In truth, Kingston was just a means to an end to get the Intercontinental title off of Jericho, allowing Jericho to continue his blood feud with Shawn Michaels unbridled. By this point, Kingston was still clinging to his faux Jamaican accent, and had been a fixture on the ECW brand. His ceiling as a performer was still unknown. Kingston would win with Trouble in Paradise after Michaels provided a convenient distraction, but the fact is that it was Kingston's first big win on a viable WWE stage. Kingston would drop the belt two months later to Santino Marella in a mixed tag match at SummerSlam, but like the Cena example, Jericho still gave it the college try with a fresh face.
Justin has been a wrestling fan since 1989, and has been writing about it since 2009. Since 2014, Justin has been a features writer and interviewer for Fighting Spirit Magazine. Justin also writes for History of Wrestling, and is a contributing author to James Dixon's Titan series.
