Kofi Kingston
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Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah (born August 14, 1981) is a Ghanaian-born American
professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
. He is currently signed to
WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
, where he performs on the
NXT NXT may refer to: Professional wrestling * ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010 ** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory * ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...
brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
under the
ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...
Kofi Kingston. He appeared on WWE's
NXT NXT may refer to: Professional wrestling * ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010 ** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory * ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...
brand as one-half of the current NXT Tag Team Champions with
Xavier Woods Austin Watson (born September 4, 1986) is an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT (WWE brand), NXT WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Xavier Woods. He app ...
in their first reign. After graduating from
Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...
, he decided to pursue a professional wrestling career, and began performing on the
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
independent circuit In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective noun, collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor lea ...
as a
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
n wrestler by the name of Kofi Nahaje Kingston. After signing a developmental deal with WWE in 2006, he shortened his ring name to Kofi Kingston. He debuted in WWE in 2008 using the same Jamaican character as he did on the independent circuit. In late 2009, he stopped being billed from Jamaica and dropped the accent, although he kept his ring name. He then started being billed from his home country of
Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
. From 2008 to 2013, Kingston became a four-time
Intercontinental Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, a ...
, a three-time United States Champion, and a one-time World Tag Team Champion with CM Punk. In 2014, he formed The New Day with Big E and
Xavier Woods Austin Watson (born September 4, 1986) is an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT (WWE brand), NXT WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Xavier Woods. He app ...
. The trio went on to break the record for the longest tag team championship reign in WWE history when they held the WWE (Raw) Tag Team Championship from August 2015 to December 2016, defending the titles under the
Freebird rule The Fabulous Freebirds were a professional wrestling tag team who attained fame in the 1980s, performing into the 1990s. The team usually consisted of three wrestlers, although in different situations and points in its history, just two performed ...
. All totaled, Kingston is a 15-time tag team champion in WWE. In April 2019, Kingston defeated Daniel Bryan at
WrestleMania 35 WrestleMania 35 was the 35th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brand divisions. The event took place ...
to win the
WWE Championship The WWE Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two world titles on WWE's main roster, alongside SmackDown' ...
, giving him 23 total championships in WWE. He is the first, and currently only, African-born world champion in WWE history. His WWE Championship win also made him WWE's 30th Triple Crown Champion and 20th overall Grand Slam Champion (13th under the current format). With his
NXT Tag Team Championship The NXT Tag Team Championship is a men's professional wrestling tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. Introduced on January 2 ...
win in 2022, Kingston also became a Tag Team Triple Crown Champion, becoming the only wrestler to have won both the traditional and tag team version of the WWE Triple Crown, as well as having the most overall reigns with a WWE-branded tag team championship with 15. With the exception of a few months spent as a
villain A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character a ...
in 2015 with The New Day, Sarkodie-Mensah has been a heroic character for almost the entirety of his WWE career.


Early life

Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah was born in Kumasi, Ashanti on August 14, 1981 to Kwasi and Elizabeth Sarkodie-Mensah. He has a brother, Kwame (who is a
Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle co ...
streamer under the name o
Temp0
, and a late sister, Nana Akua. He moved with his family to the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and eventually settled in the greater
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
area, where he graduated from Winchester High School in
Winchester, Massachusetts Winchester is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, located 8.2 miles (13.2 km) north of downtown Boston as part of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. It is also one of the List of Massachusetts locations by per capita income, wealt ...
and then
Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...
.


Professional wrestling career


Training and independent circuit (2005–2006)

Sarkodie-Mensah started training in late 2005 and made his official wrestling debut in 2006 for
Chaotic Wrestling Chaotic Wrestling (CW) is an American independent wrestling promotion, which has been operating throughout New England since 2000; with its current home base in North Andover, Massachusetts. Chaotic Wrestling is known for producing successful, ...
, when he faced Evan Siks on June 4 for the PWF Mayhem Heavyweight Championship in a losing effort. He competed primarily in the
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
area, including stints in
National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA ...
(NWA) – New England (where he was briefly a member of Barry Ace's "A-List"), Millennium Wrestling Federation (MWF),
New England Championship Wrestling New England Championship Wrestling (NECW) is an independent professional wrestling promotion based in the Northeastern United States that has promoted events since 2000. Currently owned and operated by Sheldon Goldberg, is one of the top indepe ...
(NECW), the Eastern Wrestling Alliance (EWA), and Chaotic Wrestling.


World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE


Developmental territories (2006–2007)

In September 2006, he signed a developmental contract with
World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and va ...
(WWE) and was assigned to
Deep South Wrestling Deep South Wrestling (DSW) is a professional wrestling promotion in the state of Georgia. Deep South worked in tandem with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as a developmental territory from September 1, 2005, until April 18, 2007. Deep Sout ...
(DSW), a
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
-based developmental federation. He debuted in the new company, as Kofi Nahaje Kingston, in a
dark match Professional wrestling has accrued a considerable amount of jargon throughout its existence. Much of it stems from the industry's origins in the days of carnivals and circuses. In the past, professional wrestlers used such terms in the presence o ...
loss to
Montel Vontavious Porter Hassan Hamin Assad (born Alvin Antonio Burke Jr.; October 28, 1973) is an American professional wrestler and manager currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name MVP (standing for Montel Vontavious Porter) a ...
on September 21. For the rest of 2006 and the beginning of 2007, he appeared in DSW, as well as its
Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
-based sister promotion
Ohio Valley Wrestling Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former developmental promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. The company is currently run by Al Snow and Matt Jones and Louisville mayor elect, Craig Greenberg. ...
(OVW), where he was in a
tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...
dubbed the Commonwealth Connection with Harry Smith. In 2007, under the ring name Kofi Nahaje Kingston, he had his first exposure to the main WWE roster, when he worked dark matches on March 5 and 26 before episodes of ''
Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...
'' against
Charlie Haas Charles Doyle Haas II (born March 27, 1972) is an American professional and former amateur wrestler. He is best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) from 2000-2009 and Ring of Honor (ROH) from 2010-2013. In WWE he was a me ...
and
Trevor Murdoch William Theodore Mueller (born September 10, 1980) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Trevor Murdoch. He is currently signed to the National Wrestling Alliance where he is a former two-time NWA Worlds Heavyweight ...
, respectively. When he returned to the developmental federations, he shortened his original ring name to Kofi Kingston and continued to alternate between both ring names throughout his duration there. He also worked live events, defeating
Shelton Benjamin Shelton James Benjamin (born July 9, 1975) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under his real name. He is also known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Pro Wres ...
on May 5, and
Val Venis Sean Allen Morley (born March 6, 1971), better known by the ring name Val Venis, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment (WWF/WWE) fro ...
on May 6. When the
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
-based developmental territory
Florida Championship Wrestling Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) was a professional wrestling promotion based on the former National Wrestling Alliance member promotion, Championship Wrestling from Florida, which operated from 1961 until 1987. From October 2007 to August ...
(FCW) opened in June, Kingston was relocated there, appearing at their inaugural show on June 26 where he teamed with
Eric Pérez Eric Alexander Pérez (born December 18, 1979) is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler who currently performs under the ring name "Escobar". In 2005, Pérez signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where he work ...
against Keith Walker and Rycklon Stephens in a losing effort. Kingston worked there for most of the remainder of the year.


