Kofi Kingston is currently on the sidelines with an injury.
On Friday’s episode of WWE SmackDown, it appeared that Kingston had suffered an injury in a segment that also featured Sheamus, Drew McIntyre, Karrion Kross, and LA Knight to set up a 5-way match on next week’s show to determine who will face Gunther for the Intercontinental Title at WrestleMania 39.
Kofi Kingston’s Status
Unfortunately, that is the case. FightFans.co reported today that Kingston is dealing with an arm injury. Bryan Alvarez also reported the news on his Twitter account.
While the exact injury and timeline for his return is unknown, the word is that it is expected to be a lengthy period of time. The report added that there is already talk of a replacement for Kingston in the match.
Kingston’s most recent match was a dark match with Jinder Mahal that saw Kingston go over the fellow former WWE Champion at a February 24 SmackDown event.
Kingston and Xavier Woods previously dropped the NXT Tag Team Titles to Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) at WWE NXT Vengeance Day.
The New Day are one of the most remarkable success stories of WWE’s current era. The trio of Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods and Big E started off as a completely different kind of faction. Plans changed however and the group ended up getting over with completely different characters. Even today, the trio can’t believe that they get paid to do things such as swivelling their hips in front of arenas full of people.
Kingston was recently interviewed by Under The Ring podcast. The former WWE champion was asked if there has been a moment with the New Day where he thought it was ridiculous that he was getting paid for it. The wrestling veteran laughed at the question and explained that there are many such moments:
“There’s so many moments. It was probably at some point in time when I’m out there twerking. E’s out there swivelling his hips, Woods just swivelling his hips and the entire crowd is doing it along with us. They’re going to buy our shirts.
We’ll leave the arenas and people will be waiting to see WWE superstars on the way out, and then you’ll have the entire crowd just swivelling their hips and we’re like, ‘Man, this is out contribution to society.'” said Kofi Kingston,
“People are out there from all ages, little kids all the way up to old ladies out there swivelling their hips, and trying to say what’s up? So when you sit back and think about all the crazy things that we have done, it’s really quite remarkable. We say often, ‘We can’t believe that we get paid actual money to do this, it’s crazy.'”
A lot is going on in WWE right now, but according to Kofi Kingston, the roster isn’t trying to think about rumors of a potential sale.
A veteran of WWE’s main roster since 2008, Kingston has seen plenty go down during his WWE tenure, including the recent retirement and return of Vince McMahon.
Kofi is in his first reign as NXT Tag Team Champions with Xavier Woods, and the New Day is the third WWE tag-team triple crown winner (behind FTR and the Street Profits.)
Focus
The past two weeks of wrestling news have been dominated by Vince McMahon’s return and his attempts to sell the promotion.
Speaking with SHAK Wrestling, Kingston said that no matter what happens, the roster’s focus remains the same.
“I think we all kind of have the same mentality Whatever happens outside of the company is going to happen. We really have no idea what’s transpiring. But our role, again, remains the same. It’s to go out there and put on great matches.”
Kofi Kingston.
Kingston added that the most important thing for him is to put on great matches for fans to enjoy.
“That’s the one thing, regardless of whoever’s in charge, or whoever owns this, that’s what we’re going to do. That’s what we’re always going to do. That is the most important thing. I think the mentality for us is just to kind of have laser vision and keep putting on great matches. That’s what we’re going to do.”
Kofi Kingston.
WWE Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER has also responded to reports of a possible sale of the promotion.
Names rumored to be interested in purchasing WWE include Comcast, FOX, Disney, Netflix, the Saudi Arabia PIF, Shahid & Tony Khan, and Endeavor, among others.
It may be some time before fans see the New Day defend their WWE NXT Tag Team Championships as Xavier Woods is reportedly injured.
Woods, alongside Kofi Kingston, won the titles at WWE NXT Deadline, dethroning Pretty Deadly and ending their reign at 97 days.
With their victory, the New Day becomes the third team to capture the WWE Tag Team triple-crown, after The Revival in 2019 and the Street Profits in 2020.
Injured
Since winning the titles, the New Day has had just two matches: a title defense on the December 14, 2022 episode of NXT, and a six-person tag-team match at the December 27, WWE live event.
PW Insider reports that Woods is “banged up” and “not yet 100% cleared,” which is why New Day hasn’t been seen more inside the ring.
Details of his injury remain unclear, but he is not expected to miss much more time in the ring.
The expectation within WWE is that the UpUpDownDown host should be good to go by this month’s Royal Rumble, if not sooner.
While he has not been wrestling, Woods has continued to appear at WWE events, and was in Kofi’s corner for a house show in Huntsville, Alabama.
The Rumble
If the backstage talk is right, Woods will be healed in time for the Rumble, and would likely be a member of the Men’s Royal Rumble match.
The Men’s match is coming together, with Kingston, Ricochet, and Santos Escobar coming from SmackDown.
On last night’s Raw, it was confirmed that Seth Rollins, Bobby Lashley, and WWE United States Champion Austin Theory will also be in the Men’s Rumble match.
Kofi Kingston has proven himself to be a legend of professional wrestling. Debuting in the WWE in 2007, Kingston quickly ingratiated himself to wrestling audiences with his likeable personality and his awe-inspiring athleticism. Now, Kingston is demonstrating his incredible heart and soul as well.
Kingston announced on Twitter Monday that he and his mother are trying to raise money to help build a computer lab and a library for children in Ghana, West Africa.
“My mom and I are trying to make 2023 extra special for children in Ghana by buildin them a computer lab and library,” Kingston wrote on his Twitter page.
