The Future (Or Lack There Of) Of Kofi Kingston

[PlayTheGame]

So, ever since Kingston's debut he's been pretty impressive. He's pretty solid in the ring, has a good look, and had a great gimmick to debut with. However, as of late, his gimmick and his role on Raw both have seemed to grow stale. He's not being used as much, nor for anything really important. He's more or less midcard filler, which is sad, as he's still young and his initial push was rather strong. But it seems like he's done nothing of worth since he and CM Punk lost their tag titles back in December. Heck, he was even the one chosen to be taken out by Edge back at No Way Out in order for Edge to compete in and win Raw's WHW Championship E.C. match. And now he's just filler (again) in the MITB match at Wrestlemania 25. So, my question is, do you think Kingston will ever get re-pushed and get back into the midcard title fight (and maybe even the world title fight), or do you see him growing less and less important until he's ulimately wished well in his future endeavors?

I personally think that they'll keep him around, as he definitely deserves to be in the upper midcard if utilized correctly. However, I think some sort of change needs to be made to his gimmick in order for us to care about him again. That, or maybe have him be involved in some sort of important feud. Something needs to change for Kingston. If it doesn't, then I'm not so sure about his future with the WWE.

What do you think?

 

[Chill]

Well he is in the MITB ladder match so he is on the card. I think this match could be an opportunity for him to finally prove his worth..if they allow him. I don't think he will win but that hopefully wont stop him putting on a good show.

I think that after 'Mania, WWE might vest more time in him but I agree that he has potential to succeed, it's just a case of WWE putting him in a decent fued so we can see what he's all about. Although, I think he would make a good tag team wrestler..his teams with Punk and Mysterio were entertaing imo. So maybe for now his future could be in the tag team division and he could play a valuable role in bringing some worth back to that division.

 

[Mitchguy]

This kind of reminds me of the feelings toward Dibiase and Rhodes lately. Everybody's boo hooing because "Legacy is pointless, they're just getting beaten up. They should just split them up." That was exactly the role that Tully and Arn filled in the Horsemen. They would have their own feuds, and then in the meantime they would protect Flair's championship. These days, because we're so "smart" we think that if someone doesn't win every week they're being buried. Rhodes and Dibiase do their jobs just fine. This is the last thing I'll say on the subject of them before I move on to Kofi because they're sort of similar situations. Rhodes and Dibiase are fullfilling a very crucial role leading into Wrestlemania. They are playing the part of the flunkies that can take the beatings that Randy orton can't. Because Orton has to stay stong, and Triple H needs to look strong, that means the flunkies are gonna have to take a few whoopings. I guarantee you that Priceless will regain their credibility, but a heels job is not to win, it's not to look strong. They are there to be cowards, they are there to be cheaters and they aren't supposed to be liked. And therefore, they do their job because they beat up people when they superior numbers but aren't afraid to run away when the babyface has the upper hand.


Now, on to Kofi(I know I'm going about this response backwards, but bear with me). And this isn't directed at the OP because he makes some good points about the lackluster way they've used Kofi. But everything goes in cycles in wrestling. Think of how many periods there were in Edge's career where he was just a "filler" guy. He would go through the cycle almost yearly where he'd have a major angle and then he'd just kind of be there.

One thing that needs to be considered is that this time of year causes a lot of guys to be shuffled aside because Wrestlemania takes precedent over all else between February and April. So they don't really spend much time building up young stars because they need to draw the big numbers at Mania to set the tone for the rest of the year. As far as being shuffled into the MIB, at least it's a spot on the card. It just happens that some guys get into the cycle where they end up in a downtime during Wrestlemania. Punk has been shuffled into MITB three times because he just didn't have anything else going at the time(or, in this case JBL wanted to win the IC title). It's just the way the cycle works.

Kofi doesn't really need to win that much to stay over. He's entertaining to watch in the ring and he has the kind of happy-go-lucky character that gets over the more he loses.

To bottom line this, I think Kofi's got a great career ahead of him. You shouldn't look at the situation he is now as the death knell of his career. As I said, only a rare few guys never go through periods of downtime. Look at Jericho, he went from a hot feud with HBK to a World Title reign, to not really having anything to do and being in the undercard of Mania. It happens to everybody.

Those are my thoughts.

 

[enigmaticdude]

Well, after having his ass handed to him in now way out before he even set foot in the Elimination Chamber by Edge, he is far from the WWE/WHC championship. I did think before the match, why did they have him in the elimination chamber if he is a mid carder? I guess I got my answer. But anyways, he is pretty impressive in the ring.
The MITB match is a perfect segue for him to prove if he can be better than half of the waste of spaces in that match *cough* Mark Henry *cough*. Maybe ROH is better for him seeing as though they appreciate smaller time guys there better.

