This answer right here is why Kofi Kingston should beat Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 35.
Sitting down with SiriusXM’s Busted Open, Kingston gave a fantastic answer when asked to explain the meaning of KofiMania and the ‘people like us’ talking point he and fellow members of The New Day have used throughout the buildup.
"It's everybody who has struggled."
— SiriusXM Busted Open (@BustedOpenRadio) April 4, 2019
A lot has been made of the phrase "people like us" when it comes to the #KofiMania story heading into #WrestleMania but @TrueKofi says it was left open ended for a reason. pic.twitter.com/pDO5IobfIF
“We left it open-ended for a reason, and it means a lot of different things. For example, myself, I wear pigtails in the ring. I wear pink. I skip. I clap. I twerk. You know what I mean? And you don’t see someone like that in the main event scene. There’s obviously the element of race concerned in it, right? You haven’t seen many African-American champions hold major titles. So, that is definitely a big piece of it. So I think what’s awesome about this whole storyline is that so many people can identify with it. Whether it be people who are like black children, who are looking at the screen, and they see black men doing excellent things. And excelling and doing excellent things, now they believe they can do excellent things. That’s a huge part of what we do, and it’s a huge element of pride that we take in being able to be that beacon of hope.”
Kingston continues
“But also, from the perspective that kind of transcends race, is the fact that this is a legitimate 11 year journey. It’s a 11 year grind. You know what I mean? People like us, like people who work as hard they possibly can, who are told ‘no’. Even before I became a WWE superstar, I was told I was never going to make it because I wasn’t big enough. You know what I mean? I wasn’t strong enough. I wasn’t 6’8, and here we are. You know what I’m saying? People who are always climbing obstacles, climbing mountains, only to find more mountains at the top of those mountains and having to climb again. You know people like us, it involves, it’s everybody who has struggled. Everybody who has had a difficult time getting to where they want to be. And now they can look to us as examples of ‘Hey I can do this because they did it and I see it happening. Maybe I can do it too.’”
That all makes sense.
In 2019, maybe pro wrestling isn’t the correct medium to handle the weight of real-world topics such as race relations. With all that being said, Kingston gave the perfect explanation of what KofiMania means and why everyone, on some level, can relate to the struggle.
Momentum is building, the timing feels perfect, will Kofi Kingston walk out of WrestleMania 35 as the new WWE Champion?