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#4 Seth Rollins did not want to squash Kofi Kingston (WWE SmackDown)
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Seth Rollins defeated Kofi Kingston on the June 20, 2014 episode of WWE SmackDown in a squash match which lasted two minutes and 55 seconds.
At the time, Rollins had just aligned with The Authority and he was on the verge of winning the Money in the Bank contract. By contrast, Kingston was struggling as a singles competitor and he had not yet formed The New Day with Big E and Xavier Woods.
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Rollins said on Edge & Christian’s Pod of Awesomeness in 2019 that he respects Kingston and he did not want to squash him.
“Now Kofi’s someone who I have a lot of respect for,” Rollins said. “I would never – even in a match that’s meant for me to look good in – I would not want to just squash Kofi. I wouldn’t want to do it. I would want to give him something. That’s just my nature.” [H/T Wrestle Zone]
Unfortunately for Rollins, his respect for Kingston ended up landing him in trouble backstage. WWE Chairman Vince McMahon was furious that Rollins did not have more offense against Kingston, so he sent both men out to re-shoot the match.
In 2014, WWE taped SmackDown shows three days before they were broadcast on television. Per McMahon’s instruction, the second Rollins vs. Kingston match was shown three days later, while the original match never made it to air.
