Kofi Kingston shares his thoughts on his return to the ring.
On the August 9 episode of WWE Raw, the Viking Raiders (Erik and Ivar) issued an open challenge. Former Raw Tag Team Champions The New Day (Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston) answered the challenge, and in doing so, they returned to WWE TV for the first time in months. Kingston had been sidelined with an ankle injury since March, while Woods had been absent since May.
Speaking on WWE's The Bump, Kingston discussed his return. He made it clear that he and Woods are excited to "re-infect" the WWE Universe with the power of positivity.
"It felt incredible, it felt amazing. It was weird. So when me and Woods walked into the building, we both got this like anxiety, just walking in and being back into the fold. I have never been out of action for as long as I was. I think it was almost five months to the day. I think I got hurt on March 3. Then I had my surgery on 3/16. I’ve just not been out for that long. So it was a little bit strange, to be back in the fold and in the locker room. Of course, everything, it’s always business as usual. The world goes on when you’re not there, you know what I mean, in terms of WWE. But it felt good. It felt good to be just back home. So yeah, definitely excited to be back. Myself and Woods, we are looking forward to re-infecting the WWE Universe with the power of positivity," Kingston said.
Kingston then noted that there has been plenty of darkness in the New Day's absence. He brought up the budding feud between Jimmy and Jey Uso and the Street Profits' newfound aggression as two examples.
The former WWE Champion was also asked to describe how it felt to return to the ring. He noted that it was like riding a bike, though he worried about how the lengthy absence would affect him. Kingston stated that the adrenaline rush he got from stepping through the curtain made all the pain go away. Overall, he made it clear that being back in the ring was fantastic.
“Honestly, it was like riding a bike, to be honest. Just having been away from the ring for that long, you always have this question in the back of your mind, like, ‘Am I gonna forget how to do this? Are the people gonna forget who I am?’ Especially with my ankle injury, am I still gonna be able to do what I do? Am I still gonna be able to move around well out there? But fortunately, the WWE Universe has a way of just making all the pain and everything go away. As soon as you walk through those curtains, you don’t feel anything pain-wise. There’s such a rush of adrenaline, and you go out there and you do what you do. So that’s what we did. It was fantastic, it was incredible," Kingston said.
Fightful Select first reported the news that The New Day were set to return on the August 7 episode of WWE Raw.
Xavier Woods recently stated that the New Day is working relentlessly on outside projects. Check out his comments here.
Kingston and Woods were previously inducted into the Boys & Girls Clubs Of America Alumni Hall Of Fame. More information is available here.
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