One of the most disappointing moments in recent WWE history was the abhorrent squash match between Kofi Kingston and Brock Lesnar. Their match lasted a shocking 8 seconds and saw the end of Kofi Kingston’s long-awaited WWE Title reign and confirm the fears of most WWE fans – Vince McMahon simply didn’t care about Kofi.
Brock Lesnar vs Kofi Kingston took place on a very special show. It was the 20th Anniversary edition of Friday Night Smackdown and was Brock Lesnar’s first match on free TV since he left the company the first time in 2004.
Kofi Kingston had been WWE Champion since Wrestlemania 35. His journey from challenger to champion took longer than most, with him first touted for glory way back in 2009. During that time, his feud with Randy Orton was cut short due to a missed spot ruining any chances he had of glory.
He eventually won the title during “Kofimania” where fan support alone earned him the chance to battle then-WWE Champion Daniel Bryan at the biggest event of the year – Wrestlemania. In defeating “The Planet’s Champion” he made history by becoming the first ever African-born WWE Champion in company history and achieving a dream many thought he would never achieve.
However, after some less-than-stellar feuds with the likes of Dolph Ziggler and Randy Orton, WWE took the title away from Kofi Kingston in unceremonious fashion. It took Brock Lesnar only 8 seconds to take the championship from Kingston and embarrass him in one of Smackdown’s most watched episodes ever.
As if the win wasn’t bad enough, they followed it up by giving Kingston no rematch, no remorse over losing the title and only one cryptic mention that he ever even held the WWE Championship. Brock Lesnar vs Kofi Kingston may have not even happened in WWE’s eyes. For all they know, Kofi never even held the title.
The reason why WWE committed this character assassination on Kingston were perplexing, as was the booking of Kofi Kingston vs Brock Lesnar. Former WWE Executive Brian “Road Dogg” James revealed recently why WWE booked Kofi so weakly and the reason behind putting the belt back on The Beast.
Road Dogg joined “Sportskeeda” to talk about the match and why WWE booked the bout the way it went, in addition to whether or not the match ruined Kofi Kingston’s chance as a main event star in WWE going forward.
“I don’t think it ruined Kofi. I think it probably was Fox, Brock Lesnar, cross-appeal. He’s a name, and Vince loves him and Vince is drawing with him, tried and true.“
“Hey, let’s shock the world, send him out there, and kill [Kingston] in a minute. I can hear him saying it now. It is what it, is but maybe Big E would’ve given a better battle. Maybe there’s money in the future with those two, maybe there’s money on the table.”
The fact that WWE and Fox saw Brock Lesnar as a bigger draw was not a surprise. Lesnar has been a top star in the company since his debut and is a safe bet to give the WWE Champion during a time of crisis. While Kofi Kingston was a fan favourite, he is not the proven draw the likes of Lesnar or John Cena are, so you can see why he would have the belt taken off of him.
Brock Lesnar held the WWE Championship until the following April, where he lost the title to Drew McIntyre at Wrestlemania. At worst, at least his title reign managed to put over a new top star in Drew McIntyre. However, Kofi Kingston has yet to receive another title match.
Kofi Kingston vs Brock Lesnar hasn’t happened again yet, but the pair did face off in the Royal Rumble match. However, Kingston barely stood a chance and was eliminated in seconds from an F5.
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