Perhaps nobody in WWE has seen their star rise as fast in recent weeks as Kofi Kingston.
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While Becky Lynch continues to be arguably the hottest act in the company, Kingston is undergoing a surge of popularity not seen since Lynch’s initial push last summer. The New Day member is set to face WWE Champion Daniel Bryan at next month’s Fastlane PPV event for the championship.
Fresh off of all of his recent success, Kingston sat down with WWE legends Edge and Christian this week on their podcast, E&C’s Pod of Awesomeness, to discuss his whirlwind couple of weeks.
One of the first topics to come up was the injury to Mustafa Ali that initially slotted Kingston into the Elimination Chamber match last weekend. The decision to put him in that match became known to WWE fans when on the final SmackDown before the PPV, Kingston took part in a gauntlet match.
“I get a text from Road Dogg saying, ‘Yeah, Mustafa Ali is gonna be out. We’re gonna put you in the Chamber, but first you’re gonna have this gauntlet match and probably be in there for over an hour. Are you okay with that,’” Kingston said.
This caused him to think back to when he initially entered WWE and trainer Tom Prichard had the new recruits train for hour long matches just in case it ever happened. At the time, that probably seemed like a bit much for the performers given the fact that matches of that length are often seen as a relic of the past. However, Kingston ended up working for an hour in the SmackDown gauntlet match.
“We were like, ‘Oh, this is never going to happen.’ And sure enough, 12 years later it happened,” said Kingston.
Still, Kingston’s recent success likely would not have come about without the injury to Ali, something Kofi is very cognisant of.
“It sucks at the way the situation came about as Mustafa Ali’s been doing an amazing job after being thrust into the spotlight,” he said. “The fact that he ended up getting hurt is the worst. But you don’t know when you’re gonna be asked to step up and fill that role.
“For me, obviously, I wanted to kill it and knock it out of the park regardless, but I also didn’t want to let [Ali] down because I know how it feels to have a large, potential moment and have it taken away (coughs) Elimination Chamber.
“I know how it feels to sit on the sideline and watch a spot that is supposed to be yours taken. Part of me was like, I know Mustafa would have killed it in this position so I have to kill it. I can’t allow for there to be a letdown and I have to seize the moment.”
Edge was vocal that he thinks that the Bryan vs. Kingston match that is set to headline Fastline should be happening at WrestleMania. Kofi seemed more excited that the match is happening versus being concerned over when it happens.
“I think a lot of people are in the same boat as you, but I can’t complain about a title shot,” said Kingston. “Because for me, this has not happened before, so if you were to tell me I was gonna have a WWE Title Match on Sunday Night Heat, I would be equally as ecstatic as I am now.
“I can’t wait for Fastlane. We’re gonna tear it up. Who knows what’s gonna happen? Every day is changing but we’ll just have to wait and see.”
H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcript.
