Backstage Report On Two WWE Stars Earning Praise For Recent Performances

The recent efforts of Kofi Kingston and Ivar have gained high praise behind the scenes in WWE, according to a report from Fightful Select. 

The Viking Raiders had been feuding against The New Day and the team of Drew McIntyre and Matt Riddle, the latter of which ended up disbanding following Riddle's WWE release. Things were further changed after Erik got injured and forced WWE to make new plans for New Day and Ivar. Their two-out-of-three falls match had been slated for a lot of time, but that obviously couldn't happen. Rather than cutting it, the allocated time was given to Kingston and Ivar, and the match was heavily praised backstage. Big E shared this sentiment for Kingston, though he noted that he might be biased.

A producer pointed out that Ivar hadn't had a singles match on WWE television in almost five years that lasted over 10 minutes. Therefore, the fact he didn't miss a beat against Kingston impressed people. It wasn't just that encounter that received praise either, as his match against Xavier Woods and his Viking Rules encounter against Kingston impressed people.

While Ivar has been used as a tag team wrestler from the moment he arrived in WWE, his recent performances have reportedly led to WWE becoming open-minded to the idea of using him in a singles capacity. WWE often takes tag wrestlers off television when their partners need time off, but Ivar might get to do more while Erik remains on the shelf with an injury.