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HARTFORD, Conn. — According to Kevin Owens, Kofi Kingston only won the WWE Championship in the first place because The New Day got him there. He might be changing his tune right about now. KO successfully convinced Kingston to leave Xavier Woods in the backstage area and defend his title without help, but The Dreadlocked Dynamo still retained the title against his challenger, extending the “magical ride” of his incredible championship run.
The victory was hard-earned and well-deserved. Owens was his usual braggadocious self, and it seemed for a while like his trash-talk had some merit to it: Without New Day to run interference, KO forced Kofi to fight from underneath for almost the entire match. He didn’t hesitate to use anything and everything to his advantage, either — at one point he slammed Kofi head-first into the ring post, the impact of which sent the champ careening off the apron and into the cameraman. He also locked Kingston into a pair of torturous Boston Crabs, perhaps seeking to soften up the champion’s back for the ring apron powerbomb that has hobbled many a foe in the past.
Every time, however, Kofi was there to answer. He escaped or kicked out of everything Owens threw at him, including a Stunner and a Pop-up Powerbomb, and, crucially, managed to hold firm against Owens’ rabid brand of psychological warfare. After Kingston broke the Stunner pinfall by reaching the ropes, Owens yanked the champion’s kicks clean off his feet, screamed “He’s done!” and ascended the turnbuckle for a Swanton Bomb … only to be met with knees to the lumbar and a shoeless Trouble in Paradise that nonetheless put KO down for three. Only after the pinfall was counted did Woods finally emerge, joining Kingston in a renewed celebration of brotherhood — and a far more accurate depiction of how Kofi Kingston got here in the first place.
If there’s one thing this “magical ride” has taught us, it’s that Kofi Kingston is not alone and never has been. Kevin Owens’ mistake was thinking he couldn’t do it himself.