Kofi Kingston discusses how he's used social media to his benefit.
Very few wrestlers have used social media to boost their stock the way Kofi Kingston has. The hashtag KofiMania became a trending topic on the way to WrestleMania 35 and Kofi is regularly featured alongside Xavier Woods on Woods' popular UpUpDownDown channel.
Speaking to Muscle & Fitness, Kofi discussed how social media has changed his life as a WWE superstar.
"People have a lot of access to WWE superstars. In the 80s and 90s, you didn't have that. You didn't know what Shawn Michaels did off-camera. There were no cell phones or pictures and you didn't know how people partied and went out. Now, you're in a time where there's this interaction where you can literally see what the people want," he said. "You talk about people who are visionaries; Xavier Woods with the UpUpDownDown channel. We all play video games. Nobody had the vision to bring it to the people. Xavier Woods did."
When asked if WWE monitors UpUpDownDown or other social media, Kofi replied, "No, definitely not. At one point, it kind of was. Social media is great because you can control where you want your character to go. A lot of times on television, you don't have control on where storylines are going to go, but you can control what you sound like on social media."
While many in WWE work with various writers, the New Day trio of Kingston, Woods, and Big E are given more freedom on television.
"It's a matter of having a good performance and the crowd reacting to you," said Kofi when asked how he earned Vince McMahon's trust. "Then, all of a sudden, people will leave you alone to your own devices because they trust you. We earned that trust with Vince. If the character that somebody writes isn't getting over with the crowd, then it's on us. Nobody is gonna say, 'the writer didn't write that correctly.' We take a lot of pride in going out and living and dying on our sword."
Kofi's six-month WWE Championship reign came to an end when SmackDown premiered on Fox as Kofi quickly lost to Brock Lesnar. You can read Kofi's thoughts on the loss by clicking here.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit Muscle & Fitness with a h/t to Fightful for the transcription.
