WWE SmackDown: Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton at SummerSlam makes perfect sense
The July 16 edition of WWE SmackDown gave fans a glimpse of what could come at SummerSlam involving Kofi Kingston and the WWE Championship in the form of a lurking viper.
Last night’s WWE SmackDown was night one of the Eric Bischoff era of the blue brand and we got one step closer to finding out who will challenge Kofi Kingston for the WWE Championship at the upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view next month.
Kofi has turned back all challenges so far during his seemingly improbable WWE Championship reign, but three superstars were nipping at his heels last night trying to work their way into a title match. The New Day was in the ring looking to address the upcoming announcement from former tag team champion Daniel Bryan, but Bryan decided to turn into a mute and not say anything at all.
Big E and Xavier Woods even said Bryan and Rowan could get their tag team title rematch last night, but they were having none of it. After they were out of the picture, Samoa Joe came out and issued a challenge to Kofi for the WWE Championship later that night, even though Joe had just lost to Kofi two nights before. Elias then came out and said he deserves a title shot and that Joe had his chance, but blew it.
It wouldn’t be just those two vying for a title opportunity, however, and Randy Orton’s presence would soon be felt. He wanted a piece of Kingston and the WWE Championship, but when The New Day issued a six-man tag team match challenge against those three, Orton initially wanted no part of it. That was until Kofi called him out on it and after that, he was all in and the match took place immediately.
This was a fun match, but the finish gave fans some insight on what the likely WWE Championship match at SummerSlam will look like. Orton hit Kingston with an RKO to get the win for his team and, in turn, pin the WWE Champion clean. Out of the three superstars that stepped up looking for a title match, Orton makes the most sense by far if you really think about it.
Joe just lost to Kofi clean on a pay-per-view platform, so he’s out. Elias hasn’t done anything to elevate himself into a main event scene as of late and has only been a lackey for Shane McMahon, so he’s out. That leaves The Viper, who has been off of TV lately before showing up on Raw on Monday. He failed to win the 10-man battle royal to earn the right to challenge Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at SummerSlam, but it’s for the better at this point.
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It certainly looks like it will be Kingston vs. Orton at SummerSlam for the WWE Championship, and this match makes perfect sense in a lot of ways. First things first, it will likely be a great match between two of the longest-tenured superstars in the WWE. And then there’s the fact that The Viper would be presented as a major threat to Kingston and someone that has a hall of fame-caliber pedigree as a former 13-time world champion.
It makes the most sense when you think back to the end of 2009 when these two were in a feud together. By that point, Kofi had only been in the WWE for just over a year. He was still an up-and-coming superstar with a lot of talent, despite already being a mid-card champion. But once he got involved with Orton, fans began to think that feud would be his big break. Who will ever forget Kofi laying Orton out with a Boom Drop through a table at Madison Square Garden?
Things were certainly lined up for Kofi to get a real main event-caliber push, but things didn’t quite work out in the end. No matter what you personally feel about this feud and how it ended, this was Kofi’s first real major singles feud and it gave fans a taste of what would come in a decade or so. It took longer than most expected, but Kofi and the WWE powers that be finally figured out he can be a legitimate world champion.
Now, a decade later, the roles have reversed between Kingston and Orton. Instead of Kingston being the one chasing Orton like he was in 2009, Orton is now the one chasing Kingston in 2019 while Kingston is the WWE Champion. This storyline writes itself, but the feud between these two this time around should blow the previous feud out of the water with a decade of moments in between.
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This is a feud that shows just how far Kofi has come over the past decade, and the WWE needs to run with that because this could result in one of the best feuds of the year if handled appropriately.