In 2012, Kofi Kingston created a tradition. Decked out , heād popularize a trend of solving the impossible riddle: surviving Royal Rumble match elimination while being entirely separated from the ring. He would avoid The Mizās attempted elimination by first recreating Shawn Michaelsā āhold onto the top rope after flipping over moment,ā but Miz, cognizant of what was happening, caught Kingston mid-flip, sending him completely over the ropes. Undaunted, Kofi would handstand from ringside to the ringsteps, avoiding his feet touching the ground to keep his šplace in the match. Thus began an incredible string of espaces, instantly making Kingston one of the focal points of the match going forward. āHey, it was John Morrisonās spot, not mine!ā Kofiās shrugs are as big as his smiles, both acknowledging his place in history while sharing it with his deserving peers. But before he plots out his next canāt-miss Royal Rumble moment, heās championing new NXT talent Sol Ruca, who, like Kofi, has found an athletic, creative way to survive a battle royal. He not only defers to Morrison as the originator, but immediately jumps to the positives of the promising rookie. āSheās an amazing athleteā¦ the gutsš¼ā¦ to go out there in front of a live crowd, and perform thatāāāflipping inverted cutterā was the name he settled on for her finisherāātakes real guts.ā
Kingston and longtime tag team partner Xavier Woods are were recently NXT tag team champions. Kingston, currently one of WWEās longest tenured talents, admits to a bit of culture shock with the new crop of future stars. During a workout, Pete Rock and C.L. Smoothās āThey Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)ā comes on a shuffled playlist. Kofi overhears Ashonte Adonis saying āI remember this song from [XBox/PlayStation 2 videogame) NFL Street!ā and quickly explains to them that this used to stay on the radio. Educating the youth, both in speech and in action, has beešŗn a generational calling for Kingston, and now heās looking to take that even further: heās partnering with some of the best and brightest to bring the gift of modern technology to his home country of Ghš¤”ana.
In 2013, Kofi Kingston was knocked off of the apron by Dolph Ziggler, but luckily landed on the back of Albert. After Albert spilled him onto the announce table, he convinced JBL to give up his chair, which he used to hop back toward the ring and reenter ring to massive applause. ź§ Throughout some of the biggest moments in Kofiās career, things that started off as small gestures ended up providing huge payoffs. His next endeavor, , mirrors his career-spanning efforts, being at once both modest and ambitious. Thereās a good chance that on your daily commute in America, youāll pass four or five public libraries, two of which youāve visited, the rest youāve likely never seen. They all contain access to books, music, and the internet, all paid for from a few dollars out of your paycheck. Wyoming, a state with a population currently under 600,000, have over one hundred libraries. Ghana, with a population of 31 million, currently has 61 public libraries. Even then, the libraries are not densely populated with works from around the world, or computers with any question on your mind one click away. The very IDEA of a computer is something educators find themselves working hard to explain. As Kingston explains, āthere's a lot of kids who have never had the experience of using a computer to the point where the teachers who are educating the students will take a rock and say, āhey, this is a mouse,ā and draw a screen on a table or on the ground or in some dirt or whatever and say, like āwhen you're moving the mouse, then the arrow is going to be moving and you can click.ā So it's very difficult to conceptualize that, even as I talk about it, to people who are very experienced with computers and things like that, let alone imagine what it sounds like to a child who has no idea or no frame of reference of what a computer is and trying to conceptualize what it actually is.ā
So while their initial goal of a two-room, fifty laptop space that can house 100 students may seem small, the Atwima Takyiman Presbyterian Junior High School is located in a region where less than one-in-five households have computer access. Once they reach that milestone, the next goal is to share that space with four other local schools, before expanding their physical footprint across the country. The better part of Kingstonās career is a shared tale with the witty, wisecracking Xavier Woods and the loveable power house Big E, collectively known as The New Day. Thš¬e trio, all solo acts with varying levels of success, took a risk by joining, and became WWEās most successful and enduring unit, with memorable moments, millions sold in merchandise, and appearances in everything from grocery store aisles to video games. But itās what they contribute to the world outside of wrestling that keeps them going, that gives on-screen accomplishments a real world perspective. Kingston mentions Xaviers Woodsās success with his YouTube channel UpUpDownDown, which features WWE and AEW talent playing video, card, and other games, as well as as examples of how the three of them share a desšire to use their platforms in a positive, uplifting light.
In 2014, Kingston would share his Royal Rumble moment with former tag team partner CM Punk, and Rusev (now known as AEWās Miro). CM Punk was a year removed from a historic title run, highlighted by feuds with John Cena and The Rock. RÜ«usevās biggest WWE moment was about a year away, where heād lose his undefeated streak and United States title to Cena at WrestleMania 31. Punk would knock Kingston into the arms of a recently eliminated Rusev who caught Kofi, slamming him onto the guardrail, leavšing him there to flail. Kofi, against the backdrop of a āKofi Stinkstonā sign, would run the rail and make what must've been a ten foot leap back to the apron.
