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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2019 15:42:59 GMT -5
Yeah, I'm pretty "eh" on it myself. Dude had one hot week, and everyone's pissing themselves for him to get the belt. The part that really irritates me is that it derails Ali's push, and how quickly the narrative shifted from "Wouldn't it be cool if they gave Ali the ball and he ran with it?" to "Well, Ali wasn't REALLY ready to get this push." I love Ali but I'm not so sure the crowd would be as hot for him as they are for Kofi. Like I'm sure if you put Ali in the spot he'd get over because he's really likable, but Kofi's been there for a very long time and people are ready for him to finally get his due. His longevity and familiarity with most of the audience is why this is so hot.
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xxshoyuweeniexx
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Post by xxshoyuweeniexx on Mar 2, 2019 15:52:26 GMT -5
Kofi’s not my favorite guy, though I like him just fine, but I always felt he was given a raw deal with the Orton stuff. Like I enjoy when someone I watch goes from lower carder, to midcard champion, to eventually a main eventer. But when dudes like Jack Swagger, Ziggler, Sheamus, and Del Rio passed him by because..reasons I guess, it made me really mad that he was gonna meet the same fate of guys like MVP, Shelton, Lashely, Mark Henry for a while, R-Truth, etc. dudes who WWE swears up and down they’re gonna be a big deal and future main eventers..only to end up doing the same thing treading water forever until they either get released or retire.
I’m just really happy someone I’ve watched for over 10 years and be super invested in is actually not only getting a shot, but the people love it. It’s like “Yeah, why NOT Kofi? Doesn’t he deserve a shot after all this time?”
Also I’d rather see Kofi as opposed to boring ass AJ, the reheated rejected leftovers called Joe, Orton and KO, Rey and Hardy even though they’re both ok, or one foot out the door Dean. And I like Ali and hate that he’s injuried for this to be happening, but I think he’s got way more years ahead of him, this won’t be his last shot at a title, no question..but I can’t say the same thing for some like Kofi.
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FinalGwen
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Post by FinalGwen on Mar 2, 2019 15:55:28 GMT -5
I think the difference with Ali is that, much as he definitely deserves a push and is refreshing to see being able to hang with the likes of Bryan on Smackdown rather than being stuck in purgatory, if you had him in Kofi's exact spot here and he won the belt at Mania, it'd seem like the kind of meteoric rise you only get once in a generation, and once you've done that, where does he really go from there?
Whereas with Kofi, there is all this history to build on. He's a beloved name who's done pretty much everything else in the company, and this seems like things finally lining up to take him into the one bit of territory we've not seen before. There's a lot of interesting questions surrounding him, like can he finally make it to the big time after being pushed down earlier in his career with the 'stupid' stuff? How will having the title affect him and the New Day as a team? Will one of them turn heel out of jealousy or will they remain intact as a unit? How many feuds can we have between him and established stars that now have a totally different dynamic rather than him always chasing titles?
When Ali's back, he deserves a title feud for sure with how hot he was getting, and with Kofi as champion that could be really interesting, with a lot more uncertainty about who'd come out on top. But I can't see him having the Mania match having quite the same resonance with fans. There definitely wouldn't be any questions about which big title match would be first on the show.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2019 16:28:12 GMT -5
I think the difference with Ali is that, much as he definitely deserves a push and is refreshing to see being able to hang with the likes of Bryan on Smackdown rather than being stuck in purgatory, if you had him in Kofi's exact spot here and he won the belt at Mania, it'd seem like the kind of meteoric rise you only get once in a generation, and once you've done that, where does he really go from there? Whereas with Kofi, there is all this history to build on. He's a beloved name who's done pretty much everything else in the company, and this seems like things finally lining up to take him into the one bit of territory we've not seen before. There's a lot of interesting questions surrounding him, like can he finally make it to the big time after being pushed down earlier in his career with the 'stupid' stuff? How will having the title affect him and the New Day as a team? Will one of them turn heel out of jealousy or will they remain intact as a unit? How many feuds can we have between him and established stars that now have a totally different dynamic rather than him always chasing titles? When Ali's back, he deserves a title feud for sure with how hot he was getting, and with Kofi as champion that could be really interesting, with a lot more uncertainty about who'd come out on top. But I can't see him having the Mania match having quite the same resonance with fans. There definitely wouldn't be any questions about which big title match would be first on the show. I just hope when Ali returns, they don't turn him heel by having him attack Kofi. The match would slap, but that'd be incredibly dumb.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2019 16:48:53 GMT -5
I think the difference with Ali is that, much as he definitely deserves a push and is refreshing to see being able to hang with the likes of Bryan on Smackdown rather than being stuck in purgatory, if you had him in Kofi's exact spot here and he won the belt at Mania, it'd seem like the kind of meteoric rise you only get once in a generation, and once you've done that, where does he really go from there? Whereas with Kofi, there is all this history to build on. He's a beloved name who's done pretty much everything else in the company, and this seems like things finally lining up to take him into the one bit of territory we've not seen before. There's a lot of interesting questions surrounding him, like can he finally make it to the big time after being pushed down earlier in his career with the 'stupid' stuff? How will having the title affect him and the New Day as a team? Will one of them turn heel out of jealousy or will they remain intact as a unit? How many feuds can we have between him and established stars that now have a totally different dynamic rather than him always chasing titles? When Ali's back, he deserves a title feud for sure with how hot he was getting, and with Kofi as champion that could be really interesting, with a lot more uncertainty about who'd come out on top. But I can't see him having the Mania match having quite the same resonance with fans. There definitely wouldn't be any questions about which big title match would be first on the show. Honestly I don't really think Ali should even be at the point of feuding for the belt already - having him run the midcard for awhile would be a lot better I feel like. I'd have Kofi offer him a shot on SmackDown and just let them tear it up for about 30 minutes to really put Ali over as a threat and a major prospect to watch out for then quickly get him the US title and work his way up from there.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2019 17:27:02 GMT -5
I couldn’t be feeling it any harder. Kofi is such a good promo guy at this point that I would absolutely buy anything he’s selling. He’s one of the few people on the roster that feels genuine when he cuts a promo.