In that same tweet, Kingston shared a video of he and his mom discussing how they came to find out about this need in Ghana, and why they decided to help .
He also included a link to the GoFundMe page, which currently has a goal of $30,000.
Happy New Year!
My mom & I are trying make 2023 extra special for children in Ghana by building them a computer lab & library.
“The CLICK for Quality Education Foundation (a.k.a. Computer Lab and Integrated Centre of Knowledge for Quality Education) is a nonprofit organization that aims to help establish quality award-winning computer labs and integrated centers of learning (library media centers) for Junior High Schools in Ghana, especially in deprived areas,” the GoFundMe page stated.
CLICK is aiming to build, for its first project, a 2-classroom facility. It will house a computer lab with 50 computers, as well as a reading/lending library that has a 100-person capacity.
“It is centrally located at the Atwima Takyiman Presbyterian Junior High School in the Kwadaso Municipality in the Ashanti Region of Ghana,” the GoFundMe stated. “When completed, it will be a resource center not only for students from this site school, but also for students of four other schools: the Tanoso Anglican A, B and C Junior High Schools as well as the Denkyemuoso Junior High School, all located in a cluster within the vicinity.”
According to the GoFundMe, much of Ghana’s economy came from the country’s agriculture realm. However, urban spread and non-agricultural issues have reduced the amount of agricultural activities.
“Today, the people are mostly engaged in petty retail and wholesale trading, as well as artisanal and repair services,” the GoFundMe said. “To many of them, a quality education for their children offers the best way out of a rather bleak situation.”
Kofi Kingston
A Foundation close to Kofi Kingston’s Heart
Now, Kingston and his mother are partnering with the organization to help that situation seem a little less bleak.
“There are several stories like these, where teachers struggle to find ways to teach their students about the basics of computers,” Kingston said.
Many of the project schools don’t even have computers, nor a library.
“The students are drawn from mostly poor homes, and most of them had never been to a library or used a computer before, until CLICK for Quality Education Foundation started taking groups to the regional library where they were registered and taught how to browse and borrow books. The ongoing Foundation project will therefore be an invaluable resource for the students and teachers of the five schools.”s of now, the foundation’s founder has been contributing personal funds to get the project off the ground and they are seeking additional funds from anybody who can contribute. They’re also seeking equipment and materials for the schools as well.
This year’s WWE Survivor Series premium live event will feature a special WarGames theme, with men’s and women’s double-cage matches set to headline the event. This is a departure from recent years, which saw a contrived ‘brand supremacy’ format involving the Superstars from Raw, SmackDown and NXT competing.
Triple H recently commented on the changes coming to Survivor Series:
“The tradition of the Survivor Series has ebbed and flowed and changed slightly over time, but this will be similar to that,” he said in a press release. “This will not be Raw versus SmackDown. It will be much more story-line driven. I still look at it as a traditional component of Survivor Series in there because it’s large teams of people competing. We just upped the ante a little bit with WarGames and made it evolve.”
Kofi Kingston’s WarGames Dream Team
Former WWE Champion Kofi Kingston recently spoke with Steve Fall for NBC Sports Boston and named his ideal partners in a hypothetical WarGames match. Unsurprisingly, his New Day teammates (Big E & Xavier Woods) were included.
We have actually teamed up with Braun Strowman a couple of times and he is just amazing to be in the ring with.
I find him to be such a character. He lives such a crazy life. He lives in the woods, hunts boars, and so many awesome stories.
So even sometimes when we are like, Woods will be in there wrestling and we are on the apron, I’m just like man this dude is huge. He’s a force to be reckoned with.
I would put Braun on my team. Shoot, I’ll put Bray on my team too. I don’t know if he’s looking for a team but I’ll put Bray on there.
I don’t know if Orton is coming back, but I’ll put Randy on my team. The Viper and the experience factor.
You mentioned Carmelo (Hayes), I’d put him and Trick Williams on my team because I think they have got a lot of potential.
I’m excited to see what they bring to the table when they get to the, well I guess Carmelo is on the main roster, he’s been on Main Event a few times now.
WWE Survivor Series takes place Saturday, November 26th from Boston’s TD Garden.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit NBC Ten Count and give a H/T to SEScoops for the transcription.
Former WWE Champion Kofi Kingston is very impressed with Logan Paul’s in-ring performances thus far, and thinks Paul will fare well in his upcoming title match.
Roman Reigns is scheduled to defend the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Paul next month at WWE Crown Jewel.
The Tribal Chief most recently defeated Drew McIntyre at WWE Clash at the Castle in September to retain the title. Logan Paul enters the match as a heavy underdog as the popular YouTuber has only had two matches in his career.
He teamed with The Miz at WrestleMania to defeat The Mysterios and then defeated The A-Lister in a singles match at SummerSlam. Logan Paul was recently spotted training with a WWE Hall of Famer and Roman reacted to the photos.
Kofi Kingston Picks The Winner Of The Title Match At Crown Jewel
Kingston recently spoke with Steve Fall for NBC Boston’s The Ten Count. Kingston is looking forward to Reigns vs, Paul and gave his pick for who will leave Crown Jewel as champion.
Look man, I know I’ve said on a lot of different interviews that I’m very impressed with the way that Logan Paul’s been able to like naturally be so good.
Not even good, but like kind of amazing in the ring these past couple of matches that he’s had.
You’re not supposed to be that good. You’re not supposed to be able to pick it up that fast, from promos, all the way to in-ring work, moves, and like attitude. Making things look realistic and believing it, you’re not supposed to be that good.
