Kofi Kingston was interviewed by Rich Ucchino for Sportskeeda Wrestling about a wide range of topics. Here are some of the highlights:
Roman Reigns:
“I think this past year, Roman has really found himself. You know, just this cool, cocky, collected, sadistic persona. It just feels right. I think we all saw it when during the pandemic, we’re watching it unfold. We’re like, ‘Oh this tribal chief thing. He found it.’ You get on the edge of your seat, you want to know what he’s going to say next, and how he’s going to perform. Obviously Roman brings a lot to the table when you talk about this rivalry. But yea, we mixed it up with Roman too. The New Day and The Shield had some incredible matches, but I think the difference is, Roman has grown so much since those days. Now he’s like the best version of himself.”
What it meant to him to see Big E win the WWE Title:
“It was incredible. I’m still getting goosebumps just thinking about it, and the fact that it actually happened. That’s not saying it like I didn’t expect it to happen, but being around for so long, you kind of get accustomed to things changing, especially at the last minute, so I didn’t want to get my hopes up. All of a sudden, ‘Things have changed. We’re going to go this route and we’re going to try to do this.’ I try not to invest emotionally into anything until it actually happens because you get upset, you’re devastated, and all of that, but it happened, and Big E made it happen. I couldn’t be happier. It’s so amazing. I talk about growth. Big E, and he’ll tell you, his career started when somebody asked him, ‘Hey, do you want to try out this wrestling?’ He said, ‘Yea, sure, why not? I’ll give it a shot’, off a whim. Him being at the right place at the right time, if he doesn’t have that conversation, then who knows what he’s doing? He may be playing football somewhere, or teaching somewhere, which is what he was doing before. But, that conversation did happen, and Big E made the most of it. There’s a lot of people that come from a lot of different walks of life in WWE. You see some people maybe get to a certain point and they coast or they rest on their laurels. Big E has never been one to do that. I’ve watched him go from the stoic bodyguard to the man with the most personality in WWE. He is always trying to get better literally every single day. Me, him, and Woods, we text every single day. He always has ideas. ‘Hey, maybe we should twist this up. Maybe we should do this.’ He’s always constantly thinking about how to get better. He got better and better and better and really forced the people to embrace him. You couldn’t help it because he’s such a loveable guy. This huge behemoth of a man with 30 inch arms legit, huge man, comes out and can make you scared if he wanted to, but then he can be a teddy bear if he wants to. He’s an incredible athlete. He should not be able to move the way that he moves. He should not be able to do that, but he does. He’s a powerhouse. He’s agile. The people have wanted this for so long. There’s people on social media who will say, ‘Oh man, you need to break off and go on your own. You need to turn on The New Day.’ He stuck to his guns. Our bond is like a brotherhood. People told him that he had to be serious. ‘Well, now that you’re on your own, you can’t come out there yacking and doing all these things. You have to be serious.’ You’re trying to tell Big E how to be Big E when the reason that you embraced him in the first place was because he was himself. He was able to stay true to himself and get to the top, the pinnacle of wrestling. To hold the most prestigious title in the history of the wrestling industry is amazing. What a story, just constantly climbing. Even still as champion, he’s trying to find ways to be the best champion. I couldn’t be more proud of him. He’s worked so hard, grown as a competitor, grown as a performer, grown as a person, and he’s changed so much for the better. He’s always getting better, and he’s always had that mentality. The people have wanted this for so long, so I’m glad that we get to give that to them. For me to see the product of the hard work, dedication, and sacrifice that E has put forth over the years is just awesome, not to mention it happened in my hometown, Boston.”
H/T to WrestlingNews.co