The simultaneous pushes of Kofi Kingston and Sheamus are simultaneously gratifying and confusing. Gratifying because it’s about time the class ceiling is cracked, confusing because two at once muddies the water, especially with a company notorious for elevating nobody.
The Kofi push appears to be working. As with Jeff Hardy, WWE listened to the audience. It’s the easiest thing to do, yet WWE rarely does it.
Is Kofi going to be a mega-star? Probably not. I wouldn’t say he oozes charisma. But do the right thing, and see what happens.
Quick question: How come Kofi dropped the phony accent, but Sheamus didn’t? What? He’s really Irish? WWE is actually practicing truth in packaging? That’s quite a switch.
Quick question #2: Have Kofi and Sheamus passed guys like Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase Jr. in the pecking order? Will the latter be used to help build the former?
Quick question #3: Wasn’t it odd that Kofi and Sheamus were the finalists in the Breakthrough Battle Royal? Do you really want the two performers you’re trying to elevate to lock up now, however briefly, especially when the one getting the lesser fan reaction wins? Does that damage Kofi?
Quick question #4: When was the last time somebody got over by winning a Battle Royal?
Sheamus’ push is more intriguing because of his character’s unique nature and look. His skin is so pale, it’s almost translucent. There’s still plenty of ground to cover with Kofi, even more so with Sheamus.
Sheamus – as John Cena pointed out at the conclusion of Raw – still needs to make the leap from bully to badass. How do you do that? The attack on Cena didn’t help. I’ve seen kids take better swings at piñatas. Having Jesse Ventura oversee the angle didn’t help. Sometimes having big stars in the background provides a rub. In this case, it detracted.
