5 things you should know about Kofi Kingston

WWE superstar Kofi Kingston made history at WrestleMania 35 with an emotional hard-fought victory over Daniel Bryan. The moment marked the culmination of a long and arduous journey that saw the talented Kingston win just about every single other WWE championship but inexplicably left out of WWE's world championship picture for more than a decade.

As climactic as his WWE Championship victory was, the Ghana native proved that he was just getting started when he confronted Universal Champion Seth Rollins the very next night on RAW. The change was not only legitimate, but it would be long-lasting as well.

In a made-for-Hollywood WWE career, Kingston has drastically changed his wrestling character, teamed with multiple partners, held multiple titles, and finally returned home to Ghana with wrestling's ultimate prize in tow.

As a recent guest on Chasing Glory with Lilian Garcia, the WWE Champion was reflective, endearing, and honest. After 13 years, wrestling fans might think they know Kofi Kingston. You really haven't heard anything yet, so join us for 5 Things You Should Know About Kofi Kingston.

#5. Kofi Kingston has found the key to happiness

Sadly, happiness is often the forgotten element to a successful life. Without it, life loses meaning even among an abundance of riches. Kingston, who fought tooth and nail for every opportunity he has received in professional wrestling, had not been given a world championship opportunity. Despite being one of WWE's most talented wrestlers for more than a decade, Kingston was always overlooked in the company's World Championship scene.

In what is a testament to his strong character, Kofi Kingston didn't let any of that get to him. In what would have frustrated and derailed others, Kingston instead practiced the oft-forgotten art of gratitude. Gratitude is the reason why Kingston has been able to maintain a positive attitude and keep a smile on his face despite significant challenges. He has no wrinkles and not a single grey hair on his head to prove that gratitude works.

He learned the gift of gratitude while visiting Ghana 26 years ago. The WWE Champion opened up to Lilian Garcia,

"I don't need to have things to be OK because there's so many people in Ghana and even all over the world that are happy with way less. I remember when I went back in 7th grade. There were several kids who would get the spokes of a bike, not the tires, just the wheels and push it along with a stick. That was the toy. [They were] pushing it along in the streets and having so much fun with that and I'll be over in the States complaining about my wrestling figure's arm being torn off and then I'll throw it away. It really put things into perspective for me at a very young age just to be grateful for what I had."

Kingston held onto a life-altering lesson in gratitude and it's paid off for him both professionally and personally. To this day, the amiable WWE superstar can't point to one professional wrestler he dislikes.

Much like his real-life persona, Kofi's in-ring gimmick is also a much likable one. After remaining in the mid-card segment for almost a decade, he was added to the New Day stable and the trio remain one of WWE's most popular superstars to this day.

#4. A BBC article changed his wrestling character

Ghana Native Kofi Kingston, Formerly From Jamaica

In the era of the over-the-top wrestling character, a Damian Marley CD inspired Kofi Kingston to suddenly become Jamaican. Despite having an imperfect Jamaican accent, Kingston was entirely committed to his newfound character and often used phrases synonymous with Jamaica in American pop culture.

WWE CEO Vince McMahon enjoyed the character but told Kofi that he would need to be 100% Jamaican at all times and warned him to never let his guard down. The WWE superstar was so committed to his new role that if he would answer his phone in his normal voice, he would then pretend to get the Jamaican Kofi Kingston, who would then come to the phone in full Jamaican accent.

Things came to a head when a BBC reporter found out that Kingston was actually from Ghana. The reporter first grilled Kingston about his background, but the WWE superstar was wholeheartedly committed to his character and refused to budge.

The savvy reporter then tracked down Kingston's mother, who spilt the beans.

"An hour later my mom called me up. She's like, 'Someone called me to do an interview. He was asking about your heritage and I was like, 'Yeah, he's from Ghana. All the people from Ghana are upset that he's not from Ghana. He's just playing a character.' I was like, 'Mom, kayfabe mom. Kayfabe mom!"

The article falsely portrayed Kingston as being ashamed of his Ghanaian heritage. Vince McMahon didn't think the article was a big deal at first, but several months later, Kingston was told to drop the accent.

