Maybe then, if Swagger's time as US champ resulted in a strong heel run, he could have been moved into the WHC scene. As the US champ, it would have been "Jack Swagger's America" and, if it worked out alright, the WHC could have been a metaphor for Swagger's message going global. A "Jack Swagger's World" if you will.

I was thinking something like that last night. I could just picture Zeb Coulter busting out and saying something like "Why the hell is the United States Championship being fought for by two foreigners?" and then cutting a promo about how the United States Championship should be held by somebody who is actually from the United States. Yeah I know it sounds exactly like the sort of thing European heels have said about Americans holding the European championship but still it sounds a lot better than all these watercooler matches.

Another problem is why should we care about who is holding the intercontinental title or the US title? We just about never see those belts defended at Pay Per Views, they're hardly ever mentioned in any major storyline, and worst of all the guys who hold them job all the time. Beating a champion should mean something. It should be rare.

As for Kofi Kingston it just comes across as yet another pointless mid card title reign for him. What makes this title reign any different from his last several runs with the mid card belts? Why should we care? It just seems like all he does with belts is keep them warm for the next guy.

 

[MWRedskins]

my guess is he holds the title and drops it to some up and coming midcarder like Fandango or one member of the Shield, though I think it will be Fandango. as for the win, it was a nice match, but it's hard to be excited as the US championship and IC Championship both haven't been treated as real prestigious. hopefully that's fixed soon.

 

[Xemmy]

I like the ideas of using this as a jump start for a Kofi/Swagger feud. The table is set for that after Extreme Rules. What kills me is how a nearly 300 day reign was ended in a feud that's lasted less than a week. Kofi and Cesaro put on the match of the night. I don't even care about Kofi, and I was pulled into the match more than most of the matches on the Wrestlemania card. This would have fit great on the Wrestlemania card, or for Extreme Rules. And now we're getting a rematch either this week, or on the PPV, with an obvious outcome of Cesaro losing. This COULD have been built properly. Letting Cesaro get a tainted victory or disqualification in his title match to build towards the pay per view. But no. Instead we get a great match, and a watered down feud. And the best midcard worker this year gets the short end of the stick.

 

[HBsam31]

This seems to happen with Kofi all too often. He wins a midcard title, and we think he may finally get the big push. Then he loses the title and fades back into the tag division with no more push. The closest he got was when he feuded with Orton, and I have no real reason to think anything different will happen this time. I hope it works out for him this time, but I am not holding my breath.