Kofi’s title run/reign in retrospect

[ChitownKnight]

Is it just me or does it not feel as memorable as Eddie’s, Mankind’s, or Bryan’s title wins. Maybe it’s partially because of Covid? Or because new day are mid card guys

[EvenBaldobombHasAJob]

Probably more because as soon as he lost it, for some reason they decided to act like it never happened.

[Mozenrath]

If we're talking wins, yeah, I'd put those over his on memorability/quality.

I'd put Kofi over Bryan maybe when it comes to the reign itself. It wasn't great, the Orton and Ziggler stuff wasn't the worst, but nor was it terribly exciting, but it might be better than Bryan vs Kane and then forfeiting the title.

I think the biggest problem is that they've never really done much to make us think Kofi missed it at all once he lost it. Even an unsuccessful challenge or two would have been nice. They've squandered that, even if I get that Kofi himself doesn't sweat it.

[Captain Stud Muffin (BLM)]

It was really good and much better then I expected

Problem is once he lost the title he has not been back in the main event picture since

[Deleted]

Nothing changed when he won and nothing changed when he lost. They didn’t really give him a new identity. No new theme.

Just same pancake throwing guy.

[EoE: Well There's Your Problem]

The reign itself was fine for the most part, and he was booked fairly strong until the Lesnar match, but it was impossible to recapture that same emotion and momentum of the original title win over Bryan because of just how much went into that, and not just the actual storyline either.

[Magic knows Black Lives Matter]

I think how he’s been treated afterwards has played a big role. Like, that was an iconic mania moment and one of the most memorable title chases in recent memory but I’m afraid the significance will get muddled after Kofi’s title loss as he went right back to where he was before his miracle run. He’s also in a slump and on the shelf at this very moment which never helps perception

[Captain Stud Muffin (BLM)]

Jan 12, 2021 21:33:19 GMT -5 Magic knows Black Lives Matter said:

I think how he’s been treated afterwards has played a big role. Like, that was an iconic mania moment and one of the most memorable title chases in recent memory but I’m afraid the significance will get muddled after Kofi’s title loss as he went right back to where he was before his miracle run. He’s also in a slump and on the shelf at this very moment which never helps perception

Yea, after his big moment and time in the sun things sort of went downhill you couldn't plan for 

Xavier went down with an Achilles injury that took him out for a year. Kofi just ended up tagging with E which is a no brainer to keep New Day on TV. Then Kofi himself left with an injury for a while

Woods comes back and now he's tagging with him and everything just feels flat. Either add a new member to New Day to "replace" Big E or give yourselves a new identity and something to attach on to since Big E himself is also distancing himself from New Day while also still remaining the same

[Toilet Paper Roll]

Some guys win titles and some guys are main eventers. Kofi won the title but the WWE had no interest in making him a main eventer.

[Chiral]

The build and WM35 are still fantastic. But the way it ended and the way Kofi was right after basically told the fanbase "OK this guy's done in the main event hope you had fun."

Vince's "That tag title looks right on you" they aired right after he won felt like Vince directly airing what his plans were for Kofi. He was another victim to getting rebooted to having his accomplishments not count that they like to do nowadays.

[Push R Truth]

I loved it from start until right before that wet fart of a finish

[eJm]

I think what makes it crazy for me is that it makes the whole thing feel...hollow in restrospective.

Like, don’t get me wrong, it was a great build (albeit acting like the Bryan approach was what made WM 30 as great as it was when it was blatantly them trying to avoid going through with it all but anyway...) and the payoff is one that’ll stick with me forever but it...it almost feels pointless? As people mentioned, it felt like it was more of them amusing the fans and taking it away then actually giving the people what they want and running with it.

And then when it came out in interviews, kayfabe or otherwise, that he wasn’t that bothered about getting his rematch or going back for the title, it just added this whole aspect of “Oh, well, ok, if you don’t care about it, clearly I shouldn’t care about you when literally billions of wrestlers would have at least tried to go back” and...I don’t know, it comes off like I wasted my time sometimes.

[Cyno]

The build to the Mania program was great and given the way WWE has used racism as an aspect to other angles, surprisingly tasteful. The Wrestlemania moment was fantastic. The reign itself was alright for the most part, but it did feel like this thing WWE does lately where they put their top belt on someone that wasn't hand chosen by Vince, but still treat him like an upper midcarder instead of a true main event star.

Sadly, I think Kofi's reign will be remembered most for how it ended, with Brock Lesnar stealing his soul. And he's been treated like a nobody since.

[romanstylesiii]

Vince never really want him in the main event. Sure, he put the title on him, but he never main evented a PPV. The biggest match he was in ended in 5 seconds

[Starshine]

Halfassed is the word. The title win was really good, but eveything else... meh?

He had no real great matches following the win, no real great fiery promos, he was just the same New Day guy, except he was also holding the top belt. Like, look at what they're doing with Big E now, and compare it to Kofi. They are so much more behind Big E than they ever were with the Kofi push, even though the latter had the better story and hotter reactions (relatively speaking in a pandemic world). He's toned down some of the goofier shit, and he comes off more like a star now.

Kofi's reign was basically, an okay match with Owens, awful matches with Ziggler, the Orton feud which somehow turned a lot of the crowd against Kofi, then the embarrassing loss, and no actual fire from the loss, just the same carefree pancake guy. A seven month reign and nothing was gained. He's not better or worse off for it, it was all-in-all pretty meaningless.

[Deleted]

Jan 12, 2021 21:25:19 GMT -5 Captain Stud Muffin (BLM) said:

It was really good and much better then I expected

Problem is once he lost the title he has not been back in the main event picture since

Yep, this.I remember when people thought he'd lose the title immediately after he won it. Man went on to beat numerous talent until he faced Lesnar. Regardless of the outcome he had a pretty good run especially for someone like him.

I'd say since Punk's win in 2011 my top 3 world title reigns are Kofi's, Bryan's and Ambrose's.

[Andee9001]

I was there when he won and i still consider it an amazing moment. The reign itself wasn't that bad. If he lost it to Brock in a match where he looked good in defeat then maybe i would remember it more fondly but the way they did it just rubs everyone the wrong way.

["Evil Brood" Jackson Vanik]

I would have rather had him lose the title in a month or two to an up and coming heel (think Tanahashi/Jay White) so someone new could actually get some heat and get over. His actual run was fine but the end of it did nothing for Brock or Kofi.

[Deleted]

I'm not even a fan of his, had absolutely no interest in his title chase or win... and even I was pissed off about that Lesnar match.

I mean seriously, they couldn't have had a back and forth even FIVE minute match? Is Brock really that f***ing lazy? The worst thing is, he did the exact same thing to Ricochet.

[government mule]

I can't argue about the credibility of the run until the Lesnar match. I think it's a shame in hindsight they didn't build on his character more once he became champion but he was booked strong in matches for quite a while.

I had no issue with the New Day association post WWE title win, but thought he really needed to ditch the f***ing pancake obsession and leave that crap to the other two if they must have persisted with it.