13 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (July 23)
7. History Repeating
Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton is an exciting WWE Championship programme because not only is it a massive clash of characters (the fiery, heart-filled babyface champion vs. a legitimate sociopath), but it also calls back to an obscure moment in WWE history.
The champ took us back to 16 November 2009, when he battered Orton across Madison Square Garden with the fans chanting his name. It was a goosebump-inducing moment for him, and from there, Kingston was supposed to climb up to the main event scene. That didn't happen. Orton, Kofi claimed, had used backstage sway to politic him out of that elevation, and 'The Viper' responded by saying that at that time, 10 years ago, he held Kofi back because he just wasn't ready for that spot.
Randy went deeper, calling Kingston's current reign a fluke. He then dived into the champion's fake Jamaican accent and pancake fetish, saying that the only reason he is WWE Champion is because Randy took Ali out ahead of WrestleMania 35, and that he can take the WWE Title from him whenever he wants.
We'll find out if he can back this up at SummerSlam, but this strong jousting session hit all the right notes.