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5. Team Kingston vs Team Orton – Survivor Series 2009
Kicking off the list was a very good match from the 2009 Survivor Series that seemed to propel one superstar into the main event, only for the company to completely drop the ball. That superstar was Kofi Kingston. After moving quickly through Deep South Wrestling, Florida Championship Wrestling, the WWE’s ECW brand, and then Smackdown, the ultra-talented Kofi looked destined for big things.
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Enter Randy Orton, the man who could facilitate the massive push that Kingston could have and should have gotten. The two got to feuding shortly after Kofi’s call up and it seemed like the then 28-year-old Floridian would get the chance of a lifetime, a main event run. The feud was back and forth and Orton delivered his normal brand of viciousness with Kingston matching him on every level.
Then came their Survivor Series matchup as dueling captains. Orton enlisted CM Punk, William Regal, and his two Legacy stablemates, Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiasi while Kingston countered with a team of Christian, Mark Henry, MVP, and R-Truth. This was a terrific combination of young up and comers with established stars.
The match that unfolded was solid, clean wrestling from a bunch of established pros. However, one thing stood out more than ever, Kofi was really, really good. Down 2 on 1 to Orton and Punk, “The Boom Squad General” spent the match’s final 7 minutes completely out-classing the 2 world champions all the while delighting the 15,000 fans in attendance at AT&T Center in San Antonio. The end came at just under 21 minutes after Kofi pinned Punk with a roll-up and then immediately nailed “The Viper” with his patented Trouble In Paradise kick.
Unfortunately for Kingston, the WWE apparently weren’t as thrilled with his performance as many others were. He’d spend the next couple of months losing numerous matches to Orton including at the following month’s TLC pay per view. Kingston spent the following few years toiling in the mid-card before finally finding his current footing with The New Day and their near record breaking tag team championship run.