Debut and Feud with Randy Orton (2007–2009)

A series of
vignettes Vignette may refer to: * Vignette (entertainment), a sketch in a sketch comedy * Vignette (graphic design), decorative designs in books (originally in the form of leaves and vines) to separate sections or chapters * Vignette (literature), short, i ...
for Kingston's television debut began airing on the weekly ''
ECW on Syfy ''WWE ECW'' (also known as ''ECW on Sci-Fi'' and later ''ECW on Syfy'', or simply ''ECW'') is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by WWE, based on the independent Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) promotio ...
'' television show starting on December 6, 2007. During this introduction phase, his videos, the official website and commentators noted he would be the first
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
n to wrestle for WWE but he does not have any Jamaican ancestry, nor any connection to Jamaica. He is, however, the first African-born performer in WWE history. He debuted on the January 22, 2008 ''ECW'' as a
face The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may aff ...
with a win over local wrestler David Owen in
Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...
,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
. After wrestling sporadic matches, Kingston was involved in his first major match, a 24-man
battle royal Battle royal (; also royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants that is fought until only one fighter remains standing, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules. In recent times, the term has been used in a ...
during the
WrestleMania XXIV WrestleMania XXIV was the 24th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brand divisions. The ev ...
pre-show with the winner receiving an
ECW Championship The ECW World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship originally used in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and later, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the original world title of the ECW ...
match, but was eliminated by
Mark Henry Mark Jerrold Henry (born June 12, 1971) is an American former powerlifter, Olympic weightlifter, strongman, and professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a commentator/analyst, coach, and talent scout. He is b ...
. Kingston remained undefeated in singles competition in ECW for months and was placed into a feud with Shelton Benjamin at the end of April 2008. After two straight losses, Benjamin got a win over Kingston on the May 20 ''ECW'', ending his undefeated streak. On the June 24 ''ECW'', Kingston defeated Benjamin in an Extreme Rules match to end their feud. On June 25, 2008, Kingston was drafted to the
Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...
brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
, as part of the WWE Supplemental Draft. In his first match as a member of Raw roster, and first championship match in WWE, he defeated
Chris Jericho Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler and singer. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the leader of the Jerich ...
for the Intercontinental Championship at
Night of Champions Night (also described as night time, unconventionally spelled as "nite") is the period of ambient darkness from sunset to sunrise during each 24-hour day, when the Sun is below the horizon. The exact time when night begins and ends depends o ...
, after Shawn Michaels, whom Jericho was feuding with, attacked Jericho's manager
Lance Cade Lance Kurtis McNaught (March 2, 1981 – August 13, 2010) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) where he performed under the ring names Garrison Cade and Lance Cade. After be ...
. The win made him the first African-born wrestler to hold a championship in World Wrestling Entertainment. Kingston held the championship until
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's secon ...
, where he and Women's Champion
Mickie James Mickie Laree James (born August 31, 1979) Additional January 6, 2017. is an American professional wrestler and country singer. She is currently signed to Impact Wrestling. She has also had tenures in WWE and the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA ...
both lost their championships in an intergender "winner take all"
tag team match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
to
Santino Marella Anthony Carelli (born March 14, 1974) is a Canadian judoka and semi-retired professional wrestler. He is known for his 11-year tenure with WWE where he wrestled under the ring name Santino Marella. He is the founder of and instructor at Battle Ar ...
and
Beth Phoenix Elizabeth Copeland ( Kociański; born November 24, 1980), known professionally as Beth Phoenix, is an American professional wrestler. She is a former WWE Divas Champion and a three-time WWE Women's Champion. Kociański had a successful amateur ...
. At
Unforgiven ''Unforgiven'' is a 1992 American Revisionist Western film starring, directed, and produced by Clint Eastwood, and written by David Webb Peoples. The film tells the story of William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job, ...
, he appeared backstage, coming to the aid of then-
World Heavyweight Champion At boxing's beginning, the heavyweight division had no weight limit, and historically the weight class has gone with vague or no definition. During the 19th century many heavyweights were 170 pounds (12 st 2 lb, 77 kg) or less, tho ...
CM Punk, who had been attacked by Randy Orton,
Manu Manu may refer to: Geography * Manú Province, a province of Peru, in the Madre de Dios Region **Manú National Park, Peru ** Manú River, in southeastern Peru * Manu River (Tripura), which originates in India and flows into Bangladesh *Manu Tem ...
, and the World Tag Team Champions
Cody Rhodes Cody Garrett Runnels Rhodes (''né'' Runnels; born June 30, 1985) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Rhodes is also known for his time in All Elite Wrestling (AE ...
and or AND may refer to: Logic, grammar, and computing * Conjunction (grammar), connecting two words, phrases, or clauses * Logical conjunction in mathematical logic, notated as "∧", "⋅", "&", or simple juxtaposition * Bitwise AND, a boolea ...
Ted DiBiase Theodore Marvin DiBiase Sr. (born January 18, 1954) is an American retired professional wrestler, manager, ordained minister and color commentator. He is currently signed to WWE working in their Legends program. DiBiase achieved championship ...
. Soon after coming to his rescue, Kingston and Punk were paired together more often, and on the October 27 episode of ''
Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...
'', the duo won the World Tag Team Championship. He was also involved at
Survivor Series Survivor Series is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving, it is the se ...
in the traditional ten-men elimination tag team match on the side of Team
Batista Batista is a Spanish or Portuguese surname. Notable persons with the name include: * Batista (footballer, born 1955), Brazilian football player * Dave Bautista, American actor and professional wrestler, also known as Batista * Edina Alves Batis ...
, but was eliminated by Randy Orton. Kingston and Punk lost the World Tag Team Championship to John Morrison and The Miz at a
live event A house show or live event is a professional wrestling event produced by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their wrestlers receive du ...
on December 13. When asked about his reign with Punk, he stated that "Punk took him under his wing when he didn’t have to and he was always grateful for that friendship". At No Way Out on February 15, 2009, Kingston was scheduled to compete in the World Heavyweight Championship
Elimination Chamber The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE. The match was founded by Chris Jericho , created and introduced by Eric Bischoff in November 2002. It features a large chain-linked circular steel ...
but was unable to officially enter the match as he was ambushed by
Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed ...
, who took Kingston's place and eventually won the match. On the March 9 episode of ''Raw'', Kingston defeated Chris Jericho after interference from
Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler. Regarded by multiple peers and journalists as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, Flair has had a career spanni ...
, to earn a spot in the
Money in the Bank ladder match The Money in the Bank ladder match is a multi-person ladder match held by the professional wrestling promotion WWE. First contested at WWE's annual WrestleMania event beginning in 2005, a separate Money in the Bank pay-per-view was established ...
at
WrestleMania 25 WrestleMania 25 (also marketed as The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania and written as WrestleMania 25th Anniversary) was the 25th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE ...
, but the match was won by CM Punk. After winning a triple threat number one contender's match the week before, Kingston defeated
Montel Vontavious Porter Hassan Hamin Assad (born Alvin Antonio Burke Jr.; October 28, 1973) is an American professional wrestler and manager currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name MVP (standing for Montel Vontavious Porter) a ...
(MVP) on the June 1 episode of ''Raw'' to win the United States Championship for the first time. For the next several months, he went on to defend and retain the title at Extreme Rules,
Night of Champions Night (also described as night time, unconventionally spelled as "nite") is the period of ambient darkness from sunset to sunrise during each 24-hour day, when the Sun is below the horizon. The exact time when night begins and ends depends o ...
, Breaking Point, and
Hell in a Cell Hell in a Cell is a professional wrestling steel cage-based match which originated in 1997 in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It features a large cell structure, a five-sided cuboid made from open-weave steel mesh chain-link fen ...
, and on several episodes of ''Raw'', until losing the championship to
The Miz Michael Gregory Mizanin (born October 8, 1980) is an American professional wrestler, actor, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name The Miz. Mizanin first gained fa ...
on the October 5 episode of ''Raw'', ending his reign at 126 days.


