10 Wrestlers That Became Stars In ONE SECOND

9. Kofi Kingston (WWE Raw, November 16th 2009)

Donovan DanHausen
WWE

Kofi Kingston's complex relationship with Randy Orton will most likely linger longer on the night Orton loudly called him "stupid" rather than any particular classic exchange between them, but at least one interaction deserved anointing as a star-making moment for the New Day man.

Buried deep in 'The World's Most Famous Arena' back when it still looked like the Madison Square Garden of old, Kingston flying off a barricade onto Orton through a table felt like the perfect spot at the perfect time for the perfect push. Ahead of defeating him at the Survivor Series as part of an elimination tag, and the heat generated by this remarkable moment seemed impervious to bad booking... until Orton beat him clean in a dull pay-per-view match the following month.

If nothing else, consider how rare it was to have a post-2001 storyline or angle replicated - WWE aped this specific spot for a reason in 2019, even if the magic of Kingston's reign was just about extinguished by then.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett