"It's so dumb" - 4-time Champion criticizes Kofi Kingston's WWE Royal Rumble saves
Paul London is not a fan of Kofi Kingston’s unique strategies to prevent himself from being eliminated from WWE Royal Rumble matches.
WWE rules state that superstars suffer elimination from the 30-person contest when both feet touch the ringside floor. Kofi Kingston has exploited the rules throughout his career by thinking of creative ways to stay in the match. In 2012, for example, he walked on his hands to stop his feet from touching the floor.
London, a WWE star between 2003 and 2008, discussed Royal Rumble saves during his recent appearance on Rene Dupree’s Cafe de Rene podcast.
“You have guys like walking on their hands and stepping on people’s backs,” London said. “It’s so stupid, it’s so dumb. I mean, it’s impressive. Every year, and now you have to like jump the shark. ‘Let’s do a trail of breadcrumbs as I come down to the match, and then I step on the breadcrumbs and my feet won’t really touch the ground!’ Like shut the f*** up…” [41:05-41:35]
London is best known for his 331-day Tag Team Championship reign with Brian Kendrick. The 42-year-old captured tag titles three times in WWE, twice with Kendrick and once with Billy Kidman. He also held the Cruiserweight Championship.
Kofi Kingston is not the only WWE star with spectacular Royal Rumble saves
Watch @TrueKofi, @NaomiWWE, @WWE_MandyRose and more WWE Superstars figure out creative ways to survive in the #RoyalRumble Match.
#WWESupercut https://t.co/JcaQ8QV9yD
While Kofi Kingston saves himself from men’s Royal Rumble match eliminations, Naomi performs similar feats of athleticism to save herself in the women’s match. In 2020, Mandy Rose also featured in a unique Rumble match moment when Otis caught his former love interest to prevent her from being eliminated.
With so many superstars involved in similar incidents, London thinks WWE has overdone the Royal Rumble elimination-saving spot.
“Everyone’s doing it,” London added. “Everyone’s coming up with some sort of gag like, ‘Let me jump onto the audience’s chair and then I’ll step onto this lady’s head and then I’ll step on this small child’s face, but my feet still won’t touch the [ground].' Come on…” [41:36-41:53]
London participated in a memorable Royal Rumble spot during his only appearance in the match in 2005. The former cruiserweight star performed a Shooting Star Press from the ring apron to the ringside floor after receiving a clothesline from Gene Snitsky.
Although fans in attendance reacted positively, WWE backstage officials seemingly had a different take. According to London, the company’s higher-ups thought he had “gone into business for [himself]” by intentionally trying to steal the spotlight from his co-workers.
Please credit Cafe de Rene and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.