‘Road Dogg’ Brian James, who served as the SmackDown lead writer from 2016 to April 2019 and recently returned to this role, has revealed that he originally wanted Big E to capture the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 35 instead of Kofi Kingston during what became known as “KofiMania.”
During a recent appearance on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, James acknowledged that he misjudged the situation, explaining that a member of his writing team helped him recognize Kofi Kingston was the right choice for that historic moment.
I wanted Big E to win the title at KofiMania. I thought Big E was the guy, and a guy on my writing team who now writes for NXT said, ‘You’re wrong boss. You’re wrong. It’s Kofi.’
And I didn’t realize that Kofi had such a personal connection with the fan base. I was just looking for who’s the next guy and I didn’t think oh, the guy’s sitting right here. I was trying to make this guy over here and, yeah, never been so happy to be wrong though. What a moment.
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James elaborated on the significance of Kingston’s championship victory, emphasizing that the moment itself transcended any subsequent booking decisions. He expressed satisfaction that Big E eventually received his own championship opportunity later in his career.
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You can go back in time and fuss about what happened the next week or the next year or whatever. Who cares? Kofi won the title at WrestleMania, and nobody can ever take that away.
Big E had his moment. It was gonna come around, just it wasn’t time yet. I saw something that it was there. It just wasn’t time yet. The timing was Kofi. It was Kofi time and have I never been so happy to be wrong and couldn’t be more happy for the guy it happened for too.
If I was writing again, we’d do it one more time, because I think it would work again. I 100% think it would work again.
During the same interview, James also discussed his perception of his relationship with CM Punk, noting that contrary to a decade of assumed animosity, they didn’t actually hate each other.
James was announced as the new co-lead writer of WWE SmackDown on February 15, 2025, following the show’s expansion to three hours.
SmackDown co-lead writer 'Road Dogg' Brian James says he pushed for Big E to win the WWE Championship instead of Kofi Kingston at WrestleMania 35:
— WrestleTalk (@WrestleTalk_TV) February 20, 2025
"I wanted Big E to win the title at KofiMania. I thought Big E was the guy, and a guy on my writing team who now writes for NXT… pic.twitter.com/1gQVggulXM
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