Unpopular Opinion: The Kofi/Brock match was booked right

[SirLucas]

I actually like the way the Kofi Kingston Brock Lesnar match was booked on the first Fox Smackdown.  

I'll start by saying I thoroughly enjoyed the build between Kofi Kingston and Daniel Bryan. They slowly teased each week that Kofi may just get a title match at Mania was really well done. Vince kept stacking the deck against Kofi, creating more sympathy. And don't forget about that scathing promo Big E cut on Vince, which helped light the fire for fans to want to see a Kofi grab the brass ring. I was in attendance for that year's Mania and I was on the edge of my seat the whole match.  Then when Kofi won the title, I could feel the energy in the crowd. It was truly a feel-good moment, just like when Rey won the title at Mania 22. 

But then, after that, I felt his reign peaked. He was still the same happy-go-lucky, hopping and skipping to the ring with rainbows and unicorns and ice cream and pancakes New Day guy. He didn't evolve into a serious champion like Rock or Austin or Cena.  And his post-Mania feuds were by and large underwhelming and forgettable. I remember had a feud with Orton where they referenced the "stupid" comment from years back, but Orton is put with everyone who wins the title for the first time. 

So what I enjoyed about the Brock/Kofi squash is that it was something different; it was surprising and shocking. And I like it when something unexpected comes out of nowhere in wrestling. Most of us had a feeling Brock was going to win anyway. But with Kofi losing in seconds it felt REAL. Because we've all seen boxing matches or MMA fights where someone gets knocked out or taps out within seconds of the start of the match. People will complain that Kofi didn't get to sell for a bit and then get in a few hope spots before losing. Then again, that's the status quo of wrestling booking. And every now then, I feel there needs to be some deviation from the norm, like we saw with this match. 

Brock was being booked like a killer at this point, the finish made him look even more badass in destroying Kofi in seconds. Plus if the ultimate goal was to make Brock look as strong and vicious as possible before he ultimately put over Roman, then it served its purpose. 

[Final Countdown Jones]

Nah it made the champion look like shit and treated him like an afterthought who they were happy to just get the belt off of. He had more of a chance against Brock on a random Japanese house show years before than he had in a title defense. Verisimilitude doesn't require making your underdog champion feel like a joke.

[dangerousdanpotato]

There's a status quo for a reason.

This was bad story-telling in my opinion. They decided they were done with Kofi's run and just dropped it with no thought put into continuing his story for the many, many fans who had been invested for months.

The "shocking/real" ending had been done several times previously with Lesnar (see: Cena, Orton) and so to me it just felt cheap and rote. Seen it before, and so could see WWE trying too hard to push buttons.

[Moppy]

[I'm Team Bayley and Indi]

I think only heel champions should be squashed like that as commpuance and Brock didn't need the title going into the Saudi event to get his fake win back against a shoot loss from Cain Velasquez.

[Nosnorb]

Oct 20, 2023 13:29:48 GMT -5 SirLucas said:

Brock was being booked like a killer at this point, the finish made him look even more badass in destroying Kofi in seconds.

Kofi lept onto the shoulders of Beastie Boy, who wasn't about to let the generosity of Kingston go to waste. It was one dude taking full advantage of the other taking leave of his senses, which didn't make Lesnar more of a monster, just a dude that had the match giftwrapped.

[SirLucas]

Oct 20, 2023 14:24:35 GMT -5 dangerousdanpotato said:

There's a status quo for a reason.

This was bad story-telling in my opinion. They decided they were done with Kofi's run and just dropped it with no thought put into continuing his story for the many, many fans who had been invested for months.

The "shocking/real" ending had been done several times previously with Lesnar (see: Cena, Orton) and so to me it just felt cheap and rote. Seen it before, and so could see WWE trying too hard to push buttons.

Again, amazing build-up from Elimination Chamber to his victory over Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania. But I just couldn't get into Kofi after that. His title run felt extremely flat. Kofi's after winning was a big "well...where do he go from here?" 

[Mid-Carder]

Since I get why Brock was the priority, I think the match itself MIGHT have been OK if they had followed up with Kofi, done something to build him up again or held a mid-card title. Anything. Instead he was shot right down the card and never sniffed a main event again.

[SirLucas]

Oct 20, 2023 14:39:06 GMT -5 Mid-Carder said:

Since I get why Brock was the priority, I think the match itself MIGHT have been OK if they had followed up with Kofi, done something to build him up again or held a mid-card title. Anything. Instead he was shot right down the card and never sniffed a main event again.

Maybe it was bad booking post Mania. Maybe Kofi just didn't have that main event level it factor.  He was so mediocre after Mania up until that Smackdown that it felt like WWE was just putting this experiment out of its misery. Maybe Kofi as champ was just one of those "thank you for 10 plus years of service" runs. 

[sarkerpolseng]

Kofi looked like an idiot during and after. So no.

[The Heartbreak TWERK]

Nope.

[Final Countdown Jones]

Oct 20, 2023 14:45:25 GMT -5 SirLucas said:

Oct 20, 2023 14:39:06 GMT -5 Mid-Carder said:

Since I get why Brock was the priority, I think the match itself MIGHT have been OK if they had followed up with Kofi, done something to build him up again or held a mid-card title. Anything. Instead he was shot right down the card and never sniffed a main event again.

