Hotseat: Kofi Kingston
KOFI KINGSTON’S 2019 started off as most other recent years—by avoiding near-certain elimination from the Royal Rumble match in spectacular fashion, only to be eliminated minutes later. But what did you expect? It’s not as if Kofi could ever actually challenge for a world title at WrestleMania.
For all his charisma and athleticism, after 11 years in WWE, fans had come to accept Kingston as little more than a utility player. As one-third of the popular New Day, he was getting plenty of TV time, and had picked up several tag team and secondary singles titles. But the sun had long set on any prospects of Kingston making it to the very top of the sport. But never underestimate “the power of positivity.”
After a series of events that Kingston now calls “serendipitous,” the WWE veteran found himself the unlikely challenger for Daniel Bryan’s WWE championship on the grandest of all stages, WrestleMania. With momentum—and seemingly the entire WWE locker room and fanbase—on his side, Kingston became one of the most unlikely WWE world champions in recent history.
In the months that have followed, Kingston has embraced the grueling demands of his new role—successfully defending the title in rematches against Bryan, as well as against Kevin Owens, Dolph Ziggler, and others, and embarking on an international tour with his new championship that included stops in England, Saudi Arabia, and a return to his home country of Ghana.
During one of his many road trips, Kingston chatted by phone with PWI Senior Writer Al Castle about the challenges of staying positive in WWE, the responsibility that comes with being only the second black WWE champion in history, and the prospects of one day facing off with his New Day brethren.
Castle: So, you’re in the middle of a long drive?
Yeah. We had a show last night in Stockton. And I So I’m driving to San Francisco now, and it defeats the whole purpose of what I was trying to do because now it’s going to be like 3½ hours back to Reno. So it’s going to be a long day of unnecessary travel, and I probably won’t even get anything from this store. But it’s all good.
