Trained by Killer Kowalski, Kofi Kingston made his debut in 2005, and signed to WWE the following year before making his main roster debut in 2007. As a high flying babyface, Kingston captured titles in both the singles and tag divisions, but found unprecedented success when he banded together with Big E and Xavier Woods as the faction New Day. From there, Kofi Kingston would have record-breaking tag title reigns and even capture the WWE Championship.
On the wrestling database website Cagematch.net, Kofi’s surprisingly underrated at 7.38 out of 10, but he’s definitely got some highly rated matches in his CV. Let’s take a look at which of his matches were the highest rated by Cagematch users.
10 Drew McIntyre vs. Kofi Kingston (WWE Raw, 5/31/2021) - 8.04
By May 2021, both Kofi Kingston and Drew McIntyre were former WWE Champions, and battled in the main event of this Raw to determine Bobby Lashley’s next challenger, which McIntyre won. Some Cagematch users were surprised by the chemistry between the two competitors, given that Kingston’s a high-flyer and McIntyre is more of a powerhouse, but Kofi managed to hold his own against the Scottish star. Users were also impressed that the babyface vs. babyface bout had a clean finish, to boot.
9 Christian vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Kane vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Matt Hardy vs. The Big Show (WWE Money in the Bank, 7/18/2010) - 8.14
Pre-New Day Kofi Kingston was “just” a plucky, smiling mid-card babyface, which meant that he was regular fodder for multi-man affairs like the SmackDown Money in the Bank ladder match in 2010. Kane would end up winning this one — and later cash in on Rey Mysterio in the same evening — but the fun of these kinds of bouts are the ridiculous ladder-based spots. Many Cagematch users gave special attention to Kingston in this match, as he delivered a Boom Drop off the ladder and onto Drew McIntyre.
8 The 2018 Royal Rumble (WWE Royal Rumble, 1/28/2018) - 8.30
Of course, it’s basically canon in WWE that the Royal Rumble is Kofi Kingston’s time to shine, as his athleticism has made for some unforgettable saves from elimination. Cagematch fans rated the 2018 Rumble highly thanks to a great lineup and a much-celebrated win for Shinsuke Nakamura, but how did Kofi fare?
Several users pointed out just how fun Kingston’s save in this Rumble was, as this was the one where Kofi returned to the ring by standing on a stack of pancakes while Big E and Xavier Woods launched him back into the fray.
7 Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Jack Swagger vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Seth Rollins (WWE Money in the Bank, 6/29/2014) - 8.49
The eight-man ladder match for the vacant WWE Title was the headlining bout of the 2014 Money in the Bank pay-per-view, but the MITB match itself earlier on the card stole the show, earning high marks from Cagematch users. The bout, as Cagematch users have noted, was mostly centered around the post-Shield breakup Dean Ambrose/Seth Rollins blood feud, but Kofi delivered one of the best moments of the bout, backdropping Rollins off of a ladder and onto another ladder.
6 The New Day vs. The Bar (WWE SmackDown, 8/7/2018) - 8.31
In 2018, WWE held a tournament to determine #1 Contenders for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship, with the finals coming down to Big E and Kofi Kingston taking on Cesaro and Sheamus. Several Cagematch users hailed the bout as one of the best TV matches of the year, running an impressive 25 minutes, with E and Kingston getting the win in the end. New Day would fail to capture the belts from The Bludgeon Brothers at SummerSlam, but succeed two days later on SmackDown.
5 The 2020 Royal Rumble (WWE Royal Rumble, 1/26/2020) - 8.55
The 2020 edition of the men’s Royal Rumble had an amazing set-up, with Brock Lesnar coming in first and eliminating scores of WWE stars before getting eliminated by eventual winner Drew McIntyre. But several Cagematch users also praised Kofi Kingston’s role in the match, as he came in at #6 and teamed up with Big E and Rey Mysterio in an attempt to eliminate Brock Lesnar. It didn’t work out for the three men, but it was an exciting moment that didn’t just depend on Kofi being super agile..
4 The New Day vs. The Lucha Dragons vs. The Usos (WWE TLC, 12/13/2015) - 8.65
To open up the 2015 TLC pay-per-view, Kofi Kingston and Big E defended the WWE Tag Team Championship against The Lucha Dragons and The Usos in a three-way ladder match. The New Day were still heels at this point, and ended up winning the bout via Xavier Woods and his trombone.
For Cagematch users, who praised the “car crash” nature of this ladder match, the big moment came from Kalisto of the Lucha Dragons, who pulled off a Salida Del Sol from the top of a ladder.
3 AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton vs. Samoa Joe (WWE Elimination Chamber, 2/17/2019) - 8.69
As fans who were watching WWE at the time likely know, Kofi Kingston wasn’t even supposed to be in the 2019 Elimination Chamber, but entered as a last-minute replacement for an injured Mustafa Ali. Despite that, Kofi ended up having the entire crowd behind him in his noble but ultimately futile effort to unseat WWE Champion Daniel Bryan, becoming the last wrestler eliminated in the match. Cagematch users loved this match, with many of them ranking it among their favorite Elimination Chamber matches ever.
2 Antonio Cesaro vs. Kofi Kingston (WWE Main Event, 5/1/2013) - 8.72
Main Event is a minor show in WWE’s programming schedule, offering a couple of matches between recaps of Raw and SmackDown, but occasionally viewers that actually bother to check it out will be treated to something special — like a barn burner of a US Title bout between Cesaro and Kofi Kingston. Users on Cagematch were surprised, too, with praise for the psychology in Cesaro working Kofi’s leg and one user pointing out that, at 20 minutes, it was the longest US Title match in nearly a decade.
1 Daniel Bryan vs. Kofi Kingston (WWE WrestleMania 35, 4/7/2019) - 9.07
Kofi Kingston’s loss at Elimination Chamber wasn’t the end of his story — instead, the WWE rode the wave of Kofimania and made it the story of the WWE Championship match for WrestleMania 35. While the road to ‘Mania had a few narrative bumps, the match itself did not disappoint, though several Cagematch users mitigated their high marks with “It’s not a masterpiece, but…” Overall, however, users appreciated the triumph of Kofi Kingston finally reaching the top of a company that seemed happy to keep him in the midcard.