9 Ups & 7 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Apr 30)

5. A Surprisingly Flat Closer

Kofi Kingston Kevin Owens
WWE.com

WWE poured a big bucket of ice water on a red-hot star in Kofi Kingston last night.

This week's WWE Championship content was dull, with strong individual performances unable to transcend source material that failed to generate the required heat. It sucks that this happened to Kingston, who has been the company's hottest male wrestler for most of the year, but his show-closing brawl with Kevin Owens barely registered a decibel.

The injured Xavier Woods was supposed to be the 'Prizefighter's' guest on The KO Show. Following a prior conversation with Kofi, Woods failed to appear. This led to Owens fannying around with Xavier/Big E action figures for a while, mocking the New Day duo to precisely zero heat from the audience, before Kingston finally appeared on the stage. He charged down the ramp and went after Kevin straight away, battering him around the place and tossing him over the announce desk, before Owens raked the eyes, escaped through the crowd, and left Kofi stood in the ring.

Something went very, very wrong here. A brawl between Kofi Kingston and Kevin Owens should, theoretically, be one of the hottest things on the show. Instead, it was the opposite.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.