Fansided

5 reasons why Kofi Kingston will win at WrestleMania

By Zach Bartlett

Photo credit: WWE.com
Photo credit: WWE.com /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 03: WWE wrestler Triple H and WWE chairman Vince McMahon attend a press conference announcing that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon will be giving away one million dollars each week on USA channels Monday Night Raw on June 3, 2008 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jesse Grant/WireImage)
LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 03: WWE wrestler Triple H and WWE chairman Vince McMahon attend a press conference announcing that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon will be giving away one million dollars each week on USA channels Monday Night Raw on June 3, 2008 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jesse Grant/WireImage) /

3. It’s best for business

Before he ascended to the top of the WWE at WrestleMania 30, The Authority’s reasoning for keeping Daniel Bryan out of the main event was that doing so was, “best for business.” There have been many parallels between Bryan’s WrestleMania 30 run and #Kofimania, and while they haven’t repeated the “best for business” phrase (although the idea of commodity audience and desired demographics have surely been alluded to), the irony remains. Like it was for Bryan at WrestleMania 30, despite the antagonist’s perceived beliefs, Kofi Kingston becoming champion at Mania actually is best for business.

As Alfred Konuwa at Forbes has pointed out, Kingston’s recent featured run has brought SmackDown its best ratings of 2019. The ratings have consecutively increased the past five weeks, and last week’s ratings were the best SmackDown has had since Smackdown 1000 back in October. As anyone who’s taken a stats course will tell you, correlation doesn’t imply causation, however, this may be more than your standard pre-‘Mania bump, as the year to year decline in viewership, an inevitability in our on-demand media landscape, is at seven percent for SmackDown, while Raw is down 23.1 percent compared to this time last year. Yes, other factors could be in play, but surely Kingston’s storyline is partially responsible. And ratings still matter, especially as SmackDown moves to Fox in October, and Fox didn’t pay $1 billion over 5 years, for a show that can’t draw.

In addition to the ratings surge, and its link to advertising and TV deal dollars, Kingston and the New Day move a ton of merchandise, another valuable revenue stream for the WWE. Just over two years ago, they were the number one merch sellers in the company, ahead of legacy acts, John Cena, AJ Styles and Roman Reigns. From unicorn horns to t-shirts, to Booty O’s cereal, the New Day know how to sell outside the ring as well as they do inside, and that’s best for business.