Intercontinental Champion (2009–2011)

On the October 19 episode of ''Raw'', Kingston spoke without a Jamaican accent during a televised segment, dropped the Jamaican character and began being billed from his home country of
Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
. At
Bragging Rights Boasting or bragging is speaking with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about one's achievements, possessions, or abilities. Boasting occurs when someone feels a sense of satisfaction or when someone feels that whatever occurred proves thei ...
, Kingston wrestled as part of the Team Raw, which lost the match after Raw teammate
Big Show Paul Donald Wight II (born February 8, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as an in-ring performer, and as a commentator for its web television show, '' AEW Dark: Elevation,'' under ...
betrayed them by
chokeslam A chokeslam is a type of body slam in professional wrestling, in which a wrestler grasps an opponent's neck, lifts them up, and slams them to the mat. It is common in televised wrestling because it is simple and relatively safe, yet looks power ...
ming Kingston, allowing Chris Jericho to pin Kingston to pick up the win for Team SmackDown. After Kingston interfered in a match between Randy Orton and John Cena for Cena's
WWE Championship The WWE Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two world titles on WWE's main roster, alongside SmackDown' ...
match, Orton and Kingston feuded, including a 5-men
Survivor Series Survivor Series is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving, it is the se ...
team against each other where Kingston's team won after he was the sole survivor, last eliminating Orton. and TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, where Orton defeated Kingston. They also participated in a triple threat match which included John Cena to determined a challenger for the WWE Championship at the
Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming List of WWE pay-per-view and WWE Network events, event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named afte ...
, which was won by Orton, who pinned Kingston. He had a title match at
Elimination Chamber The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE. The match was founded by Chris Jericho , created and introduced by Eric Bischoff in November 2002. It features a large chain-linked circular steel ...
, but was eliminated by the Champion Sheamus. At
WrestleMania XXVI WrestleMania XXVI (also written as WrestleMania 26) was the 26th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDo ...
, Kingston was unsuccessful as the Money in the Bank match, which was won by
Jack Swagger Donald Jacob Hager Jr. (born March 24, 1982) is an American professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Jake Hager, where he is a member of the Jericho Appreciation Society ...
. On the April 26 episode of ''Raw'', Kingston was drafted to the
SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes sim ...
brand as part of the
WWE draft The WWE Draft, alternatively called the WWE Superstar Shake-up from 2017 to 2019, is a process used by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion WWE to refresh its rosters between the Raw (WWE brand), Raw and SmackDown (WWE bran ...
. He would win a tournament for the vacant Intercontinental Championship on the May 14 episode of ''SmackDown''. However, moments later, the title win was reversed when the title was returned to the previous champion
Drew McIntyre Andrew McLean Galloway IV (born 6 June 1985) is a Scottish professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Drew McIntyre. McIntyre is a two-time WWE Champion, one-time WWE I ...
. Kingston would defeat McIntyre for the title at Over the Limit, and retained in a rematch at Fatal 4-Way. On July 18 at Money in the Bank, Kingston lost the SmackDown
Money in the Bank ladder match The Money in the Bank ladder match is a multi-person ladder match held by the professional wrestling promotion WWE. First contested at WWE's annual WrestleMania event beginning in 2005, a separate Money in the Bank pay-per-view was established ...
when Kane grabbed the briefcase. His Intercontinental reign would end on the August 6 episode of ''SmackDown'', where he lost it against Dolph Ziggler. Kingston would have 3 title rematches at
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's secon ...
, ''Smackdown'', and
Night of Champions Night (also described as night time, unconventionally spelled as "nite") is the period of ambient darkness from sunset to sunrise during each 24-hour day, when the Sun is below the horizon. The exact time when night begins and ends depends o ...
, but he didn't win the title. On the October 15 episode of ''SmackDown'', Kingston defeated Drew McIntyre to earn a spot on Team SmackDown at
Bragging Rights Boasting or bragging is speaking with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about one's achievements, possessions, or abilities. Boasting occurs when someone feels a sense of satisfaction or when someone feels that whatever occurred proves thei ...
. At Bragging Rights, Team SmackDown defeated Team Raw. On the December 3 episode of ''SmackDown'', Kingston defeated Jack Swagger to become the number one contender for the Intercontinental Championship, but failed to win back the title when Swagger attacked him during the match. At TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, Kingston competed in a triple threat ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship, which was won again by Ziggler. On the January 7, 2011 episode of ''SmackDown'', Kingston defeated Ziggler to become the Intercontinental Champion for a third time. Immediately following the match, acting General Manager
Vickie Guerrero Vickie Lynn Benson (formerly Guerrero, née Lara;Guerrero, Eddie. ''Cheating Death, Stealing Life: The Eddie Guerrero Story'', p. 53. born April 16, 1968) is an American professional wrestling personality and manager. She is best known for her t ...
ordered that Ziggler invoke his rematch clause straight away, but Kingston quickly pinned Ziggler again to retain his championship. Kingston then moved into a feud with
Alberto Del Rio José Alberto Rodríguez Chucuan (born 25 May 1977) is a Mexican-American professional wrestler, professional wrestling promoter, sports commentator, and mixed martial artist, currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) as a c ...
, which culminated in a non-title match at
Elimination Chamber The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE. The match was founded by Chris Jericho , created and introduced by Eric Bischoff in November 2002. It features a large chain-linked circular steel ...
, which Kingston lost. On the March 25 episode of ''SmackDown'', Kingston lost the Intercontinental Championship to
Wade Barrett Stuart Alexander Bennett (born 10 August 1980) is an English-American professional wrestling commentator, actor, and former professional wrestler who holds both British and American citizenship. He is currently signed to WWE, where he is a col ...
. On the April 1 episode of ''SmackDown'', Kingston won his rematch against Wade Barrett by disqualification. At
WrestleMania XXVII WrestleMania XXVII (also written as WrestleMania 27) was the 27th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDow ...
, after Vladimir Kozlov was injured at the hands of
The Corre The Corre was a multinational villainous stable that wrestled on World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE's SmackDown brand in 2011. The group was a spinoff of British wrestler Wade Barrett's previous stable, The Nexus. The stable was formed after Ame ...
, Kingston was chosen as Kozlov's replacement in an eight-man tag team match involving Kingston, Kane, Big Show, and Santino Marella versus The Corre, which Kingston's team won. On April 26, Kingston was drafted back to the Raw brand as part of the 2011 Supplemental Draft. At Extreme Rules, Kingston defeated Sheamus in a Tables match to win his second United States Championship. On the May 9 episode of ''Raw'', Kingston successfully defended his championship against Jack Swagger. At Capitol Punishment, Kingston lost the title to Dolph Ziggler. Kingston faced Ziggler in a rematch for the title on the June 20 episode of ''Raw'' in a 2-out-of-3 falls match, but Ziggler retained the championship as the match ended with Ziggler being disqualified.


