At WrestleMania 35, Kofi Kingston achieved what many thought was impossible: he defeated Daniel Bryan to win the WWE Title, delivering one of the most emotional moments in the event’s history. After more than a decade of working in WWE, Kingston finally got his shot at the top, and the fans were right there with him, rallying behind the movement that became known as “KofiMania.”
Speaking on the “In the Kliq” Podcast, Kingston talked about the unexpected path to WrestleMania and how the story unfolded.
“I don’t even think I was booked. I don’t think there was talk about my plans for WrestleMania,” Kingston recalled. “At that time we didn’t really have anything, we didn’t have a rivalry, we didn’t have a feud, we didn’t have a storyline, we didn’t really have much going on. It was just that the New Day was the New Day.”
Things changed in February 2019 after Kingston delivered a stellar performance in a Gauntlet Match and later in the Elimination Chamber, where the crowd erupted in support for him.
“Originally, as our feud, Daniel Bryan and I were supposed to stop at Fastlane… whatever pay-per-view was before Mania or between Elimination Chamber and Mania,” Kingston recalled. “But given that there was a huge crowd reaction and people were demanding that I main event, that’s the direction the company went, and I’m still grateful for that because That’s not always the case, you know?”
Kingston’s reign came to an abrupt end later that year when he lost to Brock Lesnar in a controversial squash match on the premiere episode of “SmackDown on FOX”, leaving many fans disenchanted with the creative ecosystem of WWE at that time.
If you use quotes from this article, please credit the “In The Kliq” podcast and provide ah/t to Wrestling Inc. for transcription.
