Last night's SmackDown Live left the WWE Universe fuming, as Vince McMahon struck again and went on to call Kofi a B+ player. He proceeded by pitting Kofi Kingston in another gauntlet match on next week's SmackDown, against a barrage of villains that include Randy Orton, The Bar, Samoa Joe and Eric Rowan.
Also read: 3 unexpected endings to Kofi's gauntlet match
Even though fans are aware that winning this match would grant Kofi a WWE title shot at the Show Of Shows, this will not be the case. Let's look at three very legit reasons why Vince McMahon will prolong Kofi's WWE Title shot again even after he wins the gauntlet match.
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#3 Listen to what Vince actually said last night
An incredibly important detail was missed by the majority of fans last night.
Vince McMahon never said that winning the gauntlet match would result in Kofi getting his title shot at Mania! Let's look at the video again. At the 4:16 mark, Vince says, "All Kofi needs to do is win the gauntlet match, and HE'S GOING TO WRESTLEMANIA."
Also read: 3 reasons we will get Bryan vs Kofi vs Owens at WrestleMania
These words would come into play next week, when Kofi somehow wins the gauntlet match and Vince replays this video, stating that he never promised Kofi a title shot at Mania. Then, Vince will hand over a front row ticket to Kofi, as he had promised him last night.
Kofi will surely get back into the title match before WrestleMania, but that's doesn't seem to be happening next week.
#2 WWE needs to fill three more weeks of TV time
KofiMania came out of nowhere and WWE had to change their Mania plans at the last moment. Now that Kofi going to WrestleMania 35 is almost a lock, WWE needs to fill the TV time to advance this storyline.
They haven't done a good job with the Women's Triple Threat match from the red brand, as well as with the Universal title match, thanks to Lesnar's absence.
WrestleMania is still three weeks away, and Vince screwing Kofi Kingston again would give them some much needed time to advance the storyline further. The week after Kofi gets screwed, he will be reinstated into the title match. The final two weeks would be dedicated to Bryan demonizing Kofi for his lifestyle, leading to the Mania match.
#1 This will lead to a McMahon family power struggle
Vince has been doing his best since the past few weeks to get on the fans' wrong side. He took out Becky from the Women's match and then proceeded to screw Kofi out of the WWE Title match at Fastlane.
As I had discussed earlier in detail, this storyline is leading to a McMahon vs McMahon power struggle, that could possibly lead to a match at SummerSlam with Vince McMahon's control on the line. Triple H would be facing Vince's chosen superstar and once he wins the match, the power would shift completely to The Game and Stephanie.
For this to work, Vince needs to become the most hated heel in the company, and from what we have been seeing, he is doing a pretty good job at that. Screwing Kofi again after he wins a hard-fought gauntlet match will garner nuclear heel heat for Vince.