Air Boom and teaming with R-Truth (2011–2012)

On the August 22 episode ''Raw'', Kingston won the
WWE Tag Team Championship WWE (formerly the WWF, the WWWF, and Capitol Wrestling) has maintained at least one primary tag team championship for its male performers since 1958 (except for a two year interim between 1967 and 1969). During periods of brand division, separat ...
with Evan Bourne, when they defeated
David Otunga David Daniel Otunga''Lawyer ' (born April 7, 1980) is an American actor and former professional wrestler. Otunga is best known for his time working with WWE. He was the runner-up on the first season of ''NXT''. He is also an original member of ...
and Michael McGillicutty. On the August 29 ''Raw'', the duo was called "Air Boom", and they had their first successful title defense when they defeated Otunga and McGillicutty in a rematch. At
Night of Champions Night (also described as night time, unconventionally spelled as "nite") is the period of ambient darkness from sunset to sunrise during each 24-hour day, when the Sun is below the horizon. The exact time when night begins and ends depends o ...
, Air Boom retained their titles against The Miz and R-Truth by disqualification after Miz attacked a WWE referee. At
Hell in a Cell Hell in a Cell is a professional wrestling steel cage-based match which originated in 1997 in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It features a large cell structure, a five-sided cuboid made from open-weave steel mesh chain-link fen ...
and Vengeance, Air Boom retained their titles twice against Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger. Bourne was suspended throughout November for his first violation of the company's Wellness policy. At TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs Air Boom successfully retained their titles against
Primo & Epico Primo and Epico Colón are a Puerto Rican professional wrestling tag team. The team, composed of real-life cousins, are former WWE Tag Team Champions, with the title won during their first run as Primo and Epico from 2011 to 2013. They also for ...
. On January 15, 2012, Air Boom lost the Tag Team titles to Primo and Epico at a house show. The following night on ''Raw'', Air Boom were awarded a rematch but failed to regain the titles. The following day, Bourne was suspended again for his second violation of WWE's Wellness Policy. At
Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming List of WWE pay-per-view and WWE Network events, event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named afte ...
, Kingston participated in the Royal Rumble match and although he did not win, he had a stand-out moment when he saved himself from elimination by walking on his hands to reach the ring steps and re-enter the ring. At
Elimination Chamber The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE. The match was founded by Chris Jericho , created and introduced by Eric Bischoff in November 2002. It features a large chain-linked circular steel ...
, Kingston failed to capture the WWE Championship after being eliminated third by Chris Jericho. Kingston then began teaming with R-Truth. On the February 27 ''Raw'', Kingston and Truth failed to capture the WWE Tag Team Championship from Primo and Epico in a Triple Threat Tag Team Match, also involving Ziggler and Swagger. On the April 30 ''Raw'', Kingston and Truth defeated Primo and Epico to win the WWE Tag Team Championship. At Over the Limit, Kingston and R-Truth successfully defended the titles against Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger and then again in a rematch on the May 28 ''Raw''. The following night on ''Raw'', they successfully defended the WWE Tag Team Championship against
The Prime Time Players The Prime Time Players were an American professional wrestling tag team performing in the WWE, composed of Darren Young and Titus O'Neil. The two initially competed on ''WWE NXT'', debuting as a team in January 2012 and were later promoted to t ...
(
Titus O'Neil Thaddeus Michael Bullard Sr. (born April 29, 1977) is an American professional wrestler and former arena football player. He is the Global Ambassador of WWE and also performs for the promotion as a wrestler under the ring name Titus O'Neil. D ...
and
Darren Young Frederick Douglas Rosser III (born November 2, 1983) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the current Strong Openweight Champion in his first reign. He is best known for his ...
). At
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's secon ...
, Kingston and Truth defeated the Prime Time Players to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship. At
Night of Champions Night (also described as night time, unconventionally spelled as "nite") is the period of ambient darkness from sunset to sunrise during each 24-hour day, when the Sun is below the horizon. The exact time when night begins and ends depends o ...
, Kingston and Truth lost the Tag Team Championship to the team of Daniel Bryan
and or AND may refer to: Logic, grammar, and computing * Conjunction (grammar), connecting two words, phrases, or clauses * Logical conjunction in mathematical logic, notated as "∧", "⋅", "&", or simple juxtaposition * Bitwise AND, a boolea ...
Kane and failed to regain the titles from the new champions the following night on ''Raw''. Both Kingston and Truth were defeated by The Prime Time Players in the first round of the Tag Team Tournament to determine the number one contenders for the Tag Team Championships, causing both Kingston and Truth to disband as a team and each returning to being single competitors.


