Kofi Kingston flying high since return from injury
Kofi Kingston – On a comeback trail
Kofi Kingston returned to action last week on Raw after being out with a vicious shoulder injury for the past two months. The injury occurred when Ryback, who was the number one contender at the time for the WWE title, put Kingston through three straight tables on a May edition of Smackdown.
Kingston, who has a Daniel Bryan like offense, certainly won many admirers in his match this Monday night, as he was not only able to sell Alberto Del Rio’s vicious move set to the crowd, but was also able to mount a great offensive of his own on the current World Heavyweight Champion.
Although the match ended with a Cross Arm Breaker that forced Kingston to tap out, I was shocked that the WWE actually wanted to make it look like a valiant effort on Kingston’s part. For the past few years Kingston has been an afterthought in the WWE, due to the fact that he was stuck in the lower-card and given meaningless title reigns that didn’t benefit him or build him at all.
But all that could change if the WWE is willing to book him and build him correctly this time after his return. Looking at the match on Monday night, Kingston certainly seems to have potential to put up great and exciting matches with his high flying abilities inside the ring. That, added with the fact that the WWE Universe couldn’t stop cheering for him during the match, should make for a great momentum builder for the former United States Champion.
Maybe the crowd’s response was just a reaction to Alberto Del Rio being the top heel in the WWE today, but in Kingston, I see a hero that could take that lead heel down. I’m not going to run out and say that Kingston deserves a title match so quickly after his return however, I will say that if he keeps having these kind of matches, a championship match should be in the works down the line.
Even a United States championship run would benefit Kingston’s growing momentum in the WWE, especially if Rob Van Dam is able to take the title away from Ambrose at SummerSlam this Sunday. Ambrose dropping the title to Rob Van Dam could possibility set up a World Heavyweight title run for Ambrose, but could also set up a great United States championship match between Van Dam and Kingston.
Instead of making it an ordinary pinfall or submission title match, the WWE should make it a best of three falls match for the title. The match would give both superstars a chance to showcase their high octane move set and really keep the crowd in awe throughout the bout. The best of three falls stipulation would also add a great deal of suspense to the match up, with rapid fast counters and quick roll up pins for the win.
Where Kingston goes from here after two weeks of great matches is entirely up the WWE. The company could just use him for filler matches to satisfy fans before the main event of the evening, but if the WWE was smart they would at least attempt a meaningful title reign to help skyrocket the high flyers stock.
Teaming him up with another WWE superstar for a tag team run could also help in getting Kingston over with fans. Before Daniel Bryan was the main event contender he is today, he and his tag team partner, Kane, were the most dominant tag team for months. I’m not saying that holding the tag team titles will have the same effect for Kingston, but it is definitely a great start to what seems to be an already spectacular comeback.