I love the way he’s brought just amazing energy to the WWE like you can’t take your eyes off him. It’s amazing. Having said that, I’ve got to go with Roman Reigns.
I mean, you’re not the Undisputed WWE World Heavyweight Champion for almost two years now without being very good.
His progression has been phenomenal. Seeing him develop in terms of character all the way from The Shield to what he is now, it’s remarkable, and just carrying the industry right now.
Realistically, I feel like Roman should kind of wipe the floor with him. But, Logan Paul, he’s surprised me the past couple of matches. So, I’m going to watch like everybody else and see what’s what.
WWE Crown Jewel takes place Saturday, November 5 at 12pm ET / 9am PT from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The event streams live exclusively on Peacock in the U.S. and on WWE Network internationally.
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Kofi Kingston captured the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 35 by defeating Daniel Bryan, now known in All Elite Wrestling as Bryan Danielson.
Kingston hit Bryan with the Trouble in Paradise for the pinfall victory. The veteran celebrated with the New Day in the ring as the crowd erupted. A video went viral featuring MVP and the tragically passed Shad Gaspard getting emotional following Kingston’s victory.
Speaking with Steve Fall of NBC Ten Count, a question was sent in by students for Kofi Kingston. He was asked if he felt his WWE character has impacted young African-American children and if he finds it a responsibility of his every time he’s in front of the camera. Kingston responded with
Absolutely. Being the first African-born WWE Champion impacted a lot of African-American children in ways, and really all children, but particularly African-American children because you didn’t really see African-born Superstars in championship roles.
And I mean main championship roles. It is something you didn’t see, and it is one thing to say like anything is possible because, in theory, anything is possible.
If you believe in yourself, you can be the one who breaks the ground and you can be the first person to do something.
But it is a whole other thing to say that anything is possible because it actually happened.
– Kofi Kingston
Kingston said that he was blown away by all the videos of him on social media after winning the WWE Championship. He still gets messages about it to this day.
“So we were in New Orleans, like me and my son walking in, and one of the security guards stopped me and talked to me about how impactful that moment was to him watching it as an adult.
You have all these videos of people watching it with their kids and it just really establishes a sense of hope, and belief that you can do whatever you want to do.”
Not the Typical WWE Champion
“By all standards, I shouldn’t be here. I’m not 6’8”, I’m not 300 pounds, and I don’t have a strapping chest.
As a matter of fact, I have pretty much all sternum. No muscle here. My legs are very skinny, I’m not as big as the other people on the roster.
When I was a kid and I told people that I wanted to be a WWE Superstar they laughed at me because I didn’t look the part.
Now, you fast forward all these years later, I’ve been able to have so many incredible accolades, so many awesome moments, I’ve had 22 different title reigns. This is all from a guy that wasn’t supposed to be here.”
Watch Kofi Kingston WWE Championship Celebration:
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Kofi Kingston is a former WWE Champion, four-time Intercontinental Champion, three-time US Champion, and thirteen-time tag team champion.
There are currently a lot of factions with three members in WWE. The Brawling Brutes, Imperium, Legado del Fantasma, New Day, etc.
Speaking with Steve Fall of NBC Ten Count, Kofi discussed the possibility of WWE introducing Trios Championships down the line.
Anything is possible, man. Like you said, there is a lot of trios going on, Sheamus and The Brawling Brutes, The Bloodline, New Day. We’ll see how E (Big E) does, he’s getting a lot better for those who are concerned.
He was actually rollerskating the other day and I’m like ‘oh my God is he okay?’. He’s coming along and he’s in great spirits. We’re just kind of taking it one day at a time with him.
But yeah, I think a Trios title would be interesting. It is obviously something that has never been done before in WWE. Who knows? You got to stay tuned and watch to find out!
Kofi Kingston on a Tag Team Match Headlining WrestleMania
During the interview on NBC Ten Count, it was pointed out that a tag team match has not headlined a WrestleMania since 1985. Kofi was asked if fans will ever see a tag team match main event a WrestleMania again and he said it was possible. Kingston added that The Usos would make the most sense as their opponent at WrestleMania.
Anything is possible, like I said. For example, Ronda Rousey being in a main event of WrestleMania. Who would have thought that would ever happen? Anything is possible, even like Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair main eventing the first night of WrestleMania.
Who would have ever thought that two women would be able to main event a WrestleMania? It is unheard of. I really enjoy the way that, especially now, WWE has done a great job over the past 8-9 years now of doing things that are completely just remarkable, and unheard of in the business.
The women’s revolution, having an all women’s PPV, the women having their own Royal Rumble is amazing and awesome.
So we are in a really special time right now in terms of wrestling. We are really doing things that are historical and groundbreaking, so a tag team match in the main event of WrestleMania is certainly not out of the cards.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit NBC Sports Boston and give a H/T to SEScoops for the transcription.
WWE has undergone massive changes at the top of the company in 2022 and it has resulted in a completely new vision for the product.
Vince McMahon resigned in late July and was replaced by Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan as co-CEOs. The 77-year-old was being investigated by the company’s Board of Directors for alleged hush money payments to former female employees.
John Laurinaitis was dismissed from the company and replaced by Triple H as EVP of Talent Relations. The Game has since been named Chief Content Officer for the company as well.
Since gaining power in the company, Triple H has brought back several released stars and seems to be reverting some of the changes to WWE NXT.
Kofi Kingston on Triple H’s New Role
Speaking with Steve Fall of NBC’s Ten Count, Kofi Kingston was asked which former stars he wants to see return to the company. “I would have said Bray,” he said. I would have said Bray if he didn’t debut last week. But I don’t know man. Off the top of my head, there are just so many people.”