Maybe it was bad booking post Mania. Maybe Kofi just didn't have that main event level it factor.  He was so mediocre after Mania up until that Smackdown that it felt like WWE was just putting this experiment out of its misery. Maybe Kofi as champ was just one of those "thank you for 10 plus years of service" runs. 

But you see how giving a guy a thank-you run to the support and love of the fans and then going "Oh well okay this sucked you're f***ing dead to me now" is like. Shitty, right?

[Feargus McReddit]

I'll be frank, if I wanted something to feel real or like MMA or boxing...I'd watch MMA or boxing. Well, less boxing because that feels like it's having its own "carnies realize they can draw more by having matches be choreographed" moment pro wrestling had. You can make things feel impactful and emotional without acting like it needs to be like actual sports.

It was just bad booking. Diluted the entire Kofi story, just put Brock back on top for a pointless (but marketably logical) Cain Velazquez match for Saudi Arabia and there was, what, one segment of a follow up before it was dropped forever and Kofi was back in his place? It was the Royal Rumble 2015 except it was seconds instead of an hour plus.

EDIT: And yes, his reign was mediocre but there have been worse reigns that got more dignified endings, that's not something to put at Kofi's feet.

[The Heartbreak TWERK]

Oct 20, 2023 15:13:46 GMT -5 Final Countdown Jones said:

Oct 20, 2023 14:45:25 GMT -5 SirLucas said:

Maybe it was bad booking post Mania. Maybe Kofi just didn't have that main event level it factor.  He was so mediocre after Mania up until that Smackdown that it felt like WWE was just putting this experiment out of its misery. Maybe Kofi as champ was just one of those "thank you for 10 plus years of service" runs. 

But you see how giving a guy a thank-you run to the support and love of the fans and then going "Oh well okay this sucked you're f***ing dead to me now" is like. Shitty, right?

I wish I was rich enough that I could be the f***ing worst to anyone and everyone around me, force them to watch my bullshit, and purposely choose to do things against my audience's will because, 'we can't let them think they're in charge'.

[government mule]

I mean, you are right in that it is an unpopular opinion.

[Lizuka #BLM]

It might've had novelty if it were fresh but it was just the same old shit that had already been well beaten into the ground with Brock years before that point.

While we're on the subject though, f*** that Lashley / Kofi match too.

[Final Countdown Jones]

Oct 20, 2023 15:17:39 GMT -5 The Heartbreak TWERK said:

Oct 20, 2023 15:13:46 GMT -5 Final Countdown Jones said:

But you see how giving a guy a thank-you run to the support and love of the fans and then going "Oh well okay this sucked you're f***ing dead to me now" is like. Shitty, right?

I wish I was rich enough that I could be the f***ing worst to anyone and everyone around me, force them to watch my bullshit, and purposely choose to do things against my audience's will because, 'we can't let them think they're in charge'.

Only Vince could have the big feelgood story of a guy rising to the main event through fan support end in "Nope, Brock Lesnar". Dude almost did it with Danielson too, who was initially supposed to be in that Summerslam squash instead of Cena. The addiction to H E A T is incredible.

[Lizuka #BLM]

Oct 20, 2023 15:41:25 GMT -5 Final Countdown Jones said:

Oct 20, 2023 15:17:39 GMT -5 The Heartbreak TWERK said:

I wish I was rich enough that I could be the f***ing worst to anyone and everyone around me, force them to watch my bullshit, and purposely choose to do things against my audience's will because, 'we can't let them think they're in charge'.

Only Vince could have the big feelgood story of a guy rising to the main event through fan support end in "Nope, Brock Lesnar". Dude almost did it with Danielson too, who was initially supposed to be in that Summerslam squash instead of Cena. The addiction to H E A T is incredible.

Then you've got Big E, where it went, "Oh, great, he won the title! Now he loses to Roman Reigns twice in one night. Then again. Then he loses the belt out of nowhere to Brock, but only really to put over Roman Reigns some more."

[Nosnorb]

The 'E put the match on their Youtube channel.

I have absolutely no idea how anyone can say it was booked right. For starters, a match involving a Face Champion should never be shorter than one of the in-ring introductions, bell to bell the match lasted nine seconds. 

That would have been bad enough, but the way that Kofi actually lost made it even worse, he practically jumped onto the shoulders of Brock for the F5. Short of laying down on the mat or short of turning his back on Lesnar while he had one hand behind it and shouting at the top of his voice "PUT ME IN THE KIMURA!", it's hard to imagine Kofi making it any easier for Beastie Boy.

And that leads on to how the finish made Brock look. It didn't make him look any more badass, it made him look like a dude who got lucky when his opponent made a rookie mistake. It's like saying Karim Benzema looked like an even greater forward because Karius threw the ball at his feet in the 2018 European Cup Final.

So it short, the match made Kofi look like a chump and didn't do anything for Lesnar. That's the opposite of booked right.

[The Heartbreak TWERK]

Oct 20, 2023 16:11:33 GMT -5 Nosnorb said:

The 'E put the match on their Youtube channel.

I have absolutely no idea how anyone can say it was booked right.

Oh easy, you could dislike Kofi for whatever reason and then argue in bad faith!