10 Wrestlers Who Became World Champions At The WRONG Time

3. Kofi Kingston

Drew McIntyre Right Wrong WWE Title
WWE

'KofiMania' was never meant to happen.

An injury to Mustafa Ali meant WWE needed a replacement for the gauntlet bout on the 12 February 2019 SmackDown. Kofi Kingston stepped into the breach and entered a performance so impressive that fans rallied behind thoughts of a late-career main event push. Vince McMahon was listening, but seemed unsure.

Eventually, the WWE boss decided to go with it and crowned Kofi WWE Champ at WrestleMania 35. That's when the unfortunate truth smacked everyone on the chops: McMahon had given them their fun, but he didn't view Kingston as a sustainable champion. Still, Kofi survived through until October when Brock Lesnar squashed him on the FOX debut edition of SmackDown.

Vince's plan? Pivot away from the underdog story he hadn't wanted in the first place towards attractions like Brock vs. former UFC man Cain Velasquez instead. The audience hated that, but this was McMahon's sandbox. There's an argument to be made that Kofi would've fared better had Triple H jumpstarted his run as boss earlier.

There's no way Hunter would book Kingston to look so second rate, surely.

Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.