United States Champion (2012–2014)

On the October 17 episode of ''
Main Event In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...
'', Kingston defeated The Miz to win the Intercontinental Championship for the fourth time in his career. Kingston then began feuding with Wade Barrett, when the two were placed on opposing teams in the traditional five-on-five elimination tag team match on November 18 at
Survivor Series Survivor Series is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving, it is the se ...
. Kingston's team, led by
Mick Foley Michael Francis Foley (born June 7, 1965) is an American actor, author, retired professional wrestler, and color commentator. He is currently signed to WWE under the company's Legends program, acting as a company ambassador. Foley worked for m ...
, was defeated by Barrett's team, led by Dolph Ziggler, during which he was eliminated by Barrett. The following night on ''Raw'', Kingston was defeated by Barrett in a non-title match. Kingston, still the Intercontinental Champion, received a shot at the United States Championship on the December 3 episode of ''Raw'' against Barrett, R-Truth, and the champion Antonio Cesaro in a fatal four-way match, but was unsuccessful after Cesaro pinned Kingston for the win. At TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, Kingston successfully defended his title against Barrett. Two weeks later on the December 31 episode of ''Raw'', Kingston lost the Intercontinental Championship to Barrett, ending his reign at 74 days. Kingston received his rematch four days later on SmackDown, but lost the match. On January 27, 2013, at the
Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming List of WWE pay-per-view and WWE Network events, event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named afte ...
, Kingston participated in the Royal Rumble match, and after eliminating
Tensai Matthew Jason Bloom (born November 14, 1972) is an American retired professional wrestler and professional football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he is the head trainer at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. Bloom ...
, he was pushed out of the ring, but Kingston jumped on Tensai's back, landed on the announce table and used a commentary chair from
John "Bradshaw" Layfield John Charles Layfield (born November 29, 1966), better known by the ring name John "Bradshaw" Layfield (abbreviated to JBL), is an American retired professional wrestler and football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on ...
to hop to the ring apron, before being eliminated by Cody Rhodes. On the April 15 episode of ''Raw'', Kingston defeated Antonio Cesaro to win his third United States Championship but lost it on May 19 at Extreme Rules to
Dean Ambrose Jonathan David Good (born December 7, 1985) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Jon Moxley. He also makes appearances for New Japan Pro-Wres ...
. On the May 31 episode of ''SmackDown'', Kingston was written out of television, as he was undergoing elbow surgery and was expected to be out for four to eight weeks. Kingston returned from injury on the August 5 episode of ''Raw'', defeating
Fandango Fandango is a lively partner dance originating from Portugal and Spain, usually in triple meter, traditionally accompanied by guitars, castanets, or hand-clapping. Fandango can both be sung and danced. Sung fandango is usually bipartite: it has ...
. At
Night of Champions Night (also described as night time, unconventionally spelled as "nite") is the period of ambient darkness from sunset to sunrise during each 24-hour day, when the Sun is below the horizon. The exact time when night begins and ends depends o ...
, Kingston faced
Curtis Axel Joseph Curtis Hennig (born October 1, 1979) is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Curtis Axel. Hennig signed with WWE in 2007 and wrestled at their developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) and was ...
for the Intercontinental Championship, but was defeated. In the following weeks,
Bray Wyatt Windham Lawrence Rotunda (born May 23, 1987) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Bray Wyatt. Rotunda is a third-generation professional wrestler, fo ...
would start delivering cryptic messages to Kingston after his matches, leading to a match between the two at Battleground, which Wyatt won. On the November 18 episode of ''Raw'', Kingston teamed with The Miz to face The Real Americans (Antonio Cesaro and
Jack Swagger Donald Jacob Hager Jr. (born March 24, 1982) is an American professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Jake Hager, where he is a member of the Jericho Appreciation Society ...
), but they lost after Miz turned on Kingston. This led to a match at
Survivor Series Survivor Series is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving, it is the se ...
, where Kingston was defeated by The Miz. In the upcoming weeks, the feud continued and culminated in a no disqualification match between the two at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, which Kingston won. At the
Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming List of WWE pay-per-view and WWE Network events, event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named afte ...
on January 26, 2014, Kingston participated in the Royal Rumble match, where he avoided elimination by landing on the crowd barricade and made an 11-foot jump to get back in the ring, but he was later eliminated by
Roman Reigns Leati Joseph "Joe" Anoa'i (born May 25, 1985) is an American professional wrestler and former football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Roman Reigns. He is the leader of The B ...
. At
WrestleMania XXX WrestleMania XXX was the 30th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It took place on April 6, 2014, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana and was the first WWE ...
, Kingston competed in the
André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal The André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal is a namesake battle royal held as part of WrestleMania Weekend by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. The winner of the match receives the André the Giant Memorial Trophy. The inaugura ...
, where he would have a standout moment in the match, getting thrown of over the turnbuckles by Cesaro and to avoid elimination by keeping his toes on the steel steps, he would later be eliminated by
Sheamus Stephen Farrelly (born 28 January 1978) is an Irish professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sheamus. Prior to joining WWE, he wrestled on the European i ...
. At Battleground, Kingston competed in the Battle Royal for the Intercontinental Championship, but failed to win the match.


Formation of The New Day (2014–2018)

