Midcard Titles and Kofi Kingston: A Dangerous Combination

[Little Jerry Lawler]

The midcard titles have been deemed irrelevant over the past five years of so but we have had such gems like Benoit beating Orlando Jordan in Usain Bolt record time and who can forget Matt Hardy and MVP eating pizza and playing basketball. More riveting than a match between the two I say. Now on to the man from Ghana who still has Jamaican type music.

Kofi is the U.S. Champion. I know this because it says so on WWE.com. However, his reign is reaching Jack Swagger levels. Kofi hasn't had any direction for the longest time. I can pinpoint it to where this happened: after his feud with Orton. Of course he was in a program with McIntyre but that was more about Matt Hardy and Teddy Long than about Kingston. His feud with Orton was, fresh, exciting, and really show Kofi in a new light and the best thing was that it wasn't over a title.

I come to you WWE with the proposal that Kofi should never hold a midcard title in the near future. Most of your recent world champions never touched or did anything significant with a midcard title. Does anybody remember Miz's U.S. title reign? All I remember is one promo and one match with MVP. Don't let this same fate befall Kingston. Get the title off of him immediately and put him in a feud with Miz after he gets done with Riley. It's time to see what Mr. Awesome can do now that he's one of the top guys on Raw.

Kofi Kingston can be saved. We have the technology or intelligent enough bookers.

 

[FSWWE]

I agree with you...
Kofi Kingston can't be IC or US Champion, he doesn't have a personality whatsoever, i'm tired of him and there are a lot of people that is waiting in line for that "prize" (looking to you McIntyre and Bourne)

I want to see Kofi Kingston as a heel, i really want..
His face character is stale and he needs to improve...

Please WWE hear Little Jerry Lawler!!!

 

[Mr. Artistic guy]

One of the chief reasons is that WWE books so lazily for the mid-card titles these days. When you book a normal feud outside of a title you need something between the two superstars to make the feud personal and have a reason to watch it. When they book title matches for the mid-card titles, it's almost as if they presume the title is sufficient ammo to get people invested in the match. This isn't true.

The fact of the matter is you still need to build a feud for a title to make it interesting. The only claim those titles can make is that they produce often the best matches of a show, other than that nobody cares who the champion is. The titles just feel like they are being mindlessly handed around the locker room, like the only real reason to hold the title is to be able to say you held the title, like a notch on somebody's belt.

The mid-card feuds should be second in command to the world title ones in almost all circumstances.

Kofi Kingston is a victim of this lazy booking. They tell themselves that he has the title and therefore they don't have to build him as a character or build his feuds and because of that he is the single most stagnant superstar in the whole company, effortlessly. I always think it's best for people to avoid those titles at this time because WWE will try to get you into feuds which have more personal investment and the characters will benefit. The sooner he loses the belt, the better for him.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

Kingston is to me, the most overrated person within the WWE. And I mean overall, so don't bother quoting this and telling me that someone else is overrated for so-and-so reasons. Kofi is bland, he's too much of a babyface and it's hurting him more than anything. I find him unbearable to watch most of the time, as nearly all of his moves are rather stupid or just look goofy. Asides from Trouble in Paradise I really don't see any other move within his set which illicts even the slightest amount of excitement from me.

When he was acting like a Jamacian, I liked him. Actually liked the gimmick and all, but then he had to be "himself", and they revealed he was actually from Ghana. Yeah, nice move, why not just staple a piece of paper which reads, "boring" to the guy.

Personally I'm not a fan of his in-ring work, or his microphone work. Why he's US Championship or has had so many reigns is even beyond me. That Championship could be on a lot better people in an attempt to boost their names, but instead it's on him, and like it or not, he has failed as a Champion.

Dude needs to lose his overly babyface gimmick and turn to a heel. Then maybe he might have something interesting about him. Its working for R-Truth, don't see why it can't for Kofi.

 

[Mr. Artistic guy]

I'm not looking to sway you here but it seems to me you don't like him because his character is bland, not him. And that's pretty much the case, he is uninteresting at this time. But that isn't his fault - Snitsky. No but seriously it isn't his fault that WWE don't develop his character AT ALL.

He showed when he feuded with Orton that is people try to actually do something with him, he could rise to the occassion. And since then, I'll be damned if he's even got to pick up a microphone more than once.

But turning him heel is a weak solution. A guy shouldn't need to be a heel to be entertaining and interesting and that is something WWE does poorly often, they let most of their faces become bland. WWE is pretty much stuffed with heels right now after Smackdown's turn. WWE ought to try making his character more interesting as a face before they resort to having him be heel.

