After two successful title defenses on Raw and SmackDown, Kofi Kingston will defend his WWE Championship against Kevin Owens at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view. On this week’s SmackDown, Owens attacked Kofi’s tag team partner, Xavier Woods and now, the rivalry between the two is going to get interesting.
Money in the Bank will be Kofi’s first pay-per-view where he will defend his WWE Championship, and WWE has already indicated that Kofi could be losing his title soon. The New Day Superstar defeated Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 35 for the WWE Championship, and since then, he has become the cornerstone of SmackDown Live. But will he lose the WWE Title against Kevin Owens at Money in the Bank?
Here are five reasons why Vince McMahon won’t let this happen.
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#5 Kofi Kingston is still our favorite Superstar
As per reports, Kevin Owens was initially planned to face Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania. However, the WWE Universe didn’t let that happen and pushed WWE to change their ongoing plans. That's why Kofi faced Bryan for the WWE Championship and won it.
Even though the crowd isn’t hot about Kofi Kingston as of late, it doesn’t mean he’s not our favorite Superstar on SmackDown Live. Kofi still gets cheers from fans whenever he makes his entrance, and it could be the reason why he may not lose his championship too early.
It’s been only a month since his victory, and after giving 11 years of services, he deserves to have a lengthy reign at least. Since he has already defeated the likes of Daniel Bryan, Sami Zayn, and AJ Styles to retain the WWE Championship, it wouldn’t be shocking if Kofi beats Owens as well.
#4 Lack of credible faces
As of now, SmackDown has only a few top babyfaces that can actually hold the WWE Championship. Other than Roman Reigns, Kofi Kingston, Finn Balor, and Ali, there aren’t popular names Kevin Owens could defend the WWE Championship against (if he wins it at MITB).
Also, Roman Reigns will likely extend his feud against Elias and Shane McMahon whereas Balor will continue reigning as the Intercontinental Championship. This leaves us to Ali, who is new to the SmackDown roster, and it would be too early to hand him a WWE Title.
The question is that if Owens wins the title then whom will he feud against? Owens is a heel, and it’s unlikely that he would feud with other heels after winning the WWE Championship. However, if Kingston retains then, he could easily feud with the likes of Andrade, Randy Orton, and even Rusev or Shinsuke Nakamura.
#3 He wants to make Kofi one of the greatest WWE Champions of all time
Since Daniel Bryan’s WrestleMania 30 victory, there hasn’t been a champion like him except Kofi Kingston. His and Kofi’s story had many similarities. Vince McMahon became a roadblock for Kofi, and he referred to him as a ‘B+ player.’ However, Kofi overcame the odds and finally won the WWE Championship after 11 years of joining the company.
Unfortunately, in Bryan’s case, he was injured at the wrong moment, which caused WWE to end his reign and announce his retirement. However, Kofi is not injured now, and he is a popular figure among the fans, which could be why Vince doesn’t want him to drop the title. The New Day Superstar has an opportunity to become one of the great champions of all time, and if Vince wants him to reach that level, then he has to continue Kofi’s reign for some more months.
#2 Vince McMahon doesn’t think Kofi Kingston is the reason why SmackDown’s ratings are low
A rumor stated that since Kofi Kingston’s WrestleMania victory, SmackDown’s viewership is decreasing. However, we should not ignore the fact that WWE’s ratings have been dropping for many years and Kofi isn’t the one at fault. Infact he is actually beneficial for WWE, and because of him, SmackDown received one of the best viewerships in recent times.
Maybe Vince McMahon understands it too, and if he does, then there’s no point to drop Kofi’s reign this early. He has the mic skills and talent WWE demands from a champion, and he is over with the fans. These things are enough for Kofi to give Vince a reason why not to drop the WWE Championship.
As of now, Kofi is SmackDown’s main highlight and its WWE’s responsibility to book him correctly. If they manage to develop a great storyline as they did with Kofi during WrestleMania, then SmackDown’s viewership will automatically rise.
#1 A shocking Money in the Bank cash-in
Money in the Bank is one of the best WWE pay-per-view of this generation. At the event, we see two ladder matches for the MITB briefcases. Whoever wins the contract gets an opportunity to get a match against the Superstar of his/her selection at any given time.
Over the years, multiple Superstars have won world championships with this briefcase and this year; the competition is more robust than ever. Superstars from both main roster brands will try their best to win the Money in the Bank briefcase and cash it in on either Superstar.
With the new WWE Wild Card rule, it wouldn’t be shocking if a Raw Superstar wins the MITB contract and then cash it in on Kofi Kingston. Maybe, Vince McMahon wants to do a title change this way it could be why Owens may not win the WWE Championship.
While it would be wrong to take the title away from Kofi this early but if Vince wants to do that, then we can’t do anything except complaining.