Kofi Kingston has come a long way in his WWE career. It seemed like the popular superstar would be forever mired in the midcard. After years of putting in the work, Kofi reached the pinnacle when he won the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 35. It was a short run at the top, but it offered a satisfying conclusion to a meteoric climb.
Vince McMahon knew Kofi was a star long before his historic Kofimania run. Freddie Prinze Jr. talked about when Vince had the realization on the latest Wrestling with Freddie Podcast. It occurred during an angle with Randy Orton.
“One of these guys gave Randy Orton a NASCAR. Like an actual NASCAR race car. NASCAR. And it’s shiny and it’s got all the logos. It looks like, you know, straight out of Tom Cruise’s Days of Thunder. Maybe not with a good of hair as he had, but still, the same vibe, and it’s glistening the way they have the lights on it. And Kofi’s going just ballistic for something that happened. Forgive me, again, this is a long time ago. I can’t remember.
But he takes an ax. A fire axe to this NASCAR, while he’s cutting the promo. So there’s a ton of effort and breath behind it and it doesn’t sound like the standard babyface promo, or babyface trying to be a tough guy. Hell, trying? The man is holding an ax and he’s cutting holes into the hood of what looks like, and it’s clearly not, but of what looks like a two million dollar car. However much a NASCAR costs. I have no idea.
“And he’s like, ‘Is this what you wanted? Is that what..’ And he’s yelling every time the ax hits. And I’m watching Vince’s reactions to this and he’s just lighting up like a teenager watching it. I mean, you just see when he sees something in somebody. He’s like, ‘That’s it dammit. Yes!’ He’s just behind him all the way and then Kofi finally puts the axe through the windshield, or if you’re in England, the windscreen. I respect all cultures. And he just jumps off the car and storms off, and Vince is like, ‘Dammit. Yes!’ and, ‘This kid’s gonna be a star!”
Vince McMahon was correct in his intuition. Kofi Kingston truly is a star. Kofi’s athleticism and charisma have taken him to the top of WWE. We’ll see what’s next for Kofi as WrestleMania season rolls on.
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