In a change of plans that took place on Monday, it looks like Kofi Kingston is the front-runner to be announced as WWE Champion Daniel Bryan's opponent for Fastlane at tonight's SmackDown in New Orleans, Louisiana.

As of Monday morning, WWE already had plans in place for both Fastlane, which takes place on March 10 in Cleveland, and WrestleMania four weeks later, which did not involve Kingston.

However, based on the fan response to Kingston's performance in the gauntlet on Tuesday, and even more the Elimination Chamber on Sunday, where he was a stand-in for the injured Mustafa Ali, the decision was changed to go to Bryan vs. Kingston.

It is not clear how or if this change of plans will affect the original WWE title plans for WrestleMania. Bryan was scheduled to face someone making a return as opposed to one of the current SmackDown brand regulars at the year's biggest show.