 

[psychedelicgranny]

I think his happy-go-lucky type vibe he has needs to be over for him to get pushed. Perhaps he just gets sick of it and throws fits and basically turns heel. Not many high flying mid-card potential heels. I think this could easy turn into a feud with MVP to start. This could potentially be kicked off at mania. Perhaps he gets attacked by say JBL (or Edge AGAIN!!) and loses the money in the bank because of it. This would be the final straw and he just starts interfering in mid-card matches and destroying the face with a chair. Maybe he could align himself with other heels. If this were to happen he would be intercontinental or U.S. champion easy. He just needs to be more violent and angry.

 

[Wanderer-Fantasy]

I can honestly see Kofi Kingston turning heel & feuding w/ Rey Mysterio or Evan Bourne. that would be great. I'm predicting that he's gonna win the MITB ladder match @ WM.

 

[LCShazardous]

it's gong to depend on 2 things the draft and WM in my eyes kofi is one of my top 3 to win this year and even if he doesn't win if he gets drafted to smackdown or back to ECW he could get a chance to be more than just a filler

 

[Harthan]

I think Kofi got a little bit lost in the shuffle of Raw. When he came up from ECW, he was on fire - captured the IC title from Jericho before he even debuted on Raw. He had a great run as IC Champ that I still feel was ended prematurely and wrongly. Losing your title to Santino is a sure way of moving down the rungs a bit. Since then, he's pretty much been a random midcarder, lost in the shuffle. His tag run was pretty poor, mostly because Punk and he had no gimmick, at all. I guess it was implied they were the ECW boys, but you think they could have cut a promo or two. I seriously don't think there was one promo cut in that whole tag run. Since then, he's really been filler.

The best place for Kofi to go is to recuperate for a year in ECW. He's young and talented, and should have no fear about spending a year in ECW again. This time, he'd definitely be at the top of ECW, and would certainly warrant a good, long, ECW title reign. It's the perfect place for him - he can be seen at the top of a show for months, get on PPVs, cut promos, really do the whole dance for a good year before coming up to Raw or SmackDown again. I think the biggest place he's lacking is on the mic - he's got much the same problem as Booker T has, that is, the desire to have a complete ludicrous accent. We understand that you're Jamaican, Kofi - you can lessen up the accent a little bit. He overdoes it, a bit - he could go light on it and have it work much better. I think it's something we'll see happen if he winds up on ECW.

So, basically, if Kofi moves over to ECW, he can spend a year improving what he's weak on and getting even better at what he's good at. When the next draft comes around, he can come up to one of the main shows and work his way up there - probably with another midcard title reign, and potentially a real tag team. If he improves enough and can maintain a good push, I think the sky will be the limit for Kofi.

 

[bigbootydaddyV]

Kofi needs to shake that happy go lucky jamaican attitude he has. Rather he needs to be a crazy tough rastafarian who smokes ganja (or at least implies it) maybe even a team with him and rvd smoking weed would be pretty cool. Basically lets be real, wrestling feeds into stereotypes like no other and really has no shame doing it, so why not the ganja smoking rasta rather than this cool runnings guy who just annoys everyone

 

[truk24]

He should have stayed in ECW where he was becoming very popular. They rushed him up to fast. Some of the matches they could have there. Perhaps reignite the feud between he and Paul Burchill. There was a small feud back months ago between the two men.

 

[travistragic]

Well, I doubt the weed thing will go over well with the PGe.

I can honestly say that I've never really gotten the big deal of Kofi Kingston. He's a decent wrestler, athletically superior to most, and I enjoy watching him in the ring, but he has the classic "National Identity" based gimmick that (besides a potential argument for Finlay) hasn't really worked since the Russians got over as heels during the Cold War, they've never come close to actually giving him a feud, he sucks on the stick, and while he's somewhat charismatic, he seems incapable of showing any emotion besides happiness. He's a fine wrestler, true, but unless he gets significantly better outside the ring, he'll never make it very far.

 

[jellmoo]

Kofi has not demonstrated anything to elevate him above the lower mid-card in my opinion. His gimmick is bad (the smiling "I love the fans!" face should have died along with the Rocky Maivia character), he's too small to be used effectively against most of the main eventers, and has not shown any good promo ability.

 

[azza1090]

After what i just saw him do in the MITB i must say i'm impressed. Some cool and innovative moves, he got to display his talent and i personally want to see more of it.

 

[OIL]

Lack of future?

Watch Money in the Bank. He was fantastic. I just hope he uses his performance to continue on RAW and improve every week. His energy is fantastic and always excites the fans. His athleticism is beyond belief, and he has an unbelieveable jump on him. If he can focus himself, he can really do well this year. Main event scene? It's not beyond him, but he'll need to keep on improving. He has a future, that's obvious. He just needs to channel his energy in the right way to improve.

 

[Rome]

I just don't see what's so great about the guy – is he any more than an African American version of another one dimensional wrestler in Evan Bourne?

The kid has talent, yes – but he's got no real purpose. He has no natural feuds, no natural anything outside of raw talent.