“Even people that haven’t been here in WWE I would love to see in WWE. There is so much talent. I’ve said it before, but this is a real special time in wrestling. There’s just so much talent out there.”
Kingston then brought up that there will likely be more surprises in store for WWE fans now that Triple H is at the helm.
Especially with Triple H at the helm right now, we are going to have a lot more surprises and we are going to have a lot more moments of people coming back. We are really ticking the people’s fancy and giving them what they want. And that is a great thing to be a part of.
WWE Crown Jewel
The New Day is not currently booked for WWE’s upcoming Crown Jewel premium live event from Saudi Arabia. Some people might enjoy a break from international travel, but Kingston says he loves Saudi Arabia and wants to be booked on every WWE show.
“I’m at the point now where I kind of, of course, I want to be on every single show,” he said. “You know what I mean? I’m still very hungry in that sense. But I just wait to see what is happening and how things are going to unfold. I know that things always change at the last minute.”
“So often times we are not on a show and then I’ll find out on social media that we are on the show. I’m always the last one to find things out. I would love to go to Crown Jewel. I love Saudi, I love the people there. “
“I was actually the first person to go there before we actually started running televised shows there. I stayed there for 7-8 days or so, and I got to really immerse myself in the culture. It was one of the best experiences that I’ve had as a WWE Superstar hands down.”
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit NBC Ten Count and give a H/T to SEScoops for the transcription.
Kofi Kingston captured the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 35 by defeating Daniel Bryan.
He wrestled 75 matches as the champion and had long rivalries with Kevin Owens, Randy Orton, and Dolph Ziggler during his reign.
WWE SmackDown debuted on Fox on October 4th, 2019. The main event for the show was Kofi defending his WWE Championship against Brock Lesnar.
Most fans expected Brock to win but The Beast absolutely dominated and squashed Kofi to win the title.
Kofi Kingston on why He Never Got a Rematch Against Brock Lesnar
The former WWE Champion spoke with Steve Fall on NBC Ten Count recently and was asked why he never received a rematch after the shocking defeat.
Kofi admitted that he has no idea why he didn’t get a rematch for the title but claimed that it is not something he dwells on nowadays.
I have no idea. I don’t really dwell on the why, there is a lot of things in the industry that you look at sometimes and you’re like ‘whoa, why did that happen?’. And you just move on and the wheel keeps on turning.
Again, for me to like dwell on what happened in that match with Brock Lesnar, it doesn’t serve me any purpose, right? It’s not going to make me better, it’s not going to change what happened, it’s not really going to do anything besides make me feel bad.
So, I’m not going to let it do that. I have a lot more career left to handle. I think that it is a scenario where like, again this is such a unique opportunity to be on this roster.
As far as my run being WWE Champion, I got to go six months almost to the day. So that is a very long reign.
I think if you look back at how many of the past or current champions have had a reign of six months or more it’s Brock Lesnar, Bobby Lashley, Roman Reigns and myself.
Kofi spoke about his rivalries during his title reign and noted how it was cool to tie everything together by revisiting his rivalry with The Viper Randy Orton.
AJ Styles at the beginning, and then Randy Orton kind of like tying everything together.
Being that I was in for a push in 2009 and I was out in a rivalry with Randy Orton, and then it didn’t work out.
So to be able to kind of like button that up was great. So I enjoyed my title reign. I enjoyed every single moment of it because I know how rare it is to be in that championship role.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit NBC Ten Count and give a H/T to SEScoops for the transcription.
Former WWE Champion Kofi Kingston has suggested a new nickname for Sami Zayn based on being an Honorary Uce in The Bloodline and his friendship with Kevin Owens.
Sami has spent months trying to become an official member of The Bloodline faction with Roman Reigns, The Usos, and Paul Heyman. He recently had some conversations backstage with The Tribal Chief and it appeared that Sami was on his way to joining the group.
Kevin Owens battled Jey Uso on the August 29th episode of RAW. During the match, The Usos wanted Zayn to strike Owens with a chair but he refused. This led to Jimmy getting frustrated with Sami and taking his eye off of Owens. Kevin capitalized with a Stunner for the pinfall victory.
Earlier today, Kofi took to Twitter to suggest a new name for Sami that may allow The Role Model to stay loyal to both parties.
Man… i might be late on this but…I just realized that Sami been trying to get in with the Samoans…but there’s questions on wether he’s still boys with Kevin Owens… you think he can stay loyal to both parties by changing his name to ‘Sam Owens’ ? (I’m not high)
Man… i might be late on this but…
I just realized that Sami been trying to get in with the Samoans…but there’s questions on wether he’s still boys with Kevin Owens… you think he can stay loyal to both parties by changing his name to ‘Sam Owens’ ? 🤔
Sami has already hopped in front of a few Claymore kicks from Drew McIntyre in an effort to show his loyalty to Roman Reigns. It will be interesting to see how much more The Locker Room Leader is willing to take before he inevitably has a falling out with The Bloodline. The Usos’ younger brother, Solo Sikoa, joined The Bloodline at Clash at the Castle this past weekend and helped Roman retain the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship over Drew McIntyre.
Blood is important, sure, but it should never be used as a reason to exclude people. I’m not saying you or anyone else would do that, just making a general statement. Ok anyways look forward to meeting you soon uce! https://t.co/egzbgmhoXY
Having debuted on the main roster in 2008, Kofi Kingston is one of WWE’s most veteran Superstars and has faced several big names.
Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton, and Roman Reigns are just some of the Superstars Kingston has faced throughout his highly-successful 14-year career with WWE.
Kingston is both a WWE triple-crown and Grand Slam champion, but there’s a lot that Kofi hasn’t done in his career yet.
Kingston through the Forbidden Door
Kofi Kingston may have faced some of WWE’s biggest stars of the modern era, but there are plenty of names the former World Champion has never faced.
MJF, Will Ospreay, and Kenny Omega are just some of the big names Kingston has never stepped foot in the ring with.
While speaking with Sebastian Hackl for WWE Deutschland, Kofi was asked about the ‘Forbidden Door’ which has allowed wrestlers to compete for other companies, and whether he’d be interested in stepping through (via Sportskeeda.)
“Yeah, I mean there’s a lot, I think more so now. Well, you know, since Mickie James came to the Rumble right, the quote-on-quote ‘Forbidden Door, that was never to be talked about, was opened. So, there’s a lot of different people from a lot of different promotions that are incredibly talented that I would love to mix it up with and have matches with for sure.”
“There’s a lot of different people from a lot of different promotions that are incredibly talented that I would love to mix it up with.”
Kofi Kingston
While WWE did allow Mickie James, an Impact Wrestling star to compete at this year’s Royal Rumble Premium Live Event, there’s been no word of a fully-fledged event featuring WWE talent wrestling those from another company.
Kofi Kingston loved to see WWE give fans what they wanted with his World Title win back in 2019.
Kingston’s rise to the World Title began at the 2019 Elimination Chamber match, when Kingston replaced an injured Mustafa Ali in the bout. His performance garnered a ton of momentum behind the New Day member, who earned a WWE Title match at WrestleMania 35 after a series of trials from Vince McMahon.
Finally, at “The Show Of Shows” from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Kingston topped Daniel Bryan to become WWE Champion, the first World Title victory of his career.
Recently, Kingston spoke to Ryan Satin during an episode of “Out Of Character,” reflecting on the WWE Title win. Kingston said it was a beautiful example of giving the fans what they wanted, and described how electrifying of an environment the WrestleMania victory was.
“I walked through Gorilla, especially after that Gauntlet Match, and everyone was so loud. Even afterwards, people were so loud.
“Everybody is talking, ‘We might have something here. Let’s do the right thing.’ I’m so fortunate they actually decided to go that direction because there’s a lot of times where [the fans] have supported somebody and for whatever reason, it’s not reciprocated in terms of the push.
“I’m very fortunate that the office actually decided to go with what the people wanted. The fans just wouldn’t be denied. I appreciate that so much.”
Unfortunately, Kingston’s WWE Title reign came to an end the following October, just six months later, when Brock Lesnar defeated Kofi Kingston in only eight seconds on the 20th Anniversary of SmackDown special to win the WWE Title.
The New Day has been the most successful faction in WWE for years but the original pitch wasn’t exactly hitting home with the group’s members.
Together, Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods have had great success in WWE. They have won tag team gold 11 times. In singles action, Big E and Kofi have both had WWE Championship reigns, while Woods won the 2021 King of the Ring.
The initial pitch for The New Day didn’t exactly give E, Kofi, or Woods the chills but they knew they could knock it out of the part.
Vince McMahon’s Initial Plan For The New Day
Kofi Kingston was a guest on Out of Character with Ryan Satin. During his appearance, Kofi said that Vince McMahon had serious gospel vibes with The New Day when he first pitched the idea (h/t 411Mania.com).
“When we were given the gimmick of positivity preaching preachers, I’ll never forget it. We had been going back and forth with Vince about what we wanted to be. We wanted to be some guys who were not pleased with our positions in the company.
“He’s like, ‘Okay, well, how about you guys be preachers and you guys come out here and there’s gospel music.’ We’re just sitting there and we know that the people are going to reject this idea because nobody comes to WWE to go to church.
“But this is what he wanted us to do. We told him, ‘Whatever you give us, we’ll make it succeed because of our chemistry. We believe in it.’ He’s like, ‘Alright, I’m going to put that to the test. You guys are going be positivity preaching preachers. Go get it over.’
“We’re just like, alright, this is our chance, and we supported each other. There were a lot of people who took a big dump on our aspirations. They didn’t believe in us. They made fun of us when we were just trying to get over.
“But now you fast forward, and those same people have come back around, and they admitted that they were wrong. Not that we do it to prove people wrong, but we proved them wrong.”
Kofi certainly isn’t playing revisionist history. He’s absolutely right when he says people panned The New Day gimmick at first and didn’t think it was going to work. The faction quickly turned things around and has become one of the hottest acts in WWE.
Unfortunately, The New Day is currently down a member. On the March 11 episode of SmackDown, Big E suffered a broken neck after landing awkwardly off an overhead belly-to-belly suplex from Ridge Holland.
E recently gave an update revealing that his recovery has hit a snag due to his C1 not healing the way he had hoped. He’s keeping his neck in a brace for the next month or so in an attempt to avoid fusion surgery.
Kofi Kingston was just as concerned for Big E as everyone else who witnessed his neck break.
On the March 11 episode of WWE SmackDown, Big E took an overhead belly-to-belly suplex from Ridge Holland outside of the ring. E landed right on his head and neck and had to be stretchered out of the arena.
While Big E suffered a broken neck, he can move all his extremities, did not suffer a spinal injury, and won’t be needing surgery. A former WWE physician consultant does believe his in-ring career is in jeopardy, however.
