Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton
We come to the final PPV of what has been a very interesting year that was 2009 and things do feel pretty different from when the year started, and this match is a perfect microcosm as to how different things feel. When the year started, Orton was being prepped for the main event of WrestleMania while Kingston was seemingly treading water in the midcard, and now 12 months later Kingston is getting a major push and is now part of probably the biggest match of his career to this point. Meanwhile, Orton has taken a bit of a back step out of the main event scene and is put in this spot to give Kingston a big rub, and Kingston got a major victory over Orton the previous month when he beat both Orton and CM Punk to be the sole survivor in their match. Now they face off here one-on-one and clearly this was a major opportunity for Kingston to try and step up, and it was going to be interesting to see if they would give Kingston another major win or if Orton was going to get his win back as we head into 2010.
On the 11/23 RAW, Orton confronted guest host Jesse Ventura and demanded a title shot though Ventura refused saying too many of the same guys kept getting title shots and he announced a series of matches featuring Superstars who have never been World Champion. He said the winners would face off in a battle royal to see who would face John Cena at TLC, and Kingston would defeat Dolph Ziggler while Orton would take Primo’s spot and defeat Evan Bourne as Ventura allowed Orton to compete though Kingston would eliminate Orton in the battle royal. On the 11/30 RAW, Kingston and Orton were set to face off though Legacy would attack Kingston before the match though Kingston would demand to have the match, and Orton would end up defeating Kingston. On the 12/7 RAW, Legacy confronted guest host Mark Cuban and demanded he grant Orton a title shot though Cuban refused, and they would remind Cuban about what happened at the 2003 Survivor Series as Cuban said Orton would face Kingston that night with himself as the guest ref. Kingston would defeat Orton thanks to a fast count from Cuban who said he was waiting 6 years for revenge as he announced Kingston and Orton would face off at the PPV in the rubber match. The build for this match as been pretty solid and now it was going to be do-or-die for Kingston as it was his chance to step up or stumble in this big chance.
We get a good video package highlighting the feud and Orton was pretty hot as a heel while Kingston got a big pop from the crowd. The two men lock up to start with Orton hooking a headlock and he takes Kingston to the mat as he grinds down on him, and Kingston escapes with a headscissors and Orton escapes as Kingston works on the arm and goes behind Orton. Orton turns it around and works on Kingston’s arm as Kingston does a flip to escape and they have a standoff, and they lock up again with Orton backing Kingston into the corner as Kingston avoids a shot only for Orton to get a kick in. He rams Kingston into the buckle and pounds on him in the corner as he stomps on him repeatedly only for Kingston to battle back, but Orton gets a knee in and whips Kingston into the other corner only for Kingston to catch him with a boot to the face. Orton catches him in a powerslam for a two count and hooks a submission on Kingston who fights to his feet, but Orton wrenches down on the hold until Kingston fights out of it and he pounds on Orton in the corner. He leaps on top of Orton in the corner and continues to pound on him as Orton comes out of the corner though Kingston escapes a powerbomb with a sunset flip for a two count, and Kingston ducks a shot and hits a Russian legsweep on Orton who avoids the Boom Drop by rolling outside to regroup. He avoids a baseball slide as Kingston slides out of the ring and Kingston ducks a shot before leaping up top, but Orton catches him coming in with a dropkick and he hoists Kingston up as he drops him on the barricade. He pulls Kingston back to ringside and throws him back into the ring for a two count as he stomps on him repeatedly, and he kicks at Kingston for a two count and Kingston tries to battle back only for Orton to rake his knee across Kingston’s face. He hoists Kingston up for a suplex and drops him on the top rope as he drops a knee on him for a two count, and he knocks Kingston down and kicks at him as he hits an uppercut until Kingston ducks a shot and hits a sloppy SOS for a two count. He clotheslines Orton over the top to the floor and then he hits a suicide dive onto Orton on the floor, and he throws Orton back into the ring and goes up top as he hits a crossbody on Orton for a two count and fires up on him. He hits a flying clothesline on Orton who reverses a whip into the corner as Kingston hits a springboard chop for a two count, and Orton counters a whip and hits the inverted backbreaker on Kingston as he looks for the RKO only for Kingston to hit a standing dropkick. He hits the Boom Drop on Orton and then he hits the Trouble in Paradise on Orton for a two count as Orton grabs the rope, and Orton rolls outside to regroup and Kingston goes outside as well as he rolls Orton back into the ring. Orton catches him coming in as he hits a hanging DDT on Kingston and looks for the punt though Kingston blocks it with his arm, and Orton hits an armbreaker on Kingston and looks for the RKO as he avoids the Trouble in Paradise and hits the RKO which gets the three and he wins the match.
The match itself was solid as both men worked hard and put on a pretty good match. As I mentioned, this was a huge opportunity for Kingston to step up to the next level and you knew that Orton would bring his end, and they did have some good chemistry as Kingston looked like he belonged on Orton’s level though he does end up jobbing in the end. Of course, this is the infamous match where Kingston blocked the punt when he shouldn’t have and Orton audibly called him “stupid”, so we will have to see if that ends up cooling Kingston off in terms of a push or if he continues to get a push going into 2010. The crowd was into the match and Kingston, but are not happy when Orton wins. Orton does get the win over Kingston and both men move on.
Final Grade: ***
