Kofi Kingston On How Life Has Changed Since Becoming WWE Champion, Inspiring Kids In Ghana
It's been about two months since Kofi Kingston became a first-time WWE Champion which is about two months longer than anyone expected him to actually hold the title. The victory at WrestleMania 35 was the culmination of an 11-year WWE journey for Kingston and his life has turned upside down since becoming champion.
Kingston talked about how his life has changed since becoming champion when he joined the State of Combat podcast.
"It's a very complicated answer. I don't think there is anything simple about it, but it has gotten infinitely busier, and I say that in the best way possible. I have had a lot more interviews; a lot more appearances, but most importantly, I have been able to reach a lot more people with just having gotten back from Ghana," said Kingston. "I just came back from my homeland and just being there for four days; going around and meeting people, shaking hands and letting them know that anything is possible. To be able to go out and inspire and to let them know that I was in the same shoes as them and here I am now having achieved my wildest dream.
"So, not that I didn't want to do this before, I feel like I have more of a responsibility now as a champion and to inspire people to be their best selves and to reach for their dreams; their wildest dreams, no matter how crazy they may seem. But I want to be living proof that anything is possible and be a source of motivation for anybody out there in this world for anybody having a dream."
Kingston moved from Ghana to the United States when he was a kid and back then he could only dream about one day being in this current spot. He talked about how the kids in Ghana reacted when they saw one of their own come back as a WWE World Champion.
"It is amazing, man. It's so inspiring to be able to look a child in the eyes and just shake their hands and see the disbelief that this is actually happening. I tried to imagine how I would have felt as a kid if Shawn Michaels or any WWE superstar would have come to my school and came to my assembly and had given a speech that we would have had to listen to I would have lost my mind," admitted Kingston. "Now you think about kids in Ghana who are seeing someone who looks exactly like them; who was in their exact shoes coming up and shaking their hand as WWE champion. It's mind blowing and you can see that, which is what it is all about, just to be able to go out and motivate people and have living, tangible proof that anything is possible."
Kingston takes great pride in the fact that he is the embodiment of someone who dreamed big and achieved those dreams. That's something that the kids he meets with can relate to and strive to be.
"It is one thing to tell people in theory that you can be whatever you want to be, but it is another thing to tell someone that they can be whatever they wanted to be because somebody that is just like you did it. Somebody that is going through what you are going through and is in this light because they believed in themselves. If you believe in yourself you can do it too. Being that beacon of hope; not just people in Ghana, but any kind of people that have gone through the struggle, I take a lot of light of being that beacon of hope and inspiration for anybody that wants to achieve anything," stated Kingston.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit State of Combat with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Peter Bahi contributed to this article.