Kofi VS Bryan WM 35

[GodzillaIsMyMonster]

Just rewatched this match and it reminded me of the build up. 

How good was this? The entire storyline was amazing, the tag gauntlet match and the absolutely amazing moment with The Usos. 

Then there's the match. Just perfection. The crowd bites on every near fall, every big move gets a pop. 

And Byron Saxton gives perhaps his greatest commentary performance. 

Just all around greatness, and perhaps the last great angle of the Vince era.

[Germansuplex]

Maybe the last time I was 100% invested in a WWE storyline. Well played by everyone involved.

That pop for the three-count!

[Soultastic]

It was a nearly perfect build. The one BIG blemish much like the buid to Becky's main event that same show, was that they just had to shoot an angle were they make sure to let you know the McMahons are still better than him.

For Becky, it was having her apologize to the McMahons for no reason and making a big deal out of it. For Kofi, it was that weird angle where he spent a whole show waiting for Vince to open the door to his office so they can speak and then getting buried for not knocking.

That being said, the match and the finish are absolutely legendary.

[schma]

I remember it was so wild that not one, not two but three amazing stories culminated at WM35 with the ending the fans were clamouring for (this being one of them). It just seemed impossible we would get so many happy endings in one year let alone one night.

[chronocross]

I really enjoyed the build to the match, especially when the New Day had to win the opportunity for Kofi. I also liked how even with Becky's chase after the Women's Title, she was rooting him on backstage with everyone else.

[Captain Stud Muffin (BLM)]

Being there live for that was crazy

Still remember when he got the 3 everyone got up and cheered. Just one of those lasting moments in history

[DZ: WF Legacy]

One of the all-time great builds, matches and moments in WWE history.

[XIII]

That was an amazing moment but it should have led to so much more. It was the WWE’s Black Panther moment, Kofi is the champ he went back to Ghana for celebration and then Vince booking happened.

[Deleted]

5 star match in my opinion.

[fw91]

i get the for the sake of progessive history, that the women went on last, but this match should have main evented. I think the tired crowd would have woke up.

[Deleted]

Aug 17, 2022 15:22:53 GMT -5 fw91 said:

i get the for the sake of progessive history, that the women went on last, but this match should have main evented. I think the tired crowd would have woke up.

I think any match that went on last would've suffered from a tired crowd. WM 35 would go down as a top 5 Mania if it was two nights like the last few have been, IMO.

[Final Countdown Jones]

The idea of Daniel Bryan going from the cult hero who railed against the system to something he hated was the kind of weird poetry that WWE doesn't really delve into that often. Also, the tag gauntlet match with Big E and Woods completely drained and terrified when the Usos come out only for the Usos to drop some mad respect onto their storied foes and concede, was the payoff to one of the best feuds of the '10s. It felt like an abnormal amount of actual storytelling care went into that rise, not just in terms of having segments, but in terms of actual character moments and interactions, and it turned out so amazing for it.

[The Gallus Mark]

Aug 17, 2022 15:33:37 GMT -5 Final Countdown Jones said:

The idea of Daniel Bryan going from the cult hero who railed against the system to something he hated was the kind of weird poetry that WWE doesn't really delve into that often. Also, the tag gauntlet match with Big E and Woods completely drained and terrified when the Usos come out only for the Usos to drop some mad respect onto their storied foes and concede, was the payoff to one of the best feuds of the '10s. It felt like an abnormal amount of actual storytelling care went into that rise, not just in terms of having segments, but in terms of actual character moments and interactions, and it turned out so amazing for it.

I remember fearing that the Uso’s were last just to deny their old rivals and then Kofi having to go through some random hoop to finally get there.

Then they forfeited and I marked out lol

[papagiorgio]

It felt sort of like a repeat of Byran's run at WM 30.

[Deleted]

Aug 17, 2022 16:53:42 GMT -5 The Gallus Mark said:

Aug 17, 2022 15:33:37 GMT -5 Final Countdown Jones said:

The idea of Daniel Bryan going from the cult hero who railed against the system to something he hated was the kind of weird poetry that WWE doesn't really delve into that often. Also, the tag gauntlet match with Big E and Woods completely drained and terrified when the Usos come out only for the Usos to drop some mad respect onto their storied foes and concede, was the payoff to one of the best feuds of the '10s. It felt like an abnormal amount of actual storytelling care went into that rise, not just in terms of having segments, but in terms of actual character moments and interactions, and it turned out so amazing for it.

I remember fearing that the Uso’s were last just to deny their old rivals and then Kofi having to go through some random hoop to finally get there.

Then they forfeited and I marked out lol

I've been bitching about the Usos lately, but that is one of the best babyface moments (I think they were faces) of the last 5 years easily.

[Allie Kitsune]

Aug 17, 2022 15:33:37 GMT -5 Final Countdown Jones said:

The idea of Daniel Bryan going from the cult hero who railed against the system to something he hated was the kind of weird poetry that WWE doesn't really delve into that often. Also, the tag gauntlet match with Big E and Woods completely drained and terrified when the Usos come out only for the Usos to drop some mad respect onto their storied foes and concede, was the payoff to one of the best feuds of the '10s. It felt like an abnormal amount of actual storytelling care went into that rise, not just in terms of having segments, but in terms of actual character moments and interactions, and it turned out so amazing for it.

I always love when the former rebel sells out to protect his spot.

It's a big part of why Austin's "My name is Stone Cold Steve Austin, and I Do No Deserve This!" era was the only time I ever liked him.

[Mozenrath]

Aug 17, 2022 15:26:22 GMT -5 @dax said:

Aug 17, 2022 15:22:53 GMT -5 fw91 said:

i get the for the sake of progessive history, that the women went on last, but this match should have main evented. I think the tired crowd would have woke up.

I think any match that went on last would've suffered from a tired crowd. WM 35 would go down as a top 5 Mania if it was two nights like the last few have been, IMO.

Agreed, and as much as I loved Kofi's chase, Becky's was hands down the bigger storyline. Like, zero debating it, to me.

[Deleted]

Aug 17, 2022 21:23:19 GMT -5 Mozenrath said:

Aug 17, 2022 15:26:22 GMT -5 @dax said:

I think any match that went on last would've suffered from a tired crowd. WM 35 would go down as a top 5 Mania if it was two nights like the last few have been, IMO.

Agreed, and as much as I loved Kofi's chase, Becky's was hands down the bigger storyline. Like, zero debating it, to me.

I think Becky said she was afraid she was going to lose the WM main event because of how much her angle had stalled and how hot KofiMania had become, but that probably was never going to happen.

[Rumble McSkirmish]

One of the most perfect storylines of modern WWE bar none and the match itself was a masterclass in telling a great in ring story from beginning to end.

[thehottag]

I watched the show in a bar, & you'd swear the home team had just won the Superbowl or something. Place went absolutely bezerk when Kofi won.

As for the match itself, I can remember Bryan having a huge smirk on his face before performing the 'Yes!' chant out of the corner. Such a brilliant full-circle moment of the hero becoming a villain.