WWE Champion Kofi Kingston recently spoke with Fox News and commented on breaking racial barriers by becoming the first African-born WWE Champion.
“It means the world, especially when we talk about representation being so important,” Kofi said. “For me to be the first African-born WWE Champion is incredible because now, people who look like myself can look at TV and see on WWE television that anything is possible because I’m doing it.”
Kofi is scheduled to defend his title against Randy Orton at Sunday’s WWE Clash of Champions pay-per-view. The article noted how Orton started holding Kofi back after 2010, and Kofi commented on having “real-life” heat with Orton.
“It was a very real thing, not a storyline thing when Randy Orton didn’t want me to get to a certain point in WWE. As you saw 10 years ago, I was kind of on the rise and logic would suggest that I would have become champion based on the run I was having at the time and Randy Orton put a stop to all of that.”
Kofi also commented on feuding with Orton now, and said he’s enjoying the storyline.
“The best angles and the best stories always hinge on reality,” Kofi said. “Throughout the history of WWE, all the best storylines have a little touch of what’s real behind them. For me, this is very, very real. Everyone is having a great time with the story and so am I, but there’s a very real level to it too — very important part.”
Kofi is set to be a big part of the blue brand when SmackDown moves to Fox Friday nights next month. He talked about the new partnership and said we can expect to see a lot of cross-promotion with Fox.
“It’s a big step for us,” Kofi said of the move to Fox. “Fox is huge and for WWE to be on Fox, it’s an honor for us to be there. There’s going to be a lot of cross promotion, you’re going to be seeing WWE Superstars in a lot of different places, especially when Fox opens up that door. And I think we also, WWE, brings a different demographic to Fox’s table as well, so I think it’s a perfect partnership and we’re all excited for it.”
Kofi also gave props to the WWE NXT brand for their journey to the USA Network later this month. He mentioned talents like NXT North American Champion The Velveteen Dream and NXT Champion Adam Cole as being stand-outs.
“A lot of people always say, ‘Oh, people down there in NXT’ or ‘Down there’ as if it’s… yeah, it’s like a farming system for WWE, but they’ve done such a great job over the years making their own brand,” Kofi said. “Often times you’ll go to a WWE show and people will be chanting, ‘NXT!’, and that’s a testament to all the hard work they’ve put in. Now it’s going to pay off and they’re actually going to be on USA, which is so exciting because the world will get to see all of this talent on this grand stage, as they deserve to be. I’m really excited about that too because there’s so much talent down there. People ask me al the time, ‘Well, who do you want to compete against in NXT?’ or ‘Who do you see rising?’, and there’s so many different stars, there’s not one answer, but you talk about The Velveteen Dream, you talk about Adam Cole, you talk about so many people, just the come-up man. It’s really an exciting time to be a part of wrestling in general right now. So, yeah, kudos to NXT.”
