There are a million ways WWE will convince you pro wrestling is silly, and stupid, and very bad, mostly because those in charge of it so often fail so spectacularly when it comes to simple storytelling. Even a broken clock is right twice a day, though, and every now and again the old man gets it right.

That old man is Vince McMahon, and the story he is in the middle of getting right is the journey of Kofi Kingston.

Life is as much about luck and good timing as it is hard work, but the two must go together for great things to happen and we saw that all come together with Kofi just this year. He’s been plugging along for 11 years, a steady, dependable cog in the machine, but one those who love and adore always knew was special. He just needed the chance to show that, and, because Vince McMahon is running WWE, he was likely never going to get it.

Then Mustafa Ali got hurt, Kingston was the best option to replace him, and the fans decided to get behind him in a way they never had before. That’s not to say fans weren’t always behind him, they just weren’t behind him in the way Xavier Woods and Big E are behind him. That changed in the first Gauntlet match, and was solidified at Elimination Chamber.

That forced McMahon to make a choice: to continue to be the stubborn, out of touch overlord he’s long been or actually listen to the fans and give them what they want. And what we want is Kingston.

But what we want even more is a great story. And he’s delivering that.

We haven’t even gotten to the payoff yet but this week’s episode of SmackDown Live gave us yet another great chapter: Vince, still trying to ensure Kingston doesn’t get a match against Daniel Bryan for the WWE championship at WrestleMania 35, booked Xavier Woods and Big E, his best friends and biggest supporters, in a tag team Gauntlet match. Victory would grant Kingston the match. This was such a beautiful turn to take because so much of the story has been not just Kingston being so deserving of that title match, but just how far those who love him are willing to go to ensure he gets it. Woods and E have spent so much time fighting for him emotionally, mentally, verbally — now they were asked to fight for him physically.

Did they ever.

There isn’t a human being alive who cannot connect to that. How hard would you fight for the people you love? We saw how hard E and Woods would fight, and they gave every last drop of sweat they had. To see their triumph was to share in it, and that’s why it felt so damn good to see the entire locker room spill out to the ring to do just that.

For Kofi, yes, but for everyone.

He’s going to WrestleMania, and that means we’re all going to WrestleMania, and it’s never, ever felt so damn good.