WWE Champion Kofi Kingston was blindsided on SmackDown Live this week by a returning Dolph Ziggler, who repeatedly attacked the champion with a steel chair and caused him to be carried out of the arena on a stretcher. Ziggler appeared in front of the crowd later in the evening and began ranting and raving about how the WWE Championship and all of the opportunities that Kingston has received over the past few months should have been his, since they both spent so many years with the company with being appreciated. Ziggler then challenged Kingston to a title match at the Super ShowDown event in Saudi Arabia on June 7.
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Kingston did not get a chance to respond to Ziggler during the show, but he did have some words for “The Show-Off” in a backstage interview on WWE’s YouTube Channel.
“All right,” Kingston said, visually upset after being attacked.
The night started out as a happy one for The New Day, as Big E made his first appearance on the show since tearing his meniscus just days after WrestleMania. Unfortunately E was found backstage after he claimed he was attacked by Owens. With Xavier Woods staying behind to check on E, Kingston was alone in the ring for a match against Sami Zayn, and the subsequent attack by Ziggler.
Other matches announced for the June 7 show in Jeddah include a 50-man battle royal, Goldberg vs. The Undertaker, Triple H vs. Randy Orton, Braun Strowman vs. Bobby Lashley, “Demon” Finn Balor vs. Andrade in an Intercontinental Championship and Roman Reigns vs. Dolph Ziggler.
In a recent interview with ComicBook.com, Big E explained that any sort of breakup angle involving The New Day was of no interest of himself, Kingston or Woods. The trio have worked together as a group for roughly five years now, virtually unheard of in the modern WWE product.
“I’m not saying that Kofi doesn’t get a world title reign without The New Day, but you don’t get that same moment of brotherhood, that same story of two guys who are able to go through the gauntlet and get their brother his title match,” E said. “All of the things we’ve been able to do the last couple of years, that is unique and special, you don’t get any of those moments. We listen to people that say “Actually, you should turn heel,’ or ‘It’s my time, I should really make this time about me.’ That’s not something that even remotely interests us.”
