The biggest thing coming out of Smackdown this week was obviously Vince McMahon changing the WWE title match for Fastlane by replacing Kofi Kingston with Kevin Owens. Now, while Vince’s excuse for this decision was absolutely absurd, I feel there’s a couple of ways we can go about this.
On one hand, one could assume that WWE have embraced the love Kofi is getting, thus leading them to basically “postpone” the match until Wrestlemania, where he can then have his big moment on the grandest stage. Taking Kofi out of the match at Fastlane was certainly a decision that the fans hated but what it ultimately does is build anticipation because now all of us fans will push for Kofi even more and even harder. It’s Kofimania baby so by the time he does get that title match, it will have a much bigger feel to it. Furthermore, I think this plays better in regards to the unpredictability factor because I’m pretty sure very few would have expected for Kofi to actually win at Fastlane; there’s just no reason Daniel Bryan would drop the belt a month shy of the biggest event of the calendar year. Wrestlemania though is a completely different ballgame and at least if they have the match there, aside from the aforementioned bigger “feel” to it, I think the outcome will also be not as predictable, thus making for a better story overall.
Side note: speaking of Daniel Bryan not dropping the belt at Fastlane, I think it’s almost safe to assume that we are probably in for an iffy finish. For one, Daniel Bryan ain’t dropping the belt, then again I don’t think you would want to beat Kevin Owens clean so soon when he just made his return, likeliest scenario then being that Rowan gets involved and causes the DQ. This could then justify a three way dance at Mania between KO, DB and Kofi, making it perhaps an even bigger deal if Kofi were to get the victory. That, of course, is a pretty big “IF” but I’ll reserve judgment until we have a better picture of the Mania card (more so the title matches) because you can only have a certain number of major title changes; I mean, some people will have to retain…
The other aspect of this story that has me somewhat intrigued is the fact of this being a possible power play of sorts on behalf of Vince McMahon against Stephanie, Shane and/or HHH in what could eventually be another one of those story lines involving the future of the company and basically who’s in charge. Should this be the case, it could definitely make for some great TV and, who knows, maybe this is the angle that finally writes off Vince McMahon once and for all because we all know he’s getting up there in age and we all know he isn’t exactly thrilled about being an on air character again.
For those wondering where all this is coming from, I just find it to be a strange coincidence that Vince has pulled the same shit twice in less than a month. First he replaces Becky Lynch with Charlotte Flair, even though moments earlier Stephanie and HHH got the apology out of Becky they were looking for and had the match confirmed; mind you, Vince made the call with Stephanie and HHH still in the ring, basically not giving a damn about what they may have had to say about it...
Fast forward to last Tuesday, it’s Stephanie with Shane this time in the ring, hyping the Fastlane match between Kofi and Daniel Bryan through the contract signing segment, putting Kofi over big time but what would ya know, out comes Vince and…replaces Kofi with KO.
I mean, one could attribute this to just lazy writing cause they couldn’t come up with anything better or fresher, then again if you add the extra layer of the angle on RAW with Ronda laying the title and walking away, it kind of makes you think. Even Stephanie’s reaction to Ronda’s request of reinstating Becky was a “hard no” when her expression clearly showed she wanted to say yes. I’m not for Stephanie being the baby face and all (she’s still annoying as hell), but putting all the above in perspective, I don’t know, I just have a feeling there might be more to this story. It’s Wrestlemania season after all and we know them McMahon’s want their presence felt this time of the year.
On the flipside, maybe I’m just giving those writers in creative too much credit and reading too much into nothing...
On one hand, one could assume that WWE have embraced the love Kofi is getting, thus leading them to basically “postpone” the match until Wrestlemania, where he can then have his big moment on the grandest stage. Taking Kofi out of the match at Fastlane was certainly a decision that the fans hated but what it ultimately does is build anticipation because now all of us fans will push for Kofi even more and even harder. It’s Kofimania baby so by the time he does get that title match, it will have a much bigger feel to it. Furthermore, I think this plays better in regards to the unpredictability factor because I’m pretty sure very few would have expected for Kofi to actually win at Fastlane; there’s just no reason Daniel Bryan would drop the belt a month shy of the biggest event of the calendar year. Wrestlemania though is a completely different ballgame and at least if they have the match there, aside from the aforementioned bigger “feel” to it, I think the outcome will also be not as predictable, thus making for a better story overall.
Side note: speaking of Daniel Bryan not dropping the belt at Fastlane, I think it’s almost safe to assume that we are probably in for an iffy finish. For one, Daniel Bryan ain’t dropping the belt, then again I don’t think you would want to beat Kevin Owens clean so soon when he just made his return, likeliest scenario then being that Rowan gets involved and causes the DQ. This could then justify a three way dance at Mania between KO, DB and Kofi, making it perhaps an even bigger deal if Kofi were to get the victory. That, of course, is a pretty big “IF” but I’ll reserve judgment until we have a better picture of the Mania card (more so the title matches) because you can only have a certain number of major title changes; I mean, some people will have to retain…
The other aspect of this story that has me somewhat intrigued is the fact of this being a possible power play of sorts on behalf of Vince McMahon against Stephanie, Shane and/or HHH in what could eventually be another one of those story lines involving the future of the company and basically who’s in charge. Should this be the case, it could definitely make for some great TV and, who knows, maybe this is the angle that finally writes off Vince McMahon once and for all because we all know he’s getting up there in age and we all know he isn’t exactly thrilled about being an on air character again.
For those wondering where all this is coming from, I just find it to be a strange coincidence that Vince has pulled the same shit twice in less than a month. First he replaces Becky Lynch with Charlotte Flair, even though moments earlier Stephanie and HHH got the apology out of Becky they were looking for and had the match confirmed; mind you, Vince made the call with Stephanie and HHH still in the ring, basically not giving a damn about what they may have had to say about it...
Fast forward to last Tuesday, it’s Stephanie with Shane this time in the ring, hyping the Fastlane match between Kofi and Daniel Bryan through the contract signing segment, putting Kofi over big time but what would ya know, out comes Vince and…replaces Kofi with KO.
I mean, one could attribute this to just lazy writing cause they couldn’t come up with anything better or fresher, then again if you add the extra layer of the angle on RAW with Ronda laying the title and walking away, it kind of makes you think. Even Stephanie’s reaction to Ronda’s request of reinstating Becky was a “hard no” when her expression clearly showed she wanted to say yes. I’m not for Stephanie being the baby face and all (she’s still annoying as hell), but putting all the above in perspective, I don’t know, I just have a feeling there might be more to this story. It’s Wrestlemania season after all and we know them McMahon’s want their presence felt this time of the year.
On the flipside, maybe I’m just giving those writers in creative too much credit and reading too much into nothing...