Kofi Kingston Speaks On Big E’s Scary Injury
During an interview with Hot 97, Kofi Kingston recalled his initial reaction to Big E’s neck break (h/t Fightful).
“It was easily the scariest night of my career. Obviously, the injury didn’t happen to me, but I was on the inside of the ring. I see E go for that spear that he does, and he missed it, and he was on the outside there and then him and Ridge go for that overhead suplex and I see them go up and they looked a little like wonky.
“But I never saw the impact. So I didn’t really — I didn’t know, you know, I went over there and I was like, ‘Okay, everything looks fine,’ he’s down and everything and then the match goes on. After everything went down, [Jessika Carr] the ref was like, ‘Yeah, I don’t know if he’s okay.’
“I was like, ‘What? What’s going on?’ All of a sudden, the paramedics and everything started coming out.”
Time will tell if Big E will be able to return to the industry he’s thrived in. For now, fans are simply grateful that he can move around and will return to normalcy once he fully heals.
Kofi Kingston still hasn’t fully recovered from an injury he sustained during last month’s Royal Rumble match
The former WWE champion is known for his Royal Rumble moments using his eye-popping athleticism to avoid elimination. Kingston has done incredible things like walking on his hands to get back into the ring. Every year, he and WWE try to create more moments for fans to remember. However, this year they were unsuccessful.
After Kevin Owens threw Kingston out of the ring during the 2022 Rumble, Kingston tried to catch himself on the barricade without his feet touching the floor. Unfortunately, his feet did touch. The error was caught on camera, resulting in his elimination from the match.
“It was definitely a risky move, he said. “I knew I was going to be in pain no matter what. You know, whether I hit it or not, and unfortunately, I got the pain and didn’t get the benefit of actually doing what I wanted to do.”
He continued, “The ribs are doing okay. My toe is actually in a lot of pain, which is really weird, but I didn’t expect to come down with such velocity from that height. Although looking at it now, I’m like, well, what did I expect? I don’t know.”
Kofi Kingston Has No Regrets
It’s unclear how bad is Kingston’s toe injury, but he is still competing on Friday Night Smackdown in tag team matches. The former WWE Champion also doesn’t regret his failed Royal Rumble moment and believes it’s essential to take risks.
“…I tell people that it’s so important to go out and try as hard as you can, even if there is a risk of failing and it might be a high risk of failing. You still have to go out and try. You can’t do anything epic without risk, so go out and put yourself out there, and don’t be afraid to fail,” said Kingston.
He teamed with Big E in a loss against Los Lotharios at Smackdown on Feb. 11. Kingston didn’t share in the interview if he considered taking time from wrestling to heal his injury. It seems the WWE will continue to let him wrestle unless the damage gets worse.
Kofi Kingston has become known over the years for his miraculous saves from Royal Rumble elimination. Walking barricades. Walking on his hands. Kingstons has truly done it all.
However, this year’s Royal Rumble saw Kingston attempt to save himself by falling from the ring into the ringside barrier. He was tossed off the ring by Kevin Owens and tried catching himself on the outside barrier without letting both feet touch the floor. However, his feet did touch (as shown on replay during the broadcast) and Kingston was eliminated from the match practically before he ever got started.
It was later confirmed that Kingston was indeed supposed to be in the match for much longer, including some big spots planned with Big E.
Kingston took to Instagram on Monday to comment on what went down. The comments were attached to a video clip showing his elimination.
Kingston wrote, “The past couple days on social media, I’ve gotten a lot of ‘Why would you think that was even possible?’ and ‘Why would you even try that?’ The answer to that question is quite easy: because of the potential reward. What if you were to succeed in overcoming what is deemed ‘impossible’?
“The sense of accomplishment felt when you beat the odds and brazenly defy the probabilities is purely ecstatic. Peoples questions then morph into ‘How in the world did you do that?!’ and ‘I never thought that would be possible!’
“But alas, it was not to be…this time…”
Kofi Kingston at the 2022 WWE Royal Rumble
Kingston continued to expand on what happened, turning his experience into an example of how one can learn from failure.
“However, even in failure there is also a reward; one that may be more valuable than success,” he wrote. “That reward is: Self learning and growth. True strength. Failure forces you to take look within and learn about yourself. Do you mope around and sulk? Do you hide and feel sorry for yourself? Maybe for a little while. I think that’s natural. But then you use those emotions as a catalyst to push yourself and to drive yourself to be better.
“The castles of success are built in part from keystones of failure…
“Anyway, this isn’t a cry for sympathetic messages in the comments or anything lol. I just saw this as a great opportunity to encourage people out there who might be on the fence about trying something because it’s too risky or because they are afraid. Push yourself to try, even when you know the risks.
“I JUST SAW THIS AS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO MIGHT BE ON THE FENCE ABOUT TRYING SOMETHING BECAUSE IT’S TOO RISKY OR BECAUSE THEY ARE AFRAID. PUSH YOURSELF TO TRY, EVEN WHEN YOU KNOW THE RISKS.”
Kofi Kingston on his WWE Royal Rumble botched spot
Kingston finished up his comments by writing, “In my case, all the possible risks became a reality: physical injury, the emotional weight of letting people down by literally falling short of delivering on their expectations, the risk of being laughed at and ridiculed for deciding to try the impossible.
“And still if given another chance in choosing whether or not to make the attempt…I’d change nothing. No guts, no glory. No risk it, no biscuit. No pressure, no diamonds. You gotta bet it to get it. All the quotes…
“Many great rewards come to those who push the limits…”
In the moment, it was curious that WWE even showed Kingston’s botch on replay. They could have ignored the fact that both of his feet touched the floor and moved on with whatever was planned.