All in all, despite the accent and gimmick change, things seem to work out for Kofi as he won the WWE championship.

#3. Kingston received a helping hand from CM Punk

Kofi Kingston may forever be known for his historic WWE Championship run, but he's also a Hall of Fame caliber tag team wrestler. Having won gold with four separate teams, Kingston is a bonafide tag team expert. One of his former partners includes controversial former WWE Superstar CM Punk.

Kingston isn't one of Punk's many detractors, however. He credits the former WWE superstar with taking him under his wing,

"Every single tag team I've been in, I've learned so much from my partner. Punk was just a mountain of knowledge. He was one of the guys - in an era where it was cool to crap on people for no reason - he ended up taking me under his wing. I still don't know why, but I'm always so grateful that he did that because he didn't have to."

CM Punk encouraged Kofi Kingston before his very first WWE match,

"I remember doing push ups before my first match and seeing a set of feet in front of me. I look up and it's Punk. He knows I'm anxious and he said, 'Remember, these people came to see you.' It put me at such an ease."

The two became close friends,

"We rode together. He was gracious enough to let me travel on his bus with him and I learned so much from him and we had such a great friendship. I am definitely grateful for being in a tag team with him."

Kofi established himself in the tag team setup and remained ever so popular, prompting the WWE universe to call for his main event push. Fact of the matter is that CM Punk too was in a similar situation as the fans rallied behind him even after he parted ways with the company.

#2. New Day was not his idea

Kofi Kingston celebrates his WrestleMania 35 WWE Championship victory with The New Day

Ever the optimist, even Kofi Kingston was nearing the end of his rope in WWE in 2013. He floundered on the roster with no long-term plans and was struggling to stay on television. Not often frustrated, the climate was getting to him, but he still wasn't anywhere nearly as frustrated as Big E and Xavier Woods.

The duo would come to Kingston and urge him to team with them. Since none of the three had anything significant going on they all agreed and continually pitched their ideas to Vince McMahon. Nothing seemed to stick, but The New Day continued politicking for eight months just to get on television. Inevitably, the WWE CEO relented, but as is customary in WWE things had to be his way.

McMahon wanted The New Day to adopt a gimmick where the trio would be preachers of positivity. It was a tall order for Kingston, who doesn't even attend church, but the three men were willing to do anything, even if they knew it was destined for failure.

Within three weeks the WWE Universe turned on The New Day, but Kingston used it as motivation,

"It was awesome to invoke emotion from people, but at the same time we took it very personally because we worked so hard to get to that point. To have someone tell you that you suck is like, 'Wow, man.' People are supposed to react. That's what you're supposed to do, so I don't put it on the people, but it definitely lit a spark."

The trio inevitably embraced the fans' rejection, tweaked their gimmicks, turned heel, and became six-time World Tag Team Champions.

#1. His return to Ghana was marked by destiny

After winning the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 35, Kofi Kingston returned home. Kingston had not visited Ghana in 26 years, but it was reaching the pinnacle of success in WWE that brought him back.

Ironically, Ghanaian President Nana Akufoo-Addo had previously declared 2019 the year of return and encouraged the Ghanaian diaspora to return and become reacquainted with the country.

Kingston told Lilian Garcia,

"This just so happened to be the year that after 11 years of grinding on the WWE roster that I end up winning [the WWE Championship] and now I can go back to Ghana after 26 years, as the WWE Champion, the highest level in this industry. If I had won, when I first debuted - it would have still been cool to go back - but the story wouldn't have been there.....Everything happened exactly the way it was supposed to. If it happened any other way, it wouldn't have meant nearly as much."

The former WWE champion had the opportunity to spend time with family and to see his grandmother after leaving her a quarter-century ago. While Kingston's grandma was able to celebrate her grandson's long-awaited return, she passed away shortly thereafter,

"I'm not sad about it, but again with everything happening for a reason, I got to go see her, and spend a little time with her. It was almost like she was waiting for us (my brother went too) to come back and see us one last time, and then let herself go."

Readers may listen to Lilian Garcia's interview with Kofi Kingston in its entirety below:

(Please give SportsKeeda transcription credits on using the quotes).