I don’t like to speak for others, but I’m pretty sure I can right now. We’ve all wanted a member of The New Day to get a singles title at some point or another, and now — this moment — feels like the most perfect opportunity yet for the pancake panhandlers.
Kofi Kingston’s last-second addition to Sunday’s Elimination Chamber match looked like a mere clever move at first, but it was enough to spark my hopes:
... put the wood on Kofi. Right now, the WWE title needs something special. AJ Bryan Chapter 8 is not that.
— Henry T. Casey (@henrytcasey) February 13, 2019
But? New Day and their obsessions with junk food and consumption, vs Bryan and his Eco-Friendly hoss man friend?
That's FUN.
40+ minutes into SmackDown Live’s gauntlet match to decide the last slot in the Chamber, with Kingston having pinned both Daniel Bryan and Jeff Hardy, even Corey “Twitter Meltdown” Graves was a believer.
.@TrueKofi! pic.twitter.com/tV2Jj5B2WP
— TDE Wrestling (@totaldivaseps) February 13, 2019
Graves began telling the story that we’ve all considered: Kofi as the aging gunslinger. He’s always been the Rumble spot master, never the Rumble winner.
I’m not alone:
Dude I've been waiting for that for 9 years.
— AhmadAbuJamous (@ahmadabujamous3) February 13, 2019
Oh my god. I didn't know i wanted this, but i do. I woukd wait until mania for kofi to win the title though.
— #1 VOLS (@dallas_bowlin) February 13, 2019
The one guy I want to see hold that title before I die is Kofi Kingston!
— MMK (@MMKWTTV) February 13, 2019
It felt clear, that Kofi was getting the same treatment that Seth Rollins got a year ago, when The Architect wrestled for an hour on a Raw. And then Kofi pinned Joe too, though the three-count seemed a bit odd, so Joe could go full insane and just murderize Kofi.
Except things got even stronger.
But no matter how that gauntlet match would end, I felt more sure of the fantasy booking I laid out in my original tweet. In New Day, Bryan will see everything he hates about excess, capitalism, food and consumerism. He can rail against Kofi as a guy who had all the talent in the world, but throws it all away in neon clothing, and spent 11 years being a punchline, not a champion.
Kofi growled his decade-plus of frustration during the spots with Styles, as AJ tried being nice to him to start their section of the gauntlet match.
NEVER question the heart of @TrueKofi! pic.twitter.com/5ZhOPUsKxj
— TDE Wrestling (@totaldivaseps) February 13, 2019
Also, you can have seriously fun faction wars if you bring Harper back to help Bryan win the Chamber to retain, leading to a one on one at WrestleMania. We’ve seen New Day vs The Wyatt Family, but New Day vs The Green Day can be something great.
You heard the screams of the crowd in support of Kofi during his fire-up moments against AJ. You might want a WrestleMania Moment™ for Mustafa Ali, but you can’t convince me that this isn’t a perfect time for Kingston.
After he tapped to Styles, and Big E and Xavier Woods ran down to his aid, our hearts jumped to our throats, and we saw one of the best damn things they could do with the WWE Championship... give it to Kofi Kingston.
He will become champion. He will.
— The Honorable Honorable HONORABLE Comiiiiish (@XavierWoodsPhD) February 13, 2019