 

[Ramirez16]

I've been a big fan of Kingston since he first debuted on ECW. He's always entertaining in the ring, and even without great mic skills he just has a lot of energy and presence behind him that makes him so damn likable with the fans.

I think taking the title off of a legitimate performer like Kingston so that they could further Santino Marella's little comedy skits was a huge mistake on the WWE's part. Kingston had a great feud with Shelton Benjamin on ECW and some entertaining matches with Paul Burchill for the IC title.

Much more entertaining than the typical Marella formula of "Run my mouth a whole bunch and boast and brag then get squashed in a 30 second match" they basically just re-use the same thing and just change up who squashes him. Umaga,Beth Phoenix, Steve Austin (although that wasnt a match, just a skit) then William Regal.

He's basically just Jamie Noble, but with a funnier accent

I don't think WWE has completely given up on Kingston yet, giving him and Punk a stint with the titles and then placing him in MITB is a pretty good sign that they still have some sort of plan for him.

 

[DD84]

I think Kofi has a future. I think of him as a mid carder, but after Mania if he continues to compete in MITB, it could get him way over with the crowd and maybe one day he could win the World Title. Really some fans like to see crazy athletes, like I do. He is very good in the ring and can cut a decent promo. I could see him as a mid carder as I have stated, or as an ECW Champ, which is the same. But I think he is very good in the ring.

 

[brodymulder]

I just don't see what's so great about the guy – is he any more than an African American version of another one dimensional wrestler in Evan Bourne?

Back when he first debuted, the promos that he cut weren't that bad. In that respect, I would put him ahead of Evan Bourne, who I think just might be the blandest (albeit talented) guy in the WWE right now.

As for everyone saying he "lacks a future", only time can tell on that one. If they can get him back to actually doing promos again, he just might have one. He is better on the mic than the similarly talented Shelton Benjamin. Turn him heel, keep him a face, it doesn't matter. Just give him something to say outside the ring and then he can show himself as being a complete package.

 

[Godfather]

I think that Kofi Kingston is going to get the Shelton benjamin deal..a couple pushes here and there, a couple mid card titles but never really leaves the mid card.

 

[The Doctor]

God, I certainly hope they continue pushing him. Have him win a midcard title, or move him to ECW and have him win the ECW title. He was awesome in ECW. I've been a huge Kofi fan since he debuted. I wanted him to become ECW Champ.
Hopefully in the draft he's back on ECW where he can shine again.

 

[kamakazii699]

move him to smackdown in the draft and feud for the United states championship. it can see a future. maybe in a couple of years though.

 

[SquareSix]

So, I was going to start a thread about Mr. Kingston himself with a similar topic, but this seems to be a bit too similar for a seperate thread. I was just wondering with a lot of people (many within the WWE) singing Kofi's praises for his performance in the MITB match this past Sunday, what's next?

Kofi came in with a pretty large push, especially for a newcomer. He consistently performs well in the ring. He is decently over with the crowd. But, I find myself asking - "so what?". Countless people have come and gone in the WWE with those same qualities; many with more qualities than Kofi, many flat out better than Kofi in some aspects. He did a great job in the MITB match, then on Smackdown this week he was in a match that was nothing more than a squash match against Big Show. Sure, it had its moments where he was on offense, but it wasn't anything amazing.

Personally, I think Kofi will stick around with the WWE at the midcard level for a while. I'm not sure how long exactly. Normally I would say for a pretty decent run, but with the WWE cutting back like many other businesses because of the economy, I look for them to let more and more people go. They'll start with guys who we rarely see on t.v. and then work their way towards guys like Kofi. I still don't expect him to be let go for the next few years regardless, but they will eventually make the cut on him. At best, he will (or at least should) have a long run with the I.C. or U.S. title.

 

[Sean Valjean]

I doubt Kofi will ever become a main-eventer, but I see him he's a great mid-carder it'll probably stay that way. He'll probably win some more IC titles, or US titles if he gets drafted. Tag titles, maybe even a short ECW title reign if he ever goes back.

I really like Kofi. He's a very exciting guy with alot of ability in the ring. I hope he stays with us for a good while.

 

[Jane]

Sadly, Kingston doesn't have the look of a main eventer. As entertaining as he is Kofi will never reach the main event level, which is a real shame. I can definitely see him as a solid mid carder. He has the look of an Intercontinental Champion, and I can see him as a lifetime challenger for that belt. That isn't a bad thing. Many Hall of Famers have never won the big one, and Kofi could be like them. So I think that Kingston will make it back to the level he was at, but not much higher.

 

[Thriller Ant]

As he is right now, Kofi will never rise above the ECW championship. His character has no depth. As is, he is a typical ethnic stereotype face. He does have an exciting moveset, and now gets good pops because of it. I think it's all on creative to get him any higher. Kofi has done everything he can do with his character as is. Give him a feud and some character depth, and lets see where he goes. I love Kofi, and I hope that he is given a chance to rise above the midcard.