However, it’s good to see Kingston using this moment to encourage others to try to accomplish things in spite of possible challenges. Kingston’s entire career has been a master class on how to achieve despite hurdles being placed in one’s way — culminating, of course, with an amazing WWE Championship victory at WrestleMania 35 over Daniel Bryan back in 2019. One of the best matches of the year and, so far, the peak of Kingston’s career.
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WWE Superstar Kofi Kingston shared that he doubted that KofiMania would happen until his Wrestlemania 35 entrance.
CBS’s Shakiel Mahjouri interviewed Kingston ahead of the Royal Rumble on January 29. Kingston will compete in the Men’s Royal Rumble match to earn a title opportunity at Wrestlemania. During the interview, Mahjouri asked Kingston to reflect on his WWE Championship at Wrestlemania 35 on April 7, 2019. Kingston admitted that he was unsure until that day.
“…It really wasn’t until like I heard my music or rather like when the promotional package right before the match came on I was like oh my god,” said Kingston. He continued, “…I’m looking around making sure no one’s going to come up to me like ‘Oh well, we just changed the plans. Sorry, We are not going to go with you right now, and you know we’re going to do this. Brock Lesnar is going to come in the middle of the match, and you know what I mean, you just have no idea.” Kingston added that Mustafa Ali had a similar situation with Lesnar winning the Money in the Bank match on May 19, 2019.
Kingston also shared that he didn’t want to get his hopes up to be let down by WWE. Luckily for him, the company decided to have Kingston defeat Daniel Bryan to win the WWE Championship.
What’s Next for the New Day
The New Day faction of Kingston, Xavier Woods, and Big E is having a difficult time in the WWE. Woods suffered an injury, and the WWE hasn’t added him to the Men’s Royal Rumble. However, both Kingston and Big E will compete in the match, but it’s unclear if either will win. The former WWE Champion Big E hasn’t won a match since Monday Night Raw on December 6, 2021. Kingston has worked as a singles competitor against Madcap Moss for several weeks. It’s unclear what WWE has planned for The New Day heading into Wrestlemania this year.
The WWE could’ve had a natural feud between Kingston and Ali. However, Kingston shared that WWE had different plans. McGeorge has transcribed the interview.
“It was perfect! It was written. You didn’t even have to go out of your way to creatively write anything else, it was perfect! But alas, that’s not the direction that “the office,” I guess, wanted to go in. That’s just kinda the way that it goes! Maybe down the line, we’ll get a chance to revisit that opportunity,” said Kingston.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aaVhI–OOE
Why the WWE scrapped Kofi Kingston vs Mustafa Ali
It’s unclear why the WWE decided not to have a feud between Kingston and Ali for Wrestlemania 37. Both superstars wanted the match and looked forward to working with each other. However, the WWE decided to have Kingston with his New Day partner Xavier Woods defend the Raw Tag Team Championships against AJ Styles and Omos at the event.
Kingston praised Ali in the interview for his creativity and wrestling ability. Kingston doesn’t know why but believes it’s part of the business when discussing why the match didn’t happen.
“I was told a few things, and we start working towards those things that we’re told, and then all of a sudden it’s not those things. But that’s really kind of standard fare for us,” said Kingston. He continued, “It was really disappointing, man, because I think he’s so amazing in the ring and such an innovator. He finds ways to do the littlest things in such a different way, but he puts his own spin on it. He has a great mind for the business and a great mind for storytelling.”
It seems WWE fans may not see a feud between Kingston and Ali. On Twitter, Ali shared that he requested his release from the WWE. On Twitter, he wrote, “I have a message that is much bigger than my dreams in pro wrestling. Despite my best efforts, I will not be able to deliver this message while working with WWE. Therefore, I am requesting my release from WWE.”
Big E lost the WWE Championship last night at the Day 1 PPV in Atlanta. He was pinned by Brock Lesnar in a fatal 5-way match. Kofi Kingston also once lost the WWE Championship to Brock Lesnar, he reacted to Big E’s title loss on social media.
Big E Win/Loss Record Since Winning The WWE Championship
Big E won the title on the September 13th, 2021 edition of WWE RAW. He defended the title 3x during his reign. 1x against Bobby Lashley (9/27), 1x against Drew McIntyre (10/21), 1x against Austin Theory (11/22).
In singles matches, Big E lost to Roman Reigns at Survivor Series, to Kevin Owens via DQ on the 11/29 RAW, and to Bobby Lashley on the 12/13 RAW. On the 9/20 RAW, he also lost a triple threat to Roman Reigns (with Bobby Lashley being the 3rd competitor). On that same night, he dropped a trios match to Reigns and the Usos along with Kofi and Woods.
In tag-team action, Big E also lost to the Usos via count-out along with Drew McIntyre on the 10/11 RAW. On the 11/15 RAW he teamed with RK-Bro and lost to Seth Rollins and the Usos.
In total, since winning the title on 9/13 Big E was 7-3-1 in singles matches (including 3 title defenses), 0-2 in multi-person matches (including at Day 1), and he was 6-3 in tag-team matches.
Big E won the title 9/13. He then
– Lost to Roman in a triple threat and Bloodline in trios 9/20 – Lost to Usos by countout 10/10 – Lost to Rollins/Usos 11/15 – Lost to Roman at Survivor Series – Lost to Owens by DQ 11/29 – Lost to Lashley 12/13 – Loses title to Brock at Day 1
Kofi Kingston is the proud father of a new baby girl.
