One of the most feel-good moments inWWEhistory is best known as KofiMania. To put it simply, KofiMania was the movement in which the WWE Universe gathered in overwhelming support for Kofi Kingston unexpectedly on the road to WrestleMania 35 to the point that WWE had no choice but to disregard prior plans and anoint him as WWE Champion. Except, other choiceswereon the table.
Former WWE SmackDown lead writer Brian “Road Dogg” James conducted an interview withChris Van Vlietin which James reveals that originally, James wanted Kofi Kingston’s New Day compatriot,Big E, to win the WWE Championshipat WrestleMania 35. “I thought Big E was the guy,” James says.
CVV and Road Dogg discuss the latter’s plans for Big E at the 1:10:28 timestamp of their YouTube interview.
“And a guy on my writing team, who now writes for NXT, says ‘You’re wrong, boss. You’re wrong, it’s Kof.'” James also admits he had no idea that Kofi developed such a personal connection with the fanbase. He never would have guessed that Kofi was the top guy he was looking for.
Based on James’ expectations for the WWE Championship picture and WWE’s own plans,WrestleMania 35 almost looked very differentfrom how it ended up being. Originally, neither Kofi Kingston nor the rest of New Day,one of WWE’s greatest factions, were anywhere near the title picture. On the road to Mania, then-champion Daniel Bryan was feuding with the up-and-coming Mustafa Ali. Heading into the Elimination Chamber match just over a month beforehand, Ali was injured and replaced by Kofi Kingston. Shortly after, an Iron Man performance in a SmackDownGauntlet match made people take noticeof the often-overlooked Kingston.
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Kingston gained a cult following that realized, in 11 years with WWE, Kingston never had a one-on-one match for the WWE Championship. Still, reports at the time suggested that Daniel Bryan was slotted to defend the title against a returning Kevin Owens. However, if WWE learned anything from the YES! Movement five years earlier, the WWE Universe would remain persistent about who they support whenever they get behind someone. Ergo, WWE dropped all prior plans in favor of pushing Kofi, paving the way for him to become the second-ever black WWE Championship holder andfourth black overall World Championin company history.
Did WWE Make the Right Call with Kofi Over Big E?
How Different Would WrestleMania Have Been Without KofiMania
It most certainly would be an interesting prospect to imagine Big E in Kofi Kingston’s WWE Championship winning position at Mania instead. Imagine for a second that despite the overwhelming response Kofi was receiving, WWE decided to dub Big E as the next WWE Champion. It certainly would havewoven a new layer in storytellingif the storyline had painted Kofi and - by extension - Xavier Woods as having conflicted feelings in watching their best friend get his crowning moment when the crowd’s had chosen Kofi. That being said, the fact remains that 2019 was Kofi’s year for WrestleMania.
The WWE Universe wanted Kofi and anyone not named Kofi Kingston challenging (let alone winning) the WWE Championship in his place at WrestleMania most likely would have beenbooed out of the gate, sabotaging their moment.
It did not matter who WWE put in the role as challenger in the night’s co-main event. The WWE Universe wanted Kofi and anyone not named Kofi Kingston challenging for (let alone winning) the WWE Championship in his place at WrestleMania most likely would have been booed out of the gate, sabotaging their moment. Big E would’ve befallen a similar fate. Thankfully, KofiMania did happen, and Big E had hisWWEChampionship coronation years later on a brighter note, so as Road Dogg expressed in his interview, it all worked out in the end.
