WWE: Daniel Bryan pushed for Kofi Kingston to face him at WrestleMania
Daniel Bryan and Kofi Kingston told one of the greatest stories ever at WWE WrestleMania 35, and Kofi spoke about how much Bryan pushed for the match to happen.
#KofiMania was one of the most special stories in wrestling history, and Black wrestling fans cried tears of joy when Kofi Kingston held up the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 35 after defeating Daniel Bryan in an all-time classic.
But it almost didn’t happen. Not only did Kingston’s journey to his first world title after a decade of excellence begin after an injury to Mustafa Ali, but apparently the WWE Champion had to push the company to book a WrestleMania title match for Kingston.
Kingston recently told Corey Graves on “After The Bell” that Daniel Bryan, who was holding the title as Kingston’s rival that spring, had to convince Vince McMahon to make Kofi his WrestleMania opponent.
Here’s the quote, courtesy of Fightful.com’s Jeremy Lambert:
"[Daniel Bryan] pushed for that to happen. The plans weren’t for me to be at WrestleMania. I’m not sure who it was for Daniel to face, but Daniel went in and went to bat for me and the situation and the title match for us to happen. He had a big part in it too. It’s a testament to his state of mind as far as advancing the business and doing the right thing for the people and best product.”"
Bryan was in a situation where he had to prove to WWE that he belonged in a title match at WrestleMania, but Kingston’s story is even more important. WWE’s history of systemic racism makes it even more jarring that Bryan had to force WWE into putting Kofi into their WrestleMania plans. Kofi should have been in their plans from the moment he started getting the crowd on its feet in the Elimination Chamber match.
Next. Kofi Kingston addresses losing the WWE Title. dark
It’s good to hear that Bryan stepped up as an ally. He knew it was time for Kingston to hold the WWE Championship, since not enough Black wrestlers have held world titles in this company. And beyond that, he knew Kingston was the best man to face him at WrestleMania. Kingston’s work has been impeccable throughout his career, and he was the perfect babyface in and out of the ring for Bryan to face; fans could not get enough of #KofiMania.
On a related note, I miss watching Kingston as a WWE Champion. It all doesn’t feel the same with Brock Lesnar holding that title, but perhaps another big moment will come for Kofi in 2020.