The former WWE Champion announced the news on social media on Friday. Kingston announced his wife gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Lotus Selene Sarkodie-Mensah.
This is the third child for Kofi Kingston and wife Kori Campfield, who have been married since 2021.
Here are some photos of the happy family:
Witnessing my wife give life to our precious baby girl left me in awe…Our tribe grows larger as our familial bond grows even stronger! 🙌🏾
Lotus Selene Sarkodie-Mensah was born at home late Tuesday night, weighing 6lbs 2oz & 19.5” long.
“We’ve just been able to do a lot of things that are groundbreaking,” Kingston said. “I haven’t even gotten into our accolades. The longest reigning tag-team champions, 11 times. I look at all that stuff, and not that you compare yourself to anybody else, but being a group that never had the desire to turn on one another.”
He continued to say that when one member of the group accomplishes something, they all have.
“Woods is the King, I’m the King. E is the WWE Champion, I’m the WWE Champion. We have that actual mentality of all for one and one for all. From all of those perspectives, I can’t think of another group that embodies most of those things, let alone all of those things, like we do. On top of it, WWE.com voted us the greatest tag-team/faction of all time anyway, so it’s official.”
Don’t expect Big E to collide with Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods anytime soon.
Big E is the reigning WWE Champion. He may not be on the same brand as his New Day brothers, but the bond certainly hasn’t been broken.
This is why you shouldn’t hold your breath on the three men clashing.
Big E Won’t Fight New Day Members
Scott Warren of RN Pro Wrestling got to chat with Big E during WWE’s European tour. The WWE Champion explained why a triple threat match with Kofi and Woods simply wouldn’t work.
“No, no, no, no, no. We’ve talked about this before and I think we’d be giggling the whole time. Imagine me putting in a headlock on Kofi.
“I would just be laughing. Like, ‘Kofi, I got you in a headlock. Isn’t this funny?'”
Big E agreed with Warren, who said it would be like brothers trying not to crack during a serious moment.
“Exactly. No, no, no. There’s so many other things that we can do as a collective together against other people. We don’t really wanna see that.”
As WWE Champion, Big E has a target on his back. As of late, he’s been having issues with number one contender Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens.
In January, WWE counted down the greatest 50 teams in company history. New Day’s Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, and Big E topped the list. During a recent interview on Into the Danger Zone with Chris Denker, Kofi Kingston spoke about why he feels New Day are the greatest team in WWE history.
“I do,” Kingston responded when asked if he thought New Day really are the greatest team in WWE history. “I almost hesitated, and I feel like a lot of times you’re supposed to be humble with it, but for me, I’m old now, I got to the point that I don’t really care what anybody thinks about me.”
Kofi Kingston On Why New Day Are The Greatest Team In WWE History
Kingston continued to list numerous different things the team has accomplished such as having segments with the Rock, hosting WrestleMania, having a cereal produced with their branding.
“We’ve just been able to do a lot of things that are groundbreaking,” Kingston continued. “I haven’t even gotten into our accolades. The longest reigning tag-team champions, 11 times. I look at all that stuff, and not that you compare yourself to anybody else, but being a group that never had the desire to turn on one another.”
On top of their success as a team, New Day members have all had their individual successes while still members of the group. Kofi Kingston had Kofi-Mania and a run with the WWE title. Big E is the current WWE Champion. Xavier Woods recently won the King of the Ring tournament. Kingston continued to say that when one member of the group accomplishes something, they all share in the accolades.
“Woods is the King, I’m the King. E is the WWE Champion, I’m the WWE Champion. We have that actual mentality of all for one and one for all. From all of those perspectives, I can’t think of another group that embodies most of those things, let alone all of those things, like we do. On top of it, WWE.com voted us the greatest tag-team/faction of all time anyway, so it’s official.”
WWE’s tag-team title statistics get a little hard to follow with various brand-splits and reunions that have taken place over the years. For what are now the RAW tag-team titles, they’ve held the belts 4x for a combined 627 days (most all-time). For what are now the Smackdown tag titles, they’ve held the belts 7x for a combined 380 days (2nd only to The Usos 489+ days).
I know many will disagree with the list but being named the greatest tag team of all time makes me reflect on our journey. I’m massively grateful for @TrueKofi & @AustinCreedWins. I’m thankful we bet on ourselves & were unafraid to pursue a path that felt right for us.
Kofi Kingston recently had an interview with SportsKeeda. Among other things, he also responded to the fan criticism over the New Day vs. The Bloodline match. WWE has been trying to get better ratings in wake of their recent losses to AEW by giving away big matches. However, many fans believe that this big six men tag team match should have been saved for the Survivor Series.
Kingston was asked if he is surprised that this match is happening so soon during the talk. Replying to it, the former WWE champion claimed that nothing surprises him:
“Oh, nothing surprises me; I think the great thing about WWE is that you don’t know what’s going on. I think a lot of people get upset when they can’t predict what’s happening, you know? You want to talk about how to build a show. How about just enjoy the match you’re about to get sooner than later?”
Kofi Kingston then responded to the fans who believe that the bout should have been saved for the upcoming PPV. He said that you never know what is going to happen. Kingston teased that they might do an even better rematch:
“You don’t know what’s gonna happen at Survivor Series. We might do it again and do it even better! The way that we do things is we work towards a great product in terms of telling the story. So sit back and relax and enjoy the story that’s being told to you.”
The match between the Bloodline and The New Day saw Bobby Lashley attacking members of both the teams. This distraction allowed Roman Reigns to spear Xavier Woods for the pin. There is no word yet on if we are going to see a rematch between these two groups at Survivor Series.