I want this for him.
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JoDaNa1281
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Post by JoDaNa1281 on Mar 2, 2019 19:29:19 GMT -5
I dunno what it is. Don't get me wrong, I like the guy, he's great. It's just I don't get this push. He's had a few brilliant weeks, admittedly, but does that honestly justify a title match at WrestleMania like everyone seems to suggest? People seem to be actually comparing this to Bryan at Mania 30, as if Kofi not being in the match would be enough the boycott the show. It's baffling. As I said, I like Kofi, but him being WWE champion would just be weird to me. It wouldn't be 'Wow, Kofi is a big deal now'. I'd see it more like 'Wow, the WWE title is in the midcard now'.Maybe it's just me, but I've never been watching a PPV (or network event, whatever) and thought "gee, I can't wait to see this Kingston match". Like, New Day tag and multi-man matches aside can you honestly name one amazing Kofi match? Because I genuinely can't. I hate to say it, but he's a B+ at best. Now? Have you not seen the last few reigns, where it's been treated like a mid-card title on every duel-branded show until EC since they returned? Not to mention career jobber Jinder Mahal being champ for 6 months, because of some misguided notion that it would help their Indian market grow?
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Post by darbus alan on Mar 2, 2019 19:41:08 GMT -5
I've been wanting Kofi to get into the main event scene ever since they teased it a bit with him vs. Orton only to get completely owned by Orton and Legacy, never to touch it again.
So not only am I feeling it, I think it's been long overdue.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2019 19:54:28 GMT -5
Kofi's rise also feels like one of those classic rises that we don't see much these days. A guy who does great in the midcard for years finally rises up to the main event. Back when I was a kid I thought this is how guys made it to the main event. These days people are in the main event in no time but after this long? Man, this feels like how it needs to be done. Bret took a while to reach the main event, HBK took a while to reach the main event, Edge took a while to reach the main event. Now we're seeing it happen with Kofi and I'm thrilled.
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Post by Tea & Crumpets on Mar 3, 2019 5:44:09 GMT -5
I'm feeling the title match, but not as the main event/2nd biggest match on the card, but that's not remotely on Kofi, that's on: 1- The fact they've (out of necessity) rushed through this story from a week before Elimination Chamber onwards, which means there's been no real natural build or time to build hype, all the biggest/best Mania matches always have a longer buildup. Becky/Ronda is shitting the bed on twitter atm but a lot of its hype came from months and months of teases, tension, and crossing paths but never-quite-clashing. This hasn't had that. But even so I think it's better than if Mustafa Ali had been kept in that spot- he's partly another Kevin Owens/Finn Balor to me in that I don't see what everyone else sees in him, but also it would have been way, WAY too soon and sudden to hotshot him to a Mania title match, even if he is all that the dude needs at LEAST a year in the midcard to grow into a featured main roster role. 2- Daniel Bryan's current run sucks a bag of dicks and actively hampers my interest. This is a guy who I could not have been happier for when he made his return. Right now I don't want to watch him much.
Put this together and for me, Kofi/Bryan is a very good second-class world title match, in the 2-title era there's always been one lower in the card and for me of the 4 main singles titles this match goes in 3rd place, behind Brock/Seth and Becky/Ronda/Charlotte but ahead of whatever Asuka does (again through no fault of Asuka's, she's just been given nothing to work with). It's not a Mania Main Event match which is 100% down on the booking and build for both guys, but Kofi deserves the shot, I'm happy for him, and they should have a barnburner of a match.
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Post by Starshine on Mar 3, 2019 6:14:15 GMT -5
I like Kingston enough, but the idea of him winning the WWE belt isn’t all that exciting. The WWE belt is pretty much a midcard belt right now as it is. It’s hard to get too excited about a guy chasing a belt that Jinder Mahal dominantly held for months on end.
