WWE SmackDown Live: 4 ways how Kofi Kingston should win the gauntlet match tonight

One of the most compelling storylines in all of WWE today is Kofi Kingston's challenging chase of Daniel Bryan's WWE Championship. It is almost crazy to realise that this entire program happened by accident. The New Day member took the place of the injured Mustafa Ali in the Elimination Chamber match for the WWE title. Kingston came agonisingly close to dethroning Daniel Bryan, but it did not happen.

He then got replaced from his own one-on-one championship match at Fastlane, with both Kevin Owens and Mustafa Ali taking his place. After an impassioned promo alongside Vince McMahon last week on Smackdown, Kingston now has to face insurmountable odds to even get an opportunity at the world title at WrestleMania. This is basically the Daniel Bryan story, re-run with a veteran in his place.

The former multi-time champion has to go through five men in a Gauntlet Match, the match which began the buzz, to get to Bryan. They include Randy Orton, Samoa Joe, Sheamus, Cesaro and finally, Rowan. This will be a mighty challenge, but one that Kofi will have to survive. Here are the ways how he should win this gauntlet and thus proving why he is the ultimate underdog.

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#4 AJ Styles distracts Randy Orton

This match is happening.

Kofi Kingston is facing five wrestlers, one after the other. So it would be more than acceptable if he does not win all five of them on his own. He is bound to have some help along the way. That help could come in the form of the Phenomenal One. It has been confirmed that AJ Styles is facing Randy Orton at WrestleMania. The pair had an excellent promo segment last week to set up the match and the build should continue this week, in the gauntlet match.

Orton will be Kofi's first opponent, if all his opponents came out in the specified order last week, and it is symbolic because it was him who actually contributed in killing Kofi's push back in 2010, when he made a minor mistake during the finish of a match. A clean loss for the Viper might not be the smartest thing heading into the Show of Shows, so an interference from Styles to help Kofi beat Orton would further their feud, as well as carry the gauntlet to it's next stage.

#3 A distraction for Samoa Joe

Joe might be the biggest obstacle for Kofi in this match.

Samoa Joe is the second superstar that Kofi Kingston will face on Smackdown and is possibly the toughest opponent in the entire gauntlet. The current United States Champion is on a major roll, after winning two consecutive fatal-4-way matches against R-Truth, Rey Mysterio and Andrade. He did not make any friends last week, attacking everyone in sight. That could play into this match, as R-Truth, Andrade and Rey Mysterio could all play some part in this leg of the gauntlet.

Like Orton, beating Samoa Joe this close to WrestleMania does not seem like the smartest decision, unless if it leads to a match for the US title at the Show of Shows. Kofi might need some more help here as his former tag team partner, R-Truth could provide some priceless assistance. On the other hand, Xavier Woods and Big E could also prove to be vital components at ringside for their partner, as they will him on closer to the promise land.

#2 Kofi pulls a quick one on the Bar

Kofi pinned two men in less than 10 seconds.

One of the biggest nights in Kofi Kingston's WWE career came at Survivor Series 2009, during his feud with Randy Orton. He captained his team against Orton's clan of slithery snakes, in what was a pretty fun match. It came down to Kofi being alone against Orton and CM Punk, but what happened next blew everyone's mind. The Ghanaian rolled Punk up to eliminate him and as Orton entered the ring to face him, Kofi hit him with the Trouble in Paradise immediately and pinned him less than ten seconds after pinning Punk.

That showing turned him into a star and it is a shame that WWE failed to capitalise on it. Now, ten years later, WWE could recreate the exact same moment in this gauntlet match. After a competitive match between an exhausted Kofi and Cesaro, which is obviously won by the babyface, Sheamus should enter the ring only to be hit with Trouble in Paradise for the shockingly quick pinfall. Maybe Sheamus gets his heat back by attacking Kofi afterwards. Almost every long-form gauntlet match like this one has a match that lasts seconds. And this one would have meaning, as a call-back to one of the protagonist's greatest nights ever.

#1 Clean victory against Rowan

KofiMania is ON!

After winning two matches with help and two completely on his own, it would come down Kofi Kingston fighting against Daniel Bryan's intellectual peer, Rowan. The former Wyatt Family member is huge and would be a massive obstacle for an inevitably exhausted Kofi. With a little interference from the WWE Champion and maybe some from the New Day to neutralise the effect, Kofi should end up pinning Rowan clean to finally earn his opportunity.

Rowan has not yet suffered a defeat since returning at Royal Rumble alongside Daniel Bryan, so a clean victory for the New Day member would be a big deal. It would also be the culmination of possibly an hour-long story to start tonight's show. By beating all five of these opponents, Kofi Kingston will have earned his WWE Championship match against Bryan at WrestleMania.

Once again, this is probably the most exciting story heading into 'Mania as Daniel Bryan is hoping to vanquish the ultimate underdog that he once was. The layers to this are incredible, with the top one being when Bryan called Kofi a 'B-plus player'. Who would have thought any of this would have happened, even a few months ago? From Daniel Bryan turning heel as the WWE Champion to Kofi Kingston beating five men in a row to get a WWE title match at WrestleMania, nobody could have ever predicted it. Wrestling is funny sometimes.