6 significant moments chronicling the infamous history between Kofi Kingston and Randy Orton

Back in 2009, Kofi Kingston and Randy Orton embarked on a rivalry, one that looked set to propel the former into the WWE's main event scene. The first-ever African-born WWE superstar was a constant and reliable presence in the mid-card of Monday Night Raw before crossing paths with Orton. However, his push was killed by the Viper in the pettiest of circumstances.

Ten years later, the pair will meet again. Kofi will defend the WWE Championship against the man who nearly ensured that he would never win it. This is the ultimate full-circle match, taking place at SummerSlam.

And after a decade, the truth officially comes out. I’ve been waiting for this match for a very long time. SummerSlam, it all finally comes full circle. I. Am. Ready. #SummerSlam #LFG

— KOFI (@TrueKofi) July 24, 2019

Here is the story of a potential star-making rivalry which did not end well, and how it has been renewed ten years later.

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#1 A car-acking start

Kofi vandalised Orton's car.

Kofi Kingston had a steady progression in WWE for his first couple of years, winning the Intercontinental, United States and World Tag Team Championships. In October 2009, it looked like the time had come for him to move into the main event scene.

So, at the Bragging Rights pay-per-view, Kofi came to John Cena's aid during his main event Iron Man Match for the WWE Championship. He would fend off Randy Orton's Legacy stablemates, Ted Dibiase and Cody Rhodes. Cena would end up winning the match, leaving Orton to blame his loss on Kofi due to his involvement.

The angle kickstarted on the next night, as the Viper ambushed the rising star following a victory over Chris Jericho. Later in the show, Kofi defaced Orton's brand-new race car, showing that he was not one to be messed with at all.

The evening of the odds at Bragging Rights and the destruction of the NASCAR started the feud between Randy Orton and Kofi Kingston with a bang.

#2 The Boom Drop heard around the world

Kofi got his MSG moment.

Their rivalry raged on in the weeks following the destruction of Randy Orton's car, with the most memorable moment of the feud coming only six days before Survivor Series, at Madison Square Garden. This would become the biggest moment of Kofi Kingston's career, for a really long time.

Orton was set to drop the punt on "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, but Kofi made the save and the two brawled all over the MSG arena. The babyface would get the better of the exchange and deliver a huge Boom Drop to Orton through the production table.

The New York crowd loved it, reacting wildly to the incredible stunt Kofi pulled off. Kofi's momentum was sky-high at this point, putting him on the verge of becoming the next breakout star in the entire company.

It was an incredible moment, seeing the Dreadlocked Dynamo unleash his brutal side on the helpless Viper. The logical next step would be to put him over the then 6-time WWE world champion.

#3 Survival until defeat

What a performance at Survivor Series.

Following the seemingly career-making spot at Madison Square Garden, Kofi Kingston led his team of five against Randy Orton's squad in a Survivor Series elimination match. It would come down to Kofi on his own against Orton and CM Punk.

The babyface scored a huge victory by pinning both former World Champions within seconds of each other, sending him on the correct path to become a top-tier star in WWE. From the Boom Drop to becoming the sole survivor, Kofi Kingston just had the greatest week of his career.

The rivalry went on, with Orton and Kofi trading victories in the lead-up to the inaugural WWE TLC pay-per-view in December. A solid match at that show ended with the Viper getting the victory, despite a strong showing for Kofi.

The pair had one more match on the first Raw of 2010, this time with Orton's leadership of Legacy on the line. The Apex Predator won that match as well, but there would be one more incident between him and Kofi. One that would change the latter's career.

#4 "Stupid!"

The moment that killed Kofi's main event push.

After losing his feud with Randy Orton, Kofi Kingston was still in prime position to become a main eventer. He was one of the favourites to win the Money in the Bank Ladder Match and would have surely won the WWE Championship soon after. He did have a number one contender's match on the January 11th episode of Raw.

Kofi and Orton butted heads again, one week after their feud had blown off, this time with John Cena in the mix. The three faced off in a triple threat match, with the winner facing WWE Champion Sheamus at the Royal Rumble.

The finish of the match was supposed to be Orton beating Kofi with the punt kick, but Kofi would not get in position for it. This angered the Viper, who picked him up and slapped him with a brutal RKO before screaming, "Stupid! Stupid!".

Following the botch, a pretty small one in hindsight, Kofi Kingston got massive heat from WWE officials and his big push was killed. He was drafted over to SmackDown and remained in the midcard following Orton's apparent over-reaction at the seemingly minor botch.

#5 A shocking upset

Unfortunately, this went nowhere.

Almost four years to the day Kofi Kingston's push died, he faced Randy Orton on Raw. Kofi was floundering in the lower mid-card at this point, while Orton was standing proud as the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Their paths went completely away from each other following that fateful January of 2010.

However, Kofi scored a shockingly clean upset victory over here. This would ideally put him in line for a future one-on-one title shot but nope, same old story from the Ghanaian's career. He did not get a single WWE Championship match for over five years.

As for Orton, he dropped his title to Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania XXX, in one of the greatest moments in 'Mania history. We all know Bryan's story, it was one built on heart and passion. The fans were completely behind him and were unwilling to accept anything other than their hero winning the gold.

This same story would take place five years later. Only this time, Daniel Bryan was the evil WWE Champion. His challenger? Kofi Kingston, following a career resurgence alongside Big E and Xavier Woods as part of the incredibly successful New Day.

#6 Full circle

This is going to be good.

Kofi Kingston, eleven years after making his WWE debut and nine years after Randy Orton killed his main event push, finally won the WWE Championship from Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 35. It was the best part on a night filled with great wrestling and amazing moments.

Kofi's reign as champion has been a decent one, defending the belt against the likes of Kevin Owens, AJ Styles and Dolph Ziggler in high-quality matches. He is yet to have that one feud and match that would define his WWE Championship reign though. However, that feud may have just begun, in the form of a ghost of Kofi's past.

Randy Orton has stepped up and will challenge for the WWE title at SummerSlam. He and Kofi had quite the heated promo segment this past week on SmackDown. They broke the fourth wall, referencing how Orton used his influence to hold Kofi back. After trading jabs, the match is set.

In 2009, an up-and-coming Kofi Kingston tested himself against Randy Orton in an attempt to reach the next level. After ten years of grinding to reach the top, Kofi Kingston is going to test himself against Randy Orton again, this time to stay on top.