Kofi Kingston had been with WWE for 11 years before he got his first shot at the company’s top championship. At WrestleMania 35, in April 2019, he won it.
Kingston, born Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah in Kumasi on 14 August 1981, beat Daniel Bryan at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey in front of more than 80,000 fans to become WWE Champion. He was the first African-born wrestler to hold the title, and the win made him one of the few wrestlers to complete WWE’s Triple Crown and Grand Slam.
From Kumasi to Boston
Kingston’s family moved from Ghana to the United States when he was a child, settling in the Boston area. He studied communications at Boston College and worked an office job before turning to professional wrestling in the mid-2000s. He trained on the independent circuit and signed with WWE, debuting on its main television shows in 2008.
In his early years, WWE presented him with a Jamaican gimmick, speaking with a Caribbean accent, before dropping it and allowing him to wrestle as himself. He later spoke about being proud to represent Ghana and Africa.
The New Day
For much of his career, Kingston was known for tag-team success. In 2014 he joined Big E and Xavier Woods to form The New Day, a trio that started as a gospel-style act and became one of the most popular groups in modern wrestling, with a comedy routine, unicorn horns and a record-setting tag team championship reign.
Kingston also became famous for his spectacular escapes in the annual Royal Rumble match, surviving elimination with acrobatic tricks that fans looked forward to every year.
KofiMania
In early 2019, an injury to another wrestler opened a spot for Kingston in a high-profile match. His performances won over fans, who began demanding he be given a title shot. The storyline became known as “KofiMania”. After a series of obstacles in the story, he earned his place at WrestleMania and beat Bryan in an emotional match. His New Day partners and his children joined him in the ring to celebrate.
A moment for Ghana
Ghanaian media celebrated the win widely, and Kingston spoke about his roots in interviews afterwards. Ghanaian fans have claimed him as one of their own ever since.
He held the WWE Championship for about six months before losing it to Brock Lesnar in October 2019.
Why it mattered
For many fans, Kingston’s win was about perseverance: a performer who had waited more than a decade for his chance and took it. For African fans, it was about representation in one of the world’s biggest entertainment companies.
He had spent years surviving the Royal Rumble with his feet in the air. At WrestleMania 35 he finally got both feet on top of the company.
