Kofi might still be one-third of the AEW World Trios Champions with Austin Creed and Swerve Strickland, but he almost left AEW Grand Slam France with his first piece of singles gold. He challenged Bandido for the ROH World Championship in Paris, but sadly for the former WWE Champion it was Bandido walked away with the victory. However, Kofi wasn’t too disheartened given the reception he got from the French crowd and the quality of the match he had, so much so that he took to his Instagram account to thank the fans who attended the show, and also give Bandido his flowers.
Kofi wrote; “Thank you Paris! You were incredible as always, but this time out was even more heartwarming. I came up short, but I’ll be damned if I say I didn’t have fun. I do know one thing tho: That @bandidowrestler is special…And strong af! Gracias por la competición, amigo!”
Despite not leaving Paris with the ROH World Championship, Kofi will get another chance to get his hands on Bandido in the not too distant future. At AEW WrestleDream 2026 on October 17, Kofi, Creed, and Strickland will defend their AEW World Championships against Bandido, Brody King, and Strickland’s arch nemesis Hangman Page in a two-out-of-three falls match. Strickland and The New Level retained their straps against Page and Brodido back at AEW All Out 2026, but it seems that the former champions still think they have what it takes to get their gold back, and they will have to beat the champions not once but twice at AEW’s next big pay-per-view.
In terms of Bandido’s record with the ROH World Championship, his win over Kofi was his 19th successful defense of the crown, the sixth most for a single reign. If he keeps his title by the next episode of “AEW Dynamite,” Bandido will have also surpassed Jay Lethal’s record of 707 days combined days as champion, making him the man who has collectively held Ring of Honor’s top prize longer than anyone.
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