7 Days of ‘Mania: What Happens To Kofi Kingston After Sunday?

David Levin continues his look at WrestleMania with some perspective on Kofi Kingston, at AND after WrestleMania.

I cannot help but think the current storyline involving Kofi Kingston and his quest to become WWE champion would be a program a young Eric Bischoff would have loved to have written. Not the character Bischoff played in WCW or his shenanigans in WWE or TNA, but the guy who thought outside the box in the old AWA, working an angle from the end to the beginning.

Right now, with less than a week to go before WrestleMania 35 takes off, I still have a sense that Kingston will beat Daniel Bryan for the strap, but his run as the face of the company will be short-lived, potentially as short as Tuesday night following the big event. If that does happen, it is a great disservice to Kingston’s story and the fans who have wanted something this layered to finally take off. Kingston deserves this moment. Not because of a long run with the company, but because the seeds of his march toward the top of the company food change have been slow-played deliberately while we have waited for him to grab the brass ring. WWE has done a good job of storytelling. There are many layers to this onion, which includes the fate of both Big E and Xavier Woods after the storm.

I don’t put too much stock in what former pro wrestlers have to say on social media about their thoughts about big event matches, but I was particularly drawn to the comments of Superstar Billy Graham who does not like the idea of Kingston getting a run with the title because of his size. Might I remind him that Bryan isn’t a Hulk Hogan type of character? Neither was Eddie Gurrero or Jeff Hardy and the fans ate up everything that encompassed their victories.

“Is The WWE Serious ???
I turned on my computer today and went to the wrestling news sites and what did I see? Kofi Kingston vs Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship at mania. Talk is Vince is going to put that WWE belt on Kofi Kingston…… Shit…..You…not me, will have a 145 pound WWE champion. This must of been an idea by the new Sr. Creative Lady Dana Warrior? Meltzer says she has been promoted to an extremely high position on the creative team and attends meeting that only Vince, H and Step are in…damn…how did she get so smart ???”

For years, WWE and most notably Vince McMahon, has lived in this business and survived by the notion that bigger is better and someone like Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, Guerrero, and Hardy could not draw money. It’s true Kingston may not make the company the green of Bryan or John Cena or others in the ring today, but this storyline isn’t about drawing money. The story is what sells, not the character. WWE has done the right thing and traveled back in time when stories were important, building matches took time. Honestly, I am not crazy about Kingston holding the strap longer than the next month, but I see the value in how this all came about and how important it is that the changes in the company this year moving forward are enhanced by Kingston finally getting to the top of the mountain.

I’m just wondering, on this screen and out loud, how long WWE rides this wave of excitement and more importantly, does it mean Daniel Bryan gets the title back or does someone like Samoa Joe step over Kofi Kingston to create another program, altogether?