During the summer of 2014, Kingston was put in a team with Big E, and
Xavier Woods Austin Watson (born September 4, 1986) is an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT (WWE brand), NXT WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Xavier Woods. He app ...
usually as manager. In November, WWE began airing vignettes for Kingston, Woods and Big E, with the stable now being billed as The New Day. The New Day made their in-ring debut on the November 28 episode of
SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes sim ...
in a winning effort against Curtis Axel,
Heath Slater Heath Wallace Miller (born July 15, 1983) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to Impact Wrestling, where he performs mononymously as Heath, and is also active on the independent circuit. He is best known for his time in ...
and Titus O'Neil. They started a brief feud with
Gold and Stardust Cody and Dustin Rhodes (also known as Cody Rhodes and Goldust, The Brotherhood, The Rhodes Brothers, and Gold and Stardust) were an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of Cody Rhodes and Dustin Rhodes. They are also known for ...
, which Kingston and Big E defeated Gold and Stardust at the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pre-show on December 14. At the
WrestleMania 31 WrestleMania 31 was the 31st annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It took place on March 29, 2015, at Levi's Stadium in the San Francisco Bay Area town of Santa Clara, California. Nine ...
pre-show on March 29, 2015, they failed to win the WWE Tag Team Championship in a
fatal four-way match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. So ...
as well as being eliminated by Big Show in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. On the April 6 episode of ''Raw'', The New Day turned heel, which would mark Kingston's first heel turn in WWE ever since debuting in 2008. At Extreme Rules, Kingston and Big E defeated
Tyson Kidd and Cesaro Tyson Kidd and Cesaro were a professional wrestling tag team in WWE. They are former WWE Tag Team Champions. They formed a tag team in December 2014, and were accompanied to the ring by Natalya, Kidd's real-life wife. While the team had no of ...
to win the WWE Tag Team Championships. At
Payback Payback may refer to: * Revenge, a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance Payback may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Payback, a member of the fictional comics superhero team Shadow ...
, The New Day defeated Kidd and Cesaro to retain their titles. At
Elimination Chamber The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE. The match was founded by Chris Jericho , created and introduced by Eric Bischoff in November 2002. It features a large chain-linked circular steel ...
, The New Day defeated Kidd and Cesaro,
The Lucha Dragons The Lucha Dragons were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Kalisto and Sin Cara. They previously wrestled in WWE's developmental territory NXT, where they were one-time NXT Tag Team Champions. Their name is a reference to their ''lucha ...
, The Ascension,
Los Matadores Primo Colón, Primo and Epico Colón are a Puerto Rican professional wrestling tag team. The team, composed of Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Legit, real-life cousins, are former WWE Raw Tag Team Championship, WWE Tag Team Champions, wi ...
, and the Prime Time Players to retain their titles in the first ever tag team
Elimination Chamber match The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE. The match was founded by Chris Jericho , created and introduced by Eric Bischoff in November 2002. It features a large chain-linked circular steel ...
; all three members were allowed to compete in a pre-match stipulation. However, they lost the titles at Money in the Bank against The Prime Time Players. However, they would regain the titles at
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's secon ...
. The following night on ''Raw'',
The Dudley Boyz The Dudley Boyz (also known as Team 3D) are an American professional wrestling tag team that consisted of kayfabe half-brothers Bubba Ray Dudley (Mark LoMonaco) and D-Von Dudley (Devon Hughes). The team was also joined by various Dudley family me ...
made their WWE return and attacked the New Day with Woods being put through a table with the 3D. New Day lost to the Dudley Boyz via disqualification at
Night of Champions Night (also described as night time, unconventionally spelled as "nite") is the period of ambient darkness from sunset to sunrise during each 24-hour day, when the Sun is below the horizon. The exact time when night begins and ends depends o ...
but retained their tag team titles. The next month, at
Hell in a Cell Hell in a Cell is a professional wrestling steel cage-based match which originated in 1997 in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It features a large cell structure, a five-sided cuboid made from open-weave steel mesh chain-link fen ...
, they defeated the Dudley Boyz to retain their titles. At
TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...
, The New Day retained the title against
The Usos The Usos (born August 22, 1985) are an American professional wrestling tag team composed of twin brothers Joshua Samuel Fatu and Jonathan Solofa Fatu, who are known professionally by their respective ring names Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso. They ar ...
and
The Lucha Dragons The Lucha Dragons were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Kalisto and Sin Cara. They previously wrestled in WWE's developmental territory NXT, where they were one-time NXT Tag Team Champions. Their name is a reference to their ''lucha ...
in a Triple threat
tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...
ladder match. The New Day retained the titles at
Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming List of WWE pay-per-view and WWE Network events, event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named afte ...
against The Usos. At Fastlane, The New Day turned face by mocking
The League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
, starting a feud. They retained their titles at
Roadblock A roadblock is a temporary installation set up to control or block traffic along a road. The reasons for one could be: *Roadworks *Temporary road closure during special events *Police chase *Robbery * Sobriety checkpoint In peaceful circumstances ...
against The League of Nations. At
WrestleMania 32 WrestleMania 32 was the 32nd annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It took place on April 3, 2016, at the AT&T Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. This was the last Wre ...
, The New Day were defeated by The League of Nations in a six-man tag team match. The following night on ''Raw'', they successfully retained their title against The League of Nations, ending their feud. After WrestleMania, they retained their title at Extreme Rules against
The Vaudevillains The Vaudevillains were an American professional wrestling tag team in WWE, composed of Aiden English and Simon Gotch. Their gimmick was a pair of Vaudeville-era throwbacks. They also wrestled in WWE's developmental territory NXT, where they wer ...
, and at Money in the Bank against
Gallows and Anderson The Good Brothers are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. They are currently signed to WWE and perform on the Raw brand, where they are former two time WWE RAW Tag Team Champions. They also ...
, The Vaudevillains and
Enzo Amore and Big Cass FreeAgentZ (formerly known as Enzo and Cass) are an American professional wrestling tag team composed of nZo and CaZXL. The duo are best known for their tenure with WWE, from 2013 to 2017, under the respective ring names, Enzo Amore and Big Ca ...
in a Fatal-4 Way Tag Team match. On July 19 at the 2016 WWE draft, Kingston, along with his fellow The New Day teammates, was drafted to ''Raw''. Three days later, on July 22, Kingston, along with Big E and Xavier Woods, became the longest reigning WWE Tag Team Champions in history, breaking the record of 331 days previously set by
Paul London and Brian Kendrick Paul London and Brian Kendrick were an American professional wrestling tag team for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). They are former WWE Tag Team Champions and World Tag Team Champions. Their 2006-2007 reign as WWE Tag Team Champions was th ...
. After ''SmackDown'' established the
SmackDown Tag Team Championship The WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, representing the SmackDown brand division. It is one of two male tag team championships for WWE' ...
after the brand split, the titles held by The New Day were renamed the Raw Tag Team Championship. They would retain the titles against Gallows and Anderson at
