10 WWE Superstars That Were Pushed And Then Punished

3. Kofi Kingston

We all know what a horrible gimmick The New Day is. Each of the men involved in the much maligned group are capable of a lot more. None more so than Kofi Kingston, who looked set for a main event career before the powers that be seemingly pulled the rug from under his feet during his biggest run in the company to date. Kofi, as a Jamaican, debuted in WWE in 2008 after a year in their ECW brand. He was thrusted straight into an Intercontinental Championship match with Chris Jericho, a match he won. He would eventually drop the title to Santino Marella at the following SummerSlam. Kingston would form a tag team with CM Punk and capture the World Tag Team Championships before qualifying for numerous main event matches. It looked like Kofi was set for a huge future. This was only confirmed when he defeated MVP for the United States Championship. A secondary title reserved only for future WWE Champions, it seemed then. Despite losing the belt after an impressive four months reign, Kofi still sept himself in the main event picture. The feud that looked that had cemented his place in the main event picture on RAW came against Randy Orton. It got Kingston over to no ends and proved that he could hang with the best of them in WWE. After being blindsided by The Viper, Kofi, speaking without a Caribbean accent for the first time, signalled his intent by destroying Orton's car. Later, he performed a Boom Drop on Orton through a table in the crowd. All very impressive stuff that got the large majority on his side. Kofi's main event status was confirmed when he led his Survivor Series team to victory against Orton's team, becoming sole survivor after eliminating Orton last. The rivalry with Orton continued for a few more months as Kingston's pursuit for the WWE Championship continued. However, he wasn't able to gain that big match win that he needed and was subsequently relegated to the mid card. A position he hasn't been able to recover from since. A number of US, Intercontinental and Tag Team Championship reigns may have followed his stint in the main event slots but that major title has eluded him. You'd have to think The New Day is the final straw for Kofi, and Messrs E and Woods for that matter. Nevertheless, Kofi is the man with the track record of sustaining a slot in the main event cards for a prolonged period. And with an unquestionable amount of fire in his belly, he'll be more determined than ever to prove the doubters wrong.