WWE WrestleMania 35 Results: Kofi Kingston is the hero of the greatest story ever told

This match is for all the marbles: Kofi Kingston vs. Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship at WWE WrestleMania 35.

Perhaps no match on the WWE WrestleMania 35 card means as much as Kofi Kingston vs. Daniel Bryan. #KofiMania may have started from Mustafa Ali’s injury before the Elimination Chamber Pay Per View, but this is a match that has been 11 years in the making. Kingston has waited ages for a one-on-one opportunity at a world title, and he’s more than earned it; the way the WWE Universe has gotten behind him has been incredible.

Meanwhile, Daniel Bryan has been the perfect villain for Kofi, calling his challenger a “B+” player. He’s become an absolute hypocrite, and it’s gotten even more emotion out of Kingston, who is far more than just a “B+” in WWE; he’s a straight “A”.

Everyone in the locker room was watching backstage, supporting #KofiMania to the fullest. And yes, I am crying and it’s not the onions! I’m not ashamed to admit it!

Bryan was busy playing mindgames, avoiding Kofi by going outside the ring to talk to Rowan – his “intellectual equal” – before coming back to the ring to ground Kofi. The WWE Champion showed off his stiff strikes, and Kofi was having trouble getting momentum. Bryan had Kofi scouted with all of his moves, and he then locked up Kingston in a submission to further take the sting out of this match.

Kingston tried to start grappling with Bryan, but, as Corey Graves noted on commentary, he was never destined to win that battle. It didn’t take long for Bryan to get on top of Kofi and beat him some more with strikes, though Kofi avoided the big move and started to get back involved with his agility.

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He went for a huge move on Bryan on the outside to get a firm advantage, but he BOUNCED right off the announce table with his midsection after Bryan side-stepped him beautifully. That could prove to be a critical mistake for Kofi, who continued to sell that misstep wonderfully.

And Bryan? He stayed on top of Kingston, beating him down before draping him over the top rope. He followed that up with a vicious knee to Kingston’s back for a nearfall, draining more stamina out of The New Day’s most veteran member.

Continuing to take the wind out of the match, Bryan started to hold down Kofi as the crowd cheered the 11-year veteran on. Kingston created some space with a barrage of elbows, wisely pinning Bryan in the corner to finally break the WWE Champion’s death-grip.

But the momentum didn’t last, as the relentless Bryan smashed Kingston head-first into the turnbuckle before delivering some running dropkicks in the corner. Whenever Kofi tried to come up with a big move, the intellectual Bryan had the exact counter into a submission, as Kofi simply couldn’t get anything going.

Kingston started to get some momentum going (finally) with a splash for a two-count, and the superstars backstage were getting excited. And so was the crowd. They started to get into the match even more as both men traded strikes, and the strikes crescendoed into a flurry.

Kofi went for Trouble in Paradise, but Bryan countered it wonderfully into a submission. Then the roll-ups started coming, and the match got even more intense. The crowd started going wild, chanting “No!” at Bryan’s chants.

Once again, Kingston went for a big move with “SOS”, but Bryan went for the LaBell Lock! Kingston held off at first, but Bryan softened him up and came close to cinching it in. But Kingston was able to fight off and get his foot on the rope!

This match is tremendous. These two men are two of the best at in-ring psychology and technical wrestling. This is old school and I love it.

Bryan kept kicking at Kofi, but Kingston wouldn’t give up despite the damage of each kick. He started screaming for Bryan to kick him, and then he started firing back with every kick from Bryan!

Rowan started to get involved, but The New Day absolutely cleaned him up wonderfully before celebrating with Kingston. Bryan tried to hit a suicide dive on all three of them, but Kingston snuffed him out and started firing up for the crowd in the corner.

He missed with Trouble in Paradise and Bryan hit the knee! But Kofi kicked out!

WHAT A NEARFALL SPOT!

Enraged at the nearfall, Bryan started stomping all over Kingston, draining him before locking in the LaBell Lock on a gassed Kingston.

But Kingston’s arm stayed strong when the ref went to check on him! And the crowd was cheering him on even crazier than ever!

So when Kofi finally hit Trouble in Paradise, the crowd erupted into a frenzy. It’s been 11 years in the making for Kingston, and he absolutely earned this win. He and Bryan put together an instant classic, and nobody can ever take this WrestleMania moment away from Kingston. WWE finally got it right, and wrestling fans couldn’t be more proud of this story.

This is one of the greatest stories in professional wrestling. This is what it’s all about. This is #KofiMania.

We finally have a Black world champion again.