Kofi Kingston discusses his frustrations in WWE over the years.
When he first debuted in WWE in 2007, Kofi Kingston was thought to be a future franchise player. At Night of Champions 2008, he defeated Chris Jericho to win the Intercontinental Title and seemed destined for more. He went on to team with World Champion CM Punk, compete in the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania XXV, and feud with Randy Orton in the fall of 2009. But as the years went on, Kingston was never elevated past the midcard. By 2014, Kingston looked to be nothing more than an afterthought. A solid hand but a B+ player.
Speaking to Booker T on the Hall of Fame podcast, Kingston discussed the frustrating times in his career.
"Over the years, you think a lot of times that things will start to get going and then the next day, they don't. I remember my first WrestleMania, being in the Money in the Bank ladder match and having a really good performance and doing things that had never been seen before. I remember walking through gorilla after the match and everybody gives a standing ovation. At the afterparty, everyone is talking about the performance I had. And then, the next day, I wasn't booked on Raw," recalled Kingston. "I thought things were gonna get going based on the performance I had and it didn't quite work out that way. Even the rivalry I had with Randy Orton, it was the same thing. You're knocking at the glass ceiling, you're about to break through, and then you don't. It's frustrating to give it your all and then not be given what you feel is your due. But, by the same token, this is my dream and I don't have it in me to quit."
Kingston continued, "The closest time I've come (to quitting), I don't want to say it was the lowest point of my career, but before I joined the New Day, I was at a point when I would go out there and be the happy go lucky guy who was gonna have a great match and probably end up losing. At a certain point, when you keep going out there and doing the same thing over and over again, it gets repetitive and boring. It was at that point, I didn't know how much longer I would be able to do that."
Kingston went on to say that The New Day gave him new life as he began having fun again. Kofi has previously discussed the origin story of the New Day, saying the original plan was for them to be three guys disgruntled with their position. You can view his comments on New Day's origin here.
After years of stop-and-start pushes and wondering if his time would ever come, Kingston will enter the biggest match of his career this Sunday when he challenges Daniel Bryan for the WWE Title at WrestleMania 35.