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's secon ...
and
Clash of Champions ''Clash of the Champions'' is an American series of professional wrestling television specials that were produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) in conjunction with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). ...
. Their reign ended at Roadblock: End of the Line, where they lost the title to
Cesaro and Sheamus The Bar, originally simply known as Cesaro and Sheamus, was a professional wrestling tag team in WWE. They were record-setting four-time Raw Tag Team Champions and one-time SmackDown Tag Team Champions, making their team overall five-time cham ...
, thus ending their record breaking championship reign at 483 days. On January 29, 2017, Kingston participated the
Royal Rumble match The Royal Rumble match is a professional wrestling match based on the classic Battle Royal match in which a number of wrestlers (traditionally 30) aim at eliminating their competitors by tossing them over the top rope, with both feet touching the ...
in which he was standing on the top-rope when
Baron Corbin Thomas Pestock (born September 13, 1984) is an American professional wrestler and former professional football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Baron Corbin. Pestock is a former off ...
tried to push him backwards to eliminate him from the match. Instead, he fell directly behind the ring post, grabbed on to the top rope of it and managed to hang on. The New Day were revealed to be the hosts of
WrestleMania 33 WrestleMania 33 was the 33rd annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on April 2, 201 ...
. The night after WrestleMania on Raw, The New Day issued an open challenge to any team which was accepted by The Revival, who were moved up from NXT, and lost to them. After the match, Revival attacked Kofi Kingston. On April 10, it was announced that Kingston had suffered an ankle injury due to the attack of Revival which would require surgery. On April 11, 2017, The New Day were moved to the ''SmackDown'' brand as part of the Superstar Shake-up. The New Day debuted on "Talking Smack", the post-show for SmackDown Live on May 23, however, they did not wrestle or make an appearance on SmackDown Live itself due to Kingston's injury. The New Day made their official return on May 30 episode of ''SmackDown Live'', announcing their objective to defeat
The Usos The Usos (born August 22, 1985) are an American professional wrestling tag team composed of twin brothers Joshua Samuel Fatu and Jonathan Solofa Fatu, who are known professionally by their respective ring names Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso. They ar ...
and win the SmackDown Tag Team Championship. The two teams faced off at Money in the Bank, where Big E and Kingston emerged victorious when The Usos purposely got themselves counted out, thus keeping their titles. A rematch took place at Battleground, where Kingston and Woods were successful in capturing the titles, thus making Kingston the first wrestler to hold the SmackDown Tag Team Championship, Raw Tag Team Championship (both its previous and current incarnations), and the original
World Tag Team Championship The world tag team championship is the name usually given to the primary tag team championship (professional wrestling), championships in professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotions, promotions. Nomenclature The name of the promo ...
. A month later at the
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's secon ...
pre-show, however, The New Day (represented by Big E and Woods) dropped the titles back to The Usos, ending their reign at 28 days. On September 12 at the episode promoted as ''Sin City SmackDown'', Kingston and Big E represented New Day and defeated The Usos to win back the championship for their second reign in a "Sin City Street Fight", but lost them again to The Usos at
Hell in a Cell Hell in a Cell is a professional wrestling steel cage-based match which originated in 1997 in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It features a large cell structure, a five-sided cuboid made from open-weave steel mesh chain-link fen ...
. On the October 23 episode of Raw, The New Day along with other talent of SmackDown ambushed the Raw locker room. They again appeared on the November 6 episode of ''Raw'' in the crowd, which led to distraction of
Seth Rollins Colby Daniel Lopez (born May 28, 1986) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Seth Rollins (often referred to as Seth "Freakin" Rollins). Prior to signing ...
and
Dean Ambrose Jonathan David Good (born December 7, 1985) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Jon Moxley. He also makes appearances for New Japan Pro-Wres ...
and costing them the tag titles. On the November 14 episode of ''SmackDown Live'',
The Shield ''The Shield'' is an American crime drama television series starring Michael Chiklis that premiered on March 12, 2002, on FX in the United States, and concluded on November 25, 2008, after seven seasons. Known for its portrayal of corrupt pol ...
led an attack with ''Raw'' Superstars and invaded ''SmackDown'' similar to the one led by ''SmackDown'' and attacked everyone including The New Day. At
Survivor Series Survivor Series is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving, it is the se ...
, The New Day was defeated by The Shield. The New Day failed to regain the titles from The Usos at
Clash of Champions ''Clash of the Champions'' is an American series of professional wrestling television specials that were produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) in conjunction with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). ...
in a Fatal-4-Way tag team match also involving the team of Rusev and
Aiden English Matthew Thomas Rehwoldt (born October 7, 1987) is an American color commentator and retired professional wrestler who currently appears in Impact Wrestling where he performs under his real name. He is best known for his time in WWE, where he per ...
, and
Chad Gable Charles Edward Betts (born March 8, 1986) is an American professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Chad Gable. He is a four-time tag team champion in ...
and
Shelton Benjamin Shelton James Benjamin (born July 9, 1975) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under his real name. He is also known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Pro Wres ...
. At the
Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming List of WWE pay-per-view and WWE Network events, event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named afte ...
on January 28, 2018, Kingston entered the match as the 16th entrant, but was eliminated by Andrade "Cien" Almas. At Fastlane, The New Day faced The Usos for the Smackdown Tag Team Championships, but went to a no contest after inference from The Bludgeon Brothers. Two weeks later, it was confirmed that at
WrestleMania 34 WrestleMania 34 was the 34th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on April 8, 2 ...
, The New Day would face The Usos and The Bludgeon Brothers in a Triple Threat tag team match for the Smackdown Tag Team Championships. The New Day failed to capture the titles at the WrestleMania, which were won by The Bludgeon Brothers. On the April 11 episode of ''SmackDown Live'', The New Day were defeated by The Usos in a match to determine which team would challenge The Bludgeon Brothers at the
Greatest Royal Rumble WWE Greatest Royal Rumble was a professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brand divisions. The event took place on April 27, 2018, a ...
event. The New Day competed in a tag team tournament, defeating Sanity in the first round, while The Bar (Cesaro and Sheamus) defeated The Usos. The New Day then defeated The Bar the following week on ''SmackDown Live'' to earn the right to face The Bludgeon Brothers at
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's secon ...
, where they won the match by disqualification, meaning The Bludgeon Brothers retained their titles. Two days later on ''SmackDown Live'', however, The New Day defeated The Bludgeon Brothers in a no disqualification match to capture the titles for a third time. At
Hell in a Cell Hell in a Cell is a professional wrestling steel cage-based match which originated in 1997 in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It features a large cell structure, a five-sided cuboid made from open-weave steel mesh chain-link fen ...
, The New Day successfully defeated Rusev and Aiden English to retain the titles. A few weeks later on October 6, at Super Show-Down, The New Day again retained their titles by defeating The Bar. At ''SmackDown'' 1000, The New Day lost their titles against The Bar. They would fail to regain the titles at Crown Jewel event.