āIām intimidated!ā Kofi laughs, looking at the credentials of his partners in the CLICK endeavor. āIām the least accomplished one!ā CLICKās board of trustees is a whoās who of Academia. With two PhD holders, one PhD candidate, and one member with a Masterās degree, Kofi Bachelorās of Science in Communications has him once agąµ©ain in a unique spot among his peers. But heās very aware of his role among the biggest of brains. āIt was a situation where my parents, they didn't really understand what it was that I was trying to do. And even when I got signed, I was like, āyeah, I got signed with WWE.ā And they were like, āOK,āā Kofi remembers. āThey didn't really understand how big it was. ThšÆey had never seen me wrestle on the indies. They had never seen me do a practice or anything like that. It wasn't until Survivor Seriesā¦where they came to the show in Boston and they saw like, āoh my God, how big of a production this was.ā They saw the fireworks and the pyro, and they were totally engrossed in the spectacle that is WWE. Especially my mom. Now she's got all the shirts and everything. She's my biggest fan and everything now.ā
Becoming the top champion in the largest organization is enough to impress your PhD-holding parent, to the point where Kofiās visibility would make him CLICKās face of advertising. While the other four trustees will focus ošn implementation and the ways to properly discover and utilize both library materials and online information, Kofi is both the friendly face, and evidence of Ghanaās ability to produce excellence. You could see the connection, the desire to present a future to the children of Ghana, soon after his WWE Championship victory. He visited his fatherās hometown of Ejisu, and reflected on the birthplace of Kente cloth, the basis of the tattoos that line his spine, and other local cultures and customs. Even with the opportunities he's had, he acknowledges his path is different, his identity is different, his skillset is different than those before him. But with the right belief, and the right tools, like access to technology, you can become more than your situation, greater than othersā expectations. āYou're not supposed to become a movie star, or I don't know anybody that's an NBA player. Well, I don't know anybody that's a WWE champion. So they just get into this mode where they're like, āwell, if you're trying to do that, then how are you going to provide for your family? What are you going to do?ā And you got to just find a way to be like, āOK, this is what I want to do, and these are the steps I have to take to get there, and that's what it's going to be. So you just have to have laser focus and laser vision when it comes to pursuing your dreams. And just continuing to believe in yourself is just so important because there's going to be days where you don't want to train or you don't want to work towards your goal. But then when you have that end goal in mind of where you want to go and where you want to be, it becomes a little easier.ā
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In 2015, Kofi was tossed over the top rope, and saved by Adam Roseās collection of party pals, the Rose Buds. CLICK, with the goal of providing technology to the children of Ghana, is something you can build a legacy off of. But Kofiās not overly concerned about being celebrated. When he talks about what heās done in wrestling, itās brief. Heās just as comfortable being the opening act as he is being the main event. Heās been a Power Ranger. Heās been a pancake chef. Heās defended our realm from Outworš¤”ld. āMaybe they came to see me twerk.ā he says, recognizing the range heās had over the years. Even when he does open up, itās almost always to include the people around him that made it possible. āWhen Ali got injuredā¦ā either leads, or is very much ingrained into Kofiās path of becoming WWE champion. Mustafi Ali was all but assured a crowning moment on wrestlingās biggest stage, but plans change, and Kofi was willing to embrace the moment. āI believe it is so important, especially as children, for us to see people who look like us achieving incredible accolades. Itās one thing to say that anything is possible in theory. It is another thing entirely to say anything is possible because youāve seen the impossible happen. When I became WWE champion, so many people on social media sent me videos of their kids gleefully witnessing the moment. Grown adults were brought to tears when they told me about how they never thought they would see an African-born WWE champion in their lifetime.ā But when he starts talking about his unique fraternity, you see an understanding of a world where the we is what makes things work, what allows us to progress. The gap between Kofiās historic title win at WrestleMania 35 and Dwayne āThe Rockā Johnsonās initial WWE title win at Survivor Series: Deadly Games is twenty years, four months, and twenty-three days. But outside of the rarity, Kofi takes pride in a more recent moment, a picture shared between himself, Bobby Lashley, and Big E, who both won the WWE title in the last three years.
How does Kofi want to be remembered? What does he want his legacy to be? āLegacy is always a strange question for me,ā he shares. If and how I am remembered is not nearly as important to me as how I [am] able to help people. I want to help push people in the direction of their dreams so that they may achieve the same level or at least a fraction of the joy and happiness in their lives that Iā¦achieved in mine. I donāt need people to remind others that I am the one who did that for them. I donāt need them to remember my accolades.ā Heās given us some of the most breathtaking moments on wrestlingās most exciting stage. He wants to ensure that heās the rule, not the exception, in a world where resources can be anywhere from scarce to non-existent. Even with CLICKās goals, theyāve made it a point to show what theyāve already able to accomplish. To date, theyāve already acquired the land needed for the two-room center, have installed the water and electricity, as well as much of the furniture and artwork. Like all those Royal Rumble moments, even when help was provided, it was Kofiās determination that sealed his survival. Showing that the work isnāt one-sided, that shared goals produce moments for everyone, has been the enduring quality of his careerās work. Leaving the worldāboth the world of wrestling, and the one that we all shareābetter is what the son of two teachers deems as standard, not special. āFor me tź§o be at the center of all these emotions is truly humbling because at any point in my 11-year journey toward becoming WWE champion, I could have easily given up. It was only because I chose to push through the obstacles and keep going that I was able to achieve my childhood dream and simultaneously but push people to achieve theirs. As I said before, my main goal has always been to motivate people and push them toward achieving their dreams and thatās exactly what the moment has done. When people relive āKofimaniaā then think about their goals and the obstacles that stand before them, they think, āThis may be hard, but I can do it because I saw Kofi do it.ā I take so much pride in that notion.ā His feet very rarely touch the ground, but heās steadfast in his desire to serve others.
Since this išnterview, Kofi Kingston had the ribbon cutting for a library and digital center in Ghāana.