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TheDieselTrain
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Post by TheDieselTrain on Mar 3, 2019 6:39:32 GMT -5
I remember Jinder was WWE champ, so....why not. Took 3 pages but I was wondering if anyone was bring that up lol. I’m down for a Kofi reign
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Post by BayleyTiffyCodyCenaJudyHopps on Mar 3, 2019 7:19:56 GMT -5
Kofi's rise also feels like one of those classic rises that we don't see much these days. A guy who does great in the midcard for years finally rises up to the main event. Back when I was a kid I thought this is how guys made it to the main event. These days people are in the main event in no time but after this long? Man, this feels like how it needs to be done. Bret took a while to reach the main event, HBK took a while to reach the main event, Edge took a while to reach the main event. Now we're seeing it happen with Kofi and I'm thrilled. Personally, I don’t mind midcarder-to-main event rises, but I disagree with that being the one true way to make a new superstar. Things like the out-of-nowhere Goldberg or Lesnar push can work if the performer is talented. There’s nothing wrong with a rapid push to the main event if the wrestler has enough challengers lined up for them.
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Legion
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Post by Legion on Mar 3, 2019 13:50:45 GMT -5
I'm not feeling it either.
He's kinda just been around for so long, he doesn't feel like a main eventer and, although his push is new - he doesnt feel new.
Ali, at least, was something new.
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Post by BoomPeriod on Mar 3, 2019 17:45:41 GMT -5
Kofi aint gettin it so enjoy this tease
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Allie Kitsune
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Post by Allie Kitsune on Mar 3, 2019 17:54:41 GMT -5
I think really the biggest question mark I have in response to the, "Never Kofi, he's not worth it," crowd is... I mean, does he really seem like a gigantic step down to you to a Jinder Mahal? Jack Swagger? Alberto Del Rio? JBL? I love the guys but Sheamus, The Miz, and Dolph Ziggler? I'd most compare Kofi to a Rob Van Dam. Not necessarily someone to build a company around, no (although I don't really see why you wouldn't at least give Kofi a shot since at least unlike RVD he's proven to be reliable and shown he can stay clean), but he's been an over-as-hell midcarder for years putting on killer matches and making the company a ton of money in the process but without that one big crown jewel that a not insignificant portion of the fanbase has been dying for him to reach. I mean, even if you aren't really a Kofi fan, I don't see how you could possibly think he'd be any more damaging to the belt than any of those guys I mentioned or that it wouldn't make for a fondly remembered moment for a large chunk of the crowd. Are we seeing the beginnings of resentment that he's "stolen" Mustafa Ali's "spot"? Especially since indications seem to be that Ali was the guy that Bryan personally hand-picked, and maybe this is making some people (though not me) suspicious that Road Dogg, Vince, or whoever else in management using a minor injury as an excuse to take that spot away from him and putting someone they're more comfortable with in that spot.
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Post by Captain Stud Muffin (BLM) on Mar 4, 2019 13:01:50 GMT -5
If this was 6 months ago I would told you I never saw Kofi as World Champ material which has always been my position on him
However, this last month has opened my eyes and my guy is putting on the performance of his career and looking like he belongs. Do I want a long reign from him, no. I think a feel good 2-3 month reign is adequate and Kofi can continue to reinvent himself to make himself a fixture as a main eventer moving forward
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2019 13:05:36 GMT -5
Love me some Kofi and have long advocated for him to get a shot. It will make a great story, but I’m not sure how sustainable it will be. Only time will tell.
As for Mustafa Ali, there’s zero percent chance that he was going to get the Mania match, he’d likely “look good in defeat” at Fastlane before going to the midcard for a while.
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samantha
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Post by samantha on Mar 4, 2019 13:06:13 GMT -5
Don't think he cuts a decent promo without a hot crowd behind him. Not compelling to me.
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Post by Jokaine on Mar 4, 2019 19:16:14 GMT -5
You and many others (myself included) had that perception, but then Mustafa Ali had to get pulled out of the Elimination Chamber match and then suddenly that all changed. Sure he's always had his backers, but the radical momentum shift in the last 2-3 weeks cannot be ignored simply because he hasn't been on your radar as a singles star in quite some time. Sure, the Gauntlet Match from Smackdown two weeks ago, since technically that was just consecutive 1v1 matches back-to-back for over an hour of him putting in the work. If you want to discredit that one due to technicality, then I can easily point to any of his matches with Randy Orton back in 2009 (November 11th's Raw is up there), or his match vs Cesaro for the US Title on Main Event in 2013. ...you do realize that expression originates from describing Daniel Bryan, the guy who got the crowd white hot behind him after several years of floundering, right? I mean, it's irony if not otherwise... To be fair, the B+ line was more of a Bryan reference. I just feel like the Triple H in all this. You sound like Triple H, too. Circa spring, 2003.
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