I'm not sure why in your mind there is a radical difference in excitement between someone from Ghana and Jamaica though, bit strange. He's a good wrestler, he's been a good mic worker when we've had the chance to hear him. Problem is it's not enough. Wait until you see WWE actually try with him before you criticize him. Better yet go back and watch his feud with Orton from early last year to re-evaluate your opinion. If after that you still feel he is so overrated then come back again and tell me. I doubt you will.

 

[Coco]

No. The Miz never wrestled MVP.

 

[a0161613]

Kofi would suck as a heel.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

No. The Miz never wrestled MVP.

I see what you did there.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

Kofi would suck as a heel.

Would he really though? He's like the Rocky Maivia of this generation, he's too much of a happy go lucky babyface. Surely if given the chance it could work.

 

[Daniel]

If you want Kofi to move up the card then fine, he should be in upper-midcard feuds and making a name for himself on the mic.

If you want a midcard championship in a safe pair of hands, have Kofi hold it.

 

[Coco]

Would he really though? He's like the Rocky Maivia of this generation, he's too much of a happy go lucky babyface. Surely if given the chance it could work.

I didn't realize the people were turning on Kofi.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

Um...The Miz did feud with some guy named Daniel Bryan in a midcard feud and made him into a star till WWE stuck him in a nonsensical angle with the Bellas.

As for Kofi, what has he done to suggest that he will be a main eventer? Maybe he shone during his feud with Orton but everything he has done since has been laced with mediocrity. He is decent on the mic, not anything special but he can talk when given a chance but way too spotty in the ring. He reminds me somewhat of Christopher Daniels from TNA.

 

[Wade's Public Transit Bomb]

Kofi is good at a few things:

- Making the crowd get into what he is doing
- Botching
- Growing dreadlocks

If Kofi doesn't have a mid-card title, I ask what exactly do people remember of Kofi? That he let some 6 year old color his tights?

 

[justinsayne]

Turning Kofi heel would be almost as ******ed as turning Rey or Cena heel, he's way over with kids, everyone outside of the fucking IWC loves the guy

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

Kofi's better than Barrett, by the way.

 

[ABMorales787]

Rooster head seems to be the modern day version of a younger RVD. A midcard title hog.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

Jericho is the definition of a title hog.

 

[Coco]

Except RVD's IC title reigns were all pretty short.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

Um...The Miz did feud with some guy named Daniel Bryan in a midcard feud and made him into a star till WWE stuck him in a nonsensical angle with the Bellas.

As for Kofi, what has he done to suggest that he will be a main eventer? Maybe he shone during his feud with Orton but everything he has done since has been laced with mediocrity. He is decent on the mic, not anything special but he can talk when given a chance but way too spotty in the ring. He reminds me somewhat of Christopher Daniels from TNA.

To be fair, he has worked with mediocrity such as McIntyre and Del Rio. Not exactly the cream of the crop considering how shit Smackdown was last year.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

Except RVD's IC title reigns were all pretty short.

True. Didn't Jericho win the title and lose it to RVD in the same night?

I almost forgot that Sheamus was champion before Kofi. Whew.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

Kofi is the perfect example of a career mid-carder. He's perfect right where he is. I'm sure he's selling a good amount of t-shirts -- the kids love the guys who can jump really high.

Outside of jumping really high, I see nothing there. A mindless, robotic athlete. He jumps around, nails his four or five moves, and calls it a day.

Kofi's better than Barrett, by the way.

No, he isn't.

 

[Wade's Public Transit Bomb]

Does anyone think we are being a little too hard on Kofi? People at least give a shit about him unlike the other 95% of mid-carders.


And Kofi isn't better than Wade. Wade is at least cute as a button when he smashing someone's face in. Kofi just looks like an idiot in the same situation.

 

[ABMorales787]

Does anyone think we are being a little too hard on Kofi? People at least give a shit about him unlike the other 99.99% of mid-carders.

Fixed.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

No he isn't.

Yes he is. Barrett's just got an accent, half decent mic skills and is pretty much nothing in the ring. And by nothing I mean not much sense of in ring psychology, storytelling or any great offense. He has led two stables and has feuded with the top draw of the company and yet he means almost nothing in the WWE. His feud with Jackson is also not going well.

Kofi is better than Barrett on the mic. There I said it. It's just that he has been given lesser opportunities than Barrett to show his prowess. He can make the people care more for him than Barrett and that is not only because he does flippies. He is very expressive and sells rather well. He needs to improve a lot in the ring in terms of botching less and storytelling.

Kofi may be a career midcarder but I won't be surprised if Barrett finds himself in the same position as a Chris Masters on Superstars in a couple of years. He will be there with Jackson and Slater, of course.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

People at least give a shit about him unlike the other 95% of mid-carders.

I suppose I agree with this. But, if he were to go away, forever, would anyone give a shit? Anyone ask where he has been? Doubtful.