12 Ups & 2 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Mar 12)

1. Kofi's Obstacle Course

Vince McMahon is a magnificent bastard, and in booking Kofi Kingston to face The Bar, Samoa Joe, Rowan, and Randy Orton in a gauntlet match, he not only drew oodles of heel heat for himself, but put even more sympathy behind the man who must now jump through the greatest hoop imaginable if he's to make it to WrestleMania 35.

This is classic booking. Give the babyface a seemingly insurmountable obstacle course, then have him struggle, but eventually leap each hurdle, sending his support through the roof before his greatest triumph.

Kofi Kingston is Daniel Bryan circa 2014. Vince even called him a "B+ player," for crying out loud.

This storyline rules. Vince, Kofi, and WWE's writers are knocking it out of the park at every juncture, and regardless of whether or not Kingston actually wins the WWE Championship, they've done a sterling job, all because Mustafa Ali hurt himself ahead of Elimination Chamber.

It's this kind of booking on-the-fly that we miss from WWE. Kingston's ascension came out of nowhere, and in listening to crowd reactions and adjusting their stories accordingly, WWE have rediscovered some of their old storytelling magic. Let's hope this is a sign of things to come.