5 WWE stars who could replace Kofi Kingston as SmackDown Live's top babyface
Kofi Kingston cemented his status as the most popular babyface in WWE when he fulfilled an 11-year dream by winning the WWE Championship from Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 35.
At the time, it appeared as though the New Day member could do no wrong and that fans would stick by him no matter what happened in the next stage of his career.
As it has turned out, the majority of the WWE Universe is still supportive of the WWE Champion, but it cannot be denied that sections of fans are beginning to grow tired of what has been a somewhat repetitive four months with Kingston as the main good guy on SmackDown Live.
For example, between April and July, he won 21 consecutive matches on WWE television, with almost every victory coming via his Trouble In Paradise finisher, and the outcomes of his title matches against Bryan, Sami Zayn, AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, Dolph Ziggler and Samoa Joe were very predictable.
Although the strong booking of Kingston’s character has helped legitimise him as a top guy since WrestleMania, it was quite clear at SummerSlam that many fans in attendance in Toronto would have been happy with him losing his title to Randy Orton.
In this article, let’s take a look at five Superstars who could potentially take over as the next top babyface on SmackDown Live if Kingston continues to lose momentum.
#5 Kevin Owens
It is ironic that Kevin Owens’ initial push as a babyface was derailed by the rise of ‘KofiMania’, and now he finds himself battling it out with the WWE Champion once again to be viewed as the most popular good guy on SmackDown Live.
The stop-start face turn that Owens underwent earlier in 2019 left a lot to be desired, but his new persona and new Stone Cold Stunner finisher have immediately captured the attention of the audience.
With eight months to go until WrestleMania 36, there is no reason why the former Universal Champion cannot keep up this momentum and become one of WWE’s major players heading into next year’s show, much like how Becky Lynch transformed herself from mid-carder to main-eventer in the same amount of time before WrestleMania 35.