Report: Here's What WWE Originally Had Planned for Kofi Kingston and Daniel Bryan After WrestleMania

Kofi Kingston captured the WWE Championship for the first time in his career at WrestleMania 35, [...]

By Connor Casey

Kofi Kingston captured the WWE Championship for the first time in his career at WrestleMania 35, marking a joyous occasion for many of his longtime fans. But with every big WWE moment comes a question — what's next?

For Kingston, the answer turned out to be a sudden heel turn from Kevin Owens. The former Universal Champion became an honorary member of The New Day last week while Big E was out with an injury, only to betray the group and attack both Kingston and Xavier Woods to close out SmackDown Live.

But Bryan's future has been a bit more of a mystery. He hasn't appeared on WWE television since losing the title, and is dealing with an injury that company officials are reportedly keeping as a close-guarded secret.

Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer gave backstage reports this week on what WWE originally had planned for both men. According to him, the WWE was planning on having a rematch between the two take place at Money in the Bank, and it was only after Bryan's injury that they decided to have Owens turn back into a heel. He listed Randy Orton, Rowan, Baron Corbin, Drew McIntyre and Samoa Joe as other opponents the creative team considered before going with Owens.

Meltzer added that WWE originally envisioned for Owens to be a babyface for much longer, as they wanted to make him a more relatable charter the common fan could invest in — hence his initial babyface promos in February and his adoption of the Stunner as his finisher.

Since Owens' betrayal, all three members of New Day have called him out on Twitter.

"Sometimes you feel compelled believe in someone and give them a chance, even when no one else will. As unpopular a decision as it may seem at the time, you give them the benefit of the doubt...And Then that person proves everyone right," Kingston wrote. "Mark my words, there will be Hell to pay."

"KO is the parasite in the system that desperately clings on to its host for life," Kingston said. "Once its sucked all of the nutrients it can out of its host, it seeks another. I only take pleasure in knowing the virus has been detected & [Kingston] & [Woods] will stomp out the organism."

-----

Have you subscribed to ComicBook Nation, the official Podcast of ComicBook.com yet? Check it out by clicking here or listen below.

In this latest episode, we cover the hype around Avengers:Endgame, argue if Game Of Thrones is going to start going anywhere, and so much more! Make sure to subscribe now and never miss an episode!

0comments
Start the Conversation

of