WNS Column: Kofi Kingston: A Decade of BOOM!

It's hard to believe that it was ten years ago that Kofi Kingston made his in-ring debut in World Wrestling Entertainment. On the January 22, 2008 edition of WWE's Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) program, Kofi began his now-historic career with a victory over a local enhancement talent by the name of David Owen in Charlottesville, Virginia. The match itself was nothing too spectacular, but it was a good starting point for Kofi to introduce himself to the WWE Universe.

 

Kofi continued to enjoy more success in ECW for a few more months before he was traded to WWE's flagship program, Monday Night Raw, during the 2008 WWE Superstar Draft. This was really where Kofi's career began to skyrocket.

 

Shortly after moving to Raw, Kofi defeated the legendary Chris Jericho for the prestigious WWE Intercontinental Championship at WWE Night of Champions 2008. This was just the first of many championship victories that Kofi would enjoy throughout the course of his career.

 

If you look back at the 2008/2009 years in WWE, Kofi was undoubtedly one of the breakout stars of that era, which says a lot. This was a time when new Superstars such as C.M. Punk, John Morrison, The Miz, Vladimir Kozlov, Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase Jr., and "The Celtic Warrior" Sheamus all took the WWE Universe by storm. Some of them made it for the long haul, while others ended up leaving the company without achieving much success. While countless Superstars have come and gone over the past ten years, Kofi Kingston has cemented his legacy as one of the most athletic and entertaining Superstars in WWE history.

 

Although Kofi has yet to capture a World Championship, he is unquestionably one of the most decorated and accomplished competitors on WWE's roster. As of this writing, he's a seven-time Tag Team Champion, a three-time United States Champion, and a four-time Intercontinental Champion. Besides his countless championship matches, Kofi has competed in dozens of other high-profile matches as well, such as the annual Royal Rumble Match, the Money in the Bank Ladder Match, and even the Elimination Chamber. 

 

While Kofi has enjoyed tremendous success as a tag team competitor with various different partners over the years (C.M. Punk, Evan Bourne, and R-Truth), one could argue that the highlight of Kofi's career so far has been as one-third of The New Day along with Big E and Xavier Woods.

 

New Day was formed in late 2014, and in the three years they've been together, New Day has established themselves as one of the greatest factions in WWE history. Not only are they ridiculously entertaining with their segments, but their matches are often show-stealing performances as well. Using the old Fabulous Freebirds Rule, any combination of The New Day is allowed to challenge for and/or defend the WWE Tag Team Championships. New Day has had incredible matches against the likes of Jimmy & Jey Uso, Tyson Kidd & Cesaro, The Lucha Dragons (Sin Cara & Kalisto), The Dudley Boyz, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson, and The Bar (Sheamus & Cesaro), among others.

 

New Day are currently four-time WWE Tag Team Champions, and also hold the record for being the longest-reigning Tag Team Champions in WWE history. In an era where fans will often quickly tire from seeing lengthy title reigns, New Day has managed to remain consistently popular with the WWE Universe.

 

Many would agree that although Xavier Woods and Big E both have contributed greatly to the success of New Day, Kofi is definitely the veteran and the ring general of the group. Kofi is usually the constant in-ring competitor of the group, whether he's teaming with Big E or Woods. Before New Day, Kofi had already made a name for himself as a standout WWE Superstar. But since the formation of New Day, Kofi has really approached legendary status in WWE, as have Woods and Big E.

 

There's no telling how much longer New Day might be together as a unit on WWE programming, or what might happen if they ever do go their separate ways. It would surely be a "Sad Day" (pun intended) for the WWE Universe if New Day ever breaks up. But Kofi Kingston is definitely a proven commodity as a singles competitor. If the time ever comes for New Day to go their separate ways, Kofi seems to be long overdue for a main event singles push, and possibly even a WWE World Championship.

 

For right now though, let's just reminisce about all of the memorable moments that Kofi Kingston has provided us during his ten years in WWE. Between his entertaining segments, his highly-competitive and exciting championship matches. and his nearly inhuman ability to avoid elimination during the annual Royal Rumble Match, Kofi Kingston has truly created a lasting legacy for himself in WWE.