10 WWE Wrestlers Who Tried To Kill Roman Reigns

6. Kofi Kingston

Raw Kofi Kingston
WWE.com

It'd be a pretty sick trick for heroic champ Kofi Kingston to haul a stack of speakers onto Roman Reigns, but it might just be the injection of energy his WWE title reign demands.

As wonderful as the veteran's feel-good WrestleMania moment was, the subsequent reign has done very little to benefit either the performer or promotion. Though by no means the fault of Kofi himself, SmackDown's numbers have continued to dwindle even with the apparent 'people's champion' on top. The New Jersey triumph has increasingly felt more like a closed book than a new chapter.

Kofi could reasonably argue that even with the belt, he's maintained a secondary role. The WWE Championship has not headlined a PPV once during The New Day member's reign, whilst angles involving Kevin Owens, Shane McMahon, and notably, Roman Reigns, have dominated SmackDown.

The indignity of playing second fiddle to the brand's 'biggest ever signing' is precisely what could have motivated an out-of-character turn to the dark side for Kingston - marking the only time in his career he'd have played the true villain. Should he prevail opposite Randy Orton, it might just be the edge he needs - and a series against Reigns could prove equally invigorating.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 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. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, 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

Editorial Team
Editorial Team

Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.