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Former WWE Champion Kofi Kingston recently spoke about working with Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels during the early stages of his career.
From Lionhart to The Influencer, Jericho has adopted several personas over the last two decades. He is currently signed to AEW and has shown no signs of slowing down anytime soon. During his time with WWE, Chris was a record-breaking nine-time Intercontinental Champion.
In a recent episode of Out of Character with Ryan Satin, Kingston opened up about working with WWE legends. He also discussed defeating Jericho for the Intercontinental Championship:
"He's always been awesome even from that day like really welcoming and you know just willing to help... So I was always appreciative of just being in the ring. At that time Jericho and Michaels were feuding and Shawn's wife got involved, it got real personal. It was a really cool angle and for me to even be in that fold was just incredible. An incredible honor to be able to dethrone Y2J for the Intercontinental Championship on a lot of different levels were great. [0:42 - 1:53]
It's safe to say that Chris Jericho indeed helped Kingston elevate his status after their bout. Kingston and Xavier Woods are currently feuding with Sheamus, Ridge Holland, and Butch. Meanwhile, the Jericho Appreciation Society is embroiled in a heated rivalry with Eddie Kingston, Santana, and Ortiz in AEW.
Chris Jericho was the first superstar Kofi Kingston dethroned in WWE
After working on the independent circuit and WWE's developmental territories, Kofi Kingston joined the ECW brand in 2007. However, he was drafted to RAW the following year.
The New Day member defeated Jericho at the Night of Champions pay-per-view in 2008. In doing so, the former marked his first run with the Intercontinental Championship.
In the same episode, Kofi opened up about his first championship victory against the AEW star. He noted that it was an incredible experience to share the ring with the veteran.
"So for him to be the one that I beat for the Intercontinental Championship. Number one, it was my first title ever and I had only been in the industry for maybe three four years at that time. I hadn't won any titles in the indies, I didn't win any titles in FCW or DSW. So just to be in the with the ring general like Chris, it was an awesome experience." (0:52 - 1:16)
The SmackDown Superstar had a rocky start in his early days. However, working around the legends eventually led him to become a WWE Champion and create one of the most beloved stables in WWE.
Do you think Chris Jericho will be back in WWE? Will we see Kofi Kingston become Universal Champion? Let us know what you think in the comment section below!
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Out of Character and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.
