Extreme Rules 2019 Kofi Kingston v Samoa Joe

Lost in the glamor of being a fighting champion is the grit and grime it takes to actually fight week in, week out, against whomever may come calling. During his reign as WWE Champion, Kofi Kingston has willingly accepted a plethora of title fights against several dangerous competitors, including Daniel Bryan, Kevin Owens and Dolph Ziggler. Now, he'll face a different beast altogether: Samoa Joe

Much like Ziggler, Joe is the one who made the first move in this rivalry, ambushing Kingston on Raw after the champion had defeated Owens and Sami Zayn in consecutive matches. (Again: Fighting champion.) Whether Joe was trying to muscle his way to an opportunity wasn’t clear — he chokes people out at an almost frighteningly casual rate — but the bout was made all the same, sanctioned just hours before the next evening's episode of SmackDown LIVE. So now, here we are, with a fighting champion set to battle one of the deadliest fighters on the roster, and Joe once again just three seconds away from his first WWE Championship.

On paper, it’s a bit of a stylistic mismatch — Joe is a brawling submission expert, and Kofi is a kicks-and-jumps hybrid — but the true meat of this one lies in the champion’s desire to prove himself at any and all costs. It's an oft-praised aspect of Kofi's reign as WWE Champion, though that drive may prove disastrous against this particular opponent. After all, Kofi Kingston fights like he's got somethign to prove. Samoa Joe just likes to hurt people. And this only ends one of two ways: Joe is going to learn not to underestimate a man with pancakes in his pockets and a smile on his face, or Kingston is going to realize too late that discretion is the better part of valor. Either way, a lesson awaits.