Kofi Kingston Explains What “KofiMania” Meant To Him
Kofi Kingston has reflected on the biggest win of his WWE career while discussing why it meant so much to him.
At WrestleMania 35 in 2019, Kofi Kingston received the biggest push of his WWE career as the challenger to the WWE Championship held by the heel champion Daniel Bryan.
Prior to that night, Kofi was an upper midcard wrestler who had multiple reigns as the Intercontinental Champion four times and the United States Champion three times. In addition to that, it was about four years into The New Day’s run as one of the greatest stables in WWE history that won the Tag Team Titles 11 times as well.
Going into WrestleMania 35, Kofi was an 11-year veteran who wasn’t in the WWE Championship picture before, so the story was that he had to make the most of this opportunity because you never know if it will happen again.
Daniel Bryan and Kofi Kingston would go on to have a fantastic match that saw Kofi pick up the win by hitting the Trouble in Paradise kick. There was a shock reaction by Kingston after the win and then a huge celebration from the fans.
Kofi Kingston says “KofiMania” shows what happens when you don’t give up
When John Cena appears on WWE TV, he wears gear that says “Never Give Up” on it and it’s fair to say that Kofi Kingston took those words to heart. That’s what Kingston told Fightful in an interview about his career.
“For me to be at the center of all these emotions is truly humbling because, at any point in my 11-year journey toward becoming WWE Champion, I could have easily given up. It was only because I chose to push through the obstacles and keep going that I was able to achieve my childhood dream and simultaneously but push people to achieve theirs.”
“As I said before, my main goal has always been to motivate people and push them toward achieving their dreams and that’s exactly what the moment has done. When people relive ‘Kofimania’ then think about their goals and the obstacles that stand before them, they think, ‘This may be hard, but I can do it because I saw Kofi do it.’ I take so much pride in that notion.”
In addition to his great work on WWE television, Kofi Kingston is also a wonderful humanitarian who recently opened a library and digital center in Ghana, West Africa, which is where he was born.