Big E Discusses The Pride He Feels For Kofi Kingston Becoming The First African-Born WWE Champion

The muscle behind The Power Of Positivity and New Day member, Big E, sat down with Uproxx.com and conducted an interview where he discussed the pride and happiness he feels for what all Kofi Kingston has achieved.

Below is a transcription from the interview:

On Kofi Kingston being the first African-born WWE Champion:

“So there’s a certain pride in that, in seeing Kofi in his rise, and being able to be proud to be the first African-born champion. For him to be able to go back to Ghana was incredible. To watch that footage of him going back to the place where he was born, where his people hail from, where he himself was actually born, and to go back to Ghana, I think it’s really incredible, because you see the effect it has on kids, on people that look like him, and his championship means something. In an industry where we acknowledge that it’s about entertainment, I think what he’s doing and what we’re doing as a collective if feels meaningful.”

On the representation of black champions in WWE:

“Yeah, I think as you alluded to, I think representation is important. I think the fact that we have so many fans who look like us, who want to be able to see someone that looks like them on TV, and I was a kid, and I was a fan of Goldberg. And that’s definitely … people are going to be fans of who they are, regardless of race or color or gender, but also to be able to have that, to be able to have a Ron Simmons when I was a kid, as the guy, like, “Man, he’s incredible.” And he’s larger than life. And I think representation, being able to see people of all different backgrounds, of all different races, be successful, and to be able to break out of the stereotypes. We have a history within the company that I think we need to acknowledge at times, where we had black and brown performers, and foreign performers, as well, who were put into these roles that were very stereotypical. And I’m not trying to cast judgment on anyone who played those roles, but for us to be able to break out of that box of what it means to be a Black wrestler and do something unique, I think it’s important to us. So we want to be able to demonstrate that, “Hey, you can be a Black man, you can like anime, you can play video games, you can have all these different interests, and be unique and feel free to express yourself in whatever way feels natural, and still make it to the heights of an industry like pro-wrestling and WWE.”

On if he will help Kingston at WWE SummerSlam:

“I feel like he won’t need my help. Randy doesn’t have any goons. Bryan had his goons, so we were out there when Rowan was around. But I think Kofi will be able to handle himself. And I think that’s the beauty of a faction. And you don’t really see a lot of Baby Face factions. I think it’s unique. In fact, I can’t think of many long-lasting Baby Face factions. But I think there’s a certain confidence, hopefully, we’re out there for him, or at least able to dab him up on stage and let him do his thing. But there is a certain beauty in knowing that, ‘Hey, we’ve got his back. We’re gonna support him emotionally and spiritually and all that jazz, but that he’s capable on his own.’”