This Is the Feud That Doesn't End: Kingston Vs. Ziggler Vs. Eternity

Stop me if you've seen this one before, but...
Photo Credit: WWE.com

If you had an intense feeling of déjà vu last night watching Kofi Kingston and Dolph Ziggler, well, yeah, it was justified. Over the last couple of years, the two have had televised wrestling matches against each other a mind-boggling 16 times. That's a large number of wrestling matches in that period of time. It wouldn't be so much of a problem if both guys had moved on since their first meeting. However, neither Kingston nor Ziggler really have been pushed further outside of a cup of coffee in the main event since then. If I remember correctly, their first match happened after Kingston's push to the top failed when his feud with Randy Orton ended abruptly. Ziggler himself had a brush with the main event against Edge, but he's since come down to earth.

In the interim, both guys have had other feuds. Kingston battled against Drew McIntyre and Wade Barrett. Ziggler had run-ins with John Morrison and Daniel Bryan. Still, their roads always seem to intersect with each other, most probably with a secondary title on the line. How does a feud last that long anymore? I mean, we all marveled that TNA/Impact kept the Kurt Angle/Jeff Jarrett feud alive for 8 months, but as poorly-booked and unentertaining as I found it, at least it was at the top of the card and had several wrinkles to it. This one? Well, yeah, I like feuds over titles, but the way WWE goes about booking any feud sub-the main event can get way, way boring at times, mainly because they rarely know what they have with their Intercontinental and United States Championships.

I'm not really complaining about the lack of elevation here either. I mean, I'd love to see both guys tangle with main eventers more often, but at the same time, as long as they're wrestling or promoing, I don't mind where they are on the card. I just want to see what they can do against different opponents. I think this is more an indictment of WWE for their lack of midcard rather than speed of elevation. I mean, other than his feud with Edge, what can you say about any feud that Ziggler has had since starting his never ending series with Kingston? Well, the matches were good, especially against Bryan, but other than that, the midcard is usually treated with the same care and attention that the kid with halitosis gets at the school dance. Matches are great, but I need a story too.

If there were two or three distinct stories involved here, then I wouldn't mind the overkill between the two wrestlers. That being said, usually, the angle is one of them is a secondary Champion, and the other is getting a title shot. Only recently did either one of them actually ACCENTUATE that the title meant something to them. That's why this "feud" has seemed so boring.

If the story is interesting, two guys could wrestle a million times and not have it get boring on serialized wrestling television. The problem is that WWE rarely makes a good midcard story anymore. That's why Kofi and Dolph have been eliciting groans for their matches being announced, not excited cheers for the chemistry that they have in the ring.

Because believe me, that chemistry is pretty good.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!