5 WWE stars who could replace Kofi Kingston as SmackDown Live's top babyface

#4 Rusev

In 2019, Kofi Kingston won over the WWE Universe and received one of the biggest ‘WrestleMania moments’ of the decade when he defeated Daniel Bryan to become WWE Champion.

In 2018, Rusev won over WWE’s audience in a similar way, with “Rusev Day! Rusev Day!” being chanted in matches that he was not even in, but he had to settle for a spot in a Fatal 4-Way United States Championship match at WrestleMania 34.

Now, given the crowd reactions that he received in late 2017/early 2018, it is fair to say that WWE’s failure to capitalise on the “Rusev Day” phenomenon has gone down as one of the biggest missed opportunities in recent memory.

Vince McMahon prefers to see “The Bulgarian Brute” as a heel, according to Lana, which explains why the three-time United States Champion never made it to the next level as a babyface.

Looking ahead to future storylines, perhaps Rusev could make a Kevin Owens-esque comeback by returning as a good guy when his leave of absence is over, potentially reviving the "Rusev Day" craze in the process.