Top WWE Star Almost Replaced Kofi Kingston In “KofiMania” Run

Kofi Kingston’s most famous storyline almost never happened.

By the start of 2019, WWE crowds were starting to get behind Kofi Kingston like never before. For the first time in years, he was stepping into the singles ranks, and fans couldn’t have been more ready.

Heading into Elimination Chamber a gauntlet match was announced for SmackDown to determine the order of the entrants in the match of the same name. Kingston wasn’t originally planned to be in the match, but after an injury to Mustafa Ali, he was added to the gauntlet and this is where the magic began.

Kingston more than held his own on SmackDown, and although he came up short at Elimination Chamber as Daniel Bryan retained the WWE Title, KofiMania was born. The man was on a mission to win the WWE Title and no amount of obstacles from Mr McMahon was going to stop him.

After fighting his way through incredible odds, Kingston finally got his WrestleMania moment and pinned Bryan to become WWE Champion.

However, that whole run almost never happened.

Speaking on Oh You Didn’t Know, Road Dogg, who was working as a writer on SmackDown at the time, said he pitched for Big E to replace Mustafa Ali in February, a move that would have changed the course of WWE history.

“I pitched Big E to be in that thing and to win it all, and I got outvoted and I’m so glad I did because it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy, or a more qualified one,” he admitted. “I don’t know, I’ve just always been enamored with Big E, I think he’s a great guy, he can cut great promos.”

Kofi Kingston Lost The Gold In Controversial Circumstances

After winning the WWE Title at WrestleMania 35, Kingston went on to defend the gold on ten occasions, although fans often felt his reign wasn’t given the respect it deserved. This came to a head on the October 4th edition of SmackDown, when Brock Lesnar defeated Kingston in just seven seconds.

The match sparked uproar among fans but a former writer claimed that Brock Lesnar’s sensational win was far from a last-minute decision.

H/t to Wrestling Inc