WWE Champion (2018–2019)

Two weeks later, they made up part of Team SmackDown in a 5-on-5 tag-team elimination match at
Survivor Series Survivor Series is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving, it is the se ...
, in which they defeated Team Raw. At TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, The New Day failed to win the championship from The Bar, in a triple-threat tag team match, also involving The Usos. At
Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming List of WWE pay-per-view and WWE Network events, event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named afte ...
, Kingston was eliminated by
Drew McIntyre Andrew McLean Galloway IV (born 6 June 1985) is a Scottish professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Drew McIntyre. McIntyre is a two-time WWE Champion, one-time WWE I ...
. On the February 12 episode of ''SmackDown Live'', Kingston was selected to replace
Mustafa Ali Adeel Alam (born March 28, 1986) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Mustafa Ali. Prior to signing with WWE, Alam worked on the independent circuit afte ...
in the
WWE Championship The WWE Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two world titles on WWE's main roster, alongside SmackDown' ...
Elimination Chamber The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE. The match was founded by Chris Jericho , created and introduced by Eric Bischoff in November 2002. It features a large chain-linked circular steel ...
match at the namesake pay–per–view after Ali suffered an injury. While Kingston lost the Elimination Chamber match against Bryan, his good performance during a one-hour gauntlet match at ''SmackDown'' and the Elimination Chamber translated in a huge support by the public. The following months, Kingston was involved in a storyline during the road to WrestleMania, known as KofiMania, where he tried to win the WWE Championship, but Mr. McMahon put obstacles. At Fastlane, Kingston was apparently granted a title match by McMahon, but it was instead a handicap match against The Bar, which Kingston subsequently lost. After Fastlane, Mr. McMahon told Kingston he would earn a WWE Championship match at WrestleMania if he beat Sheamus, Cesaro,
Rowan The rowans ( or ) or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus ''Sorbus ''Sorbus'' is a genus of over 100 species of trees and shrubs in the rose family, Rosaceae. Species of ''Sorbus'' (''s.l.'') are commonly known as whitebeam, r ...
, Samoa Joe, and Randy Orton in another gauntlet match, but after Kingston succeeded in beating the five men, McMahon inserted Daniel Bryan in the match who would defeat him. In what was the last chance for Kingston, McMahon announced a gauntlet match for Big E and Xavier Woods, who were able to defeat five other teams, including Bryan and Rowan to give Kingston his championship match against Bryan at
WrestleMania 35 WrestleMania 35 was the 35th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brand divisions. The event took place ...
. At WrestleMania, Kingston defeated Bryan and won the WWE Championship for the first time, becoming the first African-born WWE Champion in history, as well as WWE's 30th
Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Tri ...
and 20th Grand Slam champion. Kingston then successfully defended the title against Daniel Bryan on the May 6 episode of ''Raw'', and against Kevin Owens at Money in the Bank. Kingston then started a feud with the returning
Dolph Ziggler Nicholas Theodore Nemeth (born July 27, 1980) is an American professional wrestler and stand-up comedian. He is currently signed to WWE under the ring name Dolph Ziggler, where he performs on the Raw brand. After a prolific career in amateur ...
, retaining the title at
Super ShowDown WWE Super ShowDown (originally stylized as Super Show-Down) was a professional wrestling event produced by WWE, an American-based promotion. It was broadcast live and available only through pay-per-view (PPV) and WWE's livestreaming service, the ...
in a singles match and at Stomping Grounds in a
steel cage match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
. At Extreme Rules, he retained the championship against Samoa Joe, while Big E and Woods won the SmackDown Tag Team Championship for a record-tying fourth time for New Day (which also technically made Kingston a double champion, as WWE counts all of New Day's Tag Team Championship reigns as individual reigns for all three members under the Freebird rule). At Smackville, he successfully defended the title against Dolph Ziggler and Samoa Joe in a triple threat match. Kingston defended his title against Randy Orton at
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's secon ...
, where the match ended in a double count out. The two had a rematch at
Clash of Champions ''Clash of the Champions'' is an American series of professional wrestling television specials that were produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) in conjunction with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). ...
, where Kingston was victorious. On the September 17 episode of ''SmackDown Live'', Brock Lesnar confronted Kingston and challenged him to a championship match on the October 4 episode of ''SmackDown'', which Kingston accepted. At the 20th Anniversary of ''SmackDown'' on October 4, Lesnar defeated Kingston in 8 seconds to win the championship, ending Kingston's reign at 180 days.


Return to the tag team division (2019–present)

After losing the title, Kingston returned to compete in tag team matches, where he teamed with Big E and Woods to defeat
The O.C. ''The O.C. '' is an American teen drama television series created by Josh Schwartz that originally aired on the Fox network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, running a total of four seasons. "O.C." is an initiali ...
(AJ Styles, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson) on the following week on ''SmackDown''. At Crown Jewel, Kingston and Big E competed in a tag team turmoil match for the WWE Tag Team World Cup, but they failed to win the match. On the November 8 episode of ''SmackDown'', Kingston and Big E defeated The Revival to win the SmackDown Tag Team Championship, becoming four-time champions as a team, and record fifth reign for The New Day as a stable. At TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, Kingston and Big E successfully defended the titles against The Revival in a ladder match. On January 26, 2020, at the
Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming List of WWE pay-per-view and WWE Network events, event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named afte ...
, Kingston participated in the Royal Rumble match, but was eliminated by Brock Lesnar. At
Super ShowDown WWE Super ShowDown (originally stylized as Super Show-Down) was a professional wrestling event produced by WWE, an American-based promotion. It was broadcast live and available only through pay-per-view (PPV) and WWE's livestreaming service, the ...
, Kingston and Big E lost the championships against John Morrison and The Miz and failed to regain the titles at
Elimination Chamber The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE. The match was founded by Chris Jericho , created and introduced by Eric Bischoff in November 2002. It features a large chain-linked circular steel ...
. At
WrestleMania 36 WrestleMania 36 was the 36th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown, and NXT brand divisions. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic ...
, Kingston, who represented The New Day, failed to win the titles back from Morrison, who represented himself and Miz, in a triple threat ladder match, also involving Jimmy Uso, who represented The Usos. A rematch took place on the April 17 episode of ''SmackDown'', where Big E, who represented The New Day, won the titles back from Miz, who represented himself and Morrison, in a triple threat match, also involving Jey Uso, who represented The Usos, and this makes The New Day six-time SmackDown Tag Team Champions. At
The Horror Show at Extreme Rules The Horror Show at Extreme Rules was the 12th annual Extreme Rules professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event was b ...
on July 19, Kingston and Big E lost their titles to the team of Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura in a tables match after being powerbombed through two tables. while Kingston would suffer a legitimate back injury, thus being out for nearly three months. On the October 9 episode of ''SmackDown'', both Kingston and Woods returned from injury and defeated Cesaro and Nakamura, winning their seventh SmackDown Tag Team Championship. After the match, as part of the 2020 Draft, Kingston and Woods were drafted to the
Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...
brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
, splitting them from Big E, who remained on the SmackDown brand. On the October 12 episode of ''Raw'', New Day would exchange tag team titles with Raw Tag Team Championship holders
The Street Profits The Street Profits are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford. The team is currently performing in WWE on the Raw brand. They are three-time tag team champions in WWE, having held the Raw, Sm ...
, who were drafted to SmackDown. This would mark Kingston and Woods' third reign with the Raw titles as a team (fifth for Kingston individually), New Day's 10th tag team championship reign in WWE as a team, and Kingston's 13th tag team championship reign individually. On December 20, at
TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...
, Kingston and Woods lost the Raw Tag Team Championship to The Hurt Business (
Cedric Alexander Cedric Alexander Johnson (born August 16, 1989) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Alexander worked for Ring of Honor (ROH) from 2010 until 2016. He started as part of C&C Factory, ...
and
Shelton Benjamin Shelton James Benjamin (born July 9, 1975) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under his real name. He is also known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Pro Wres ...
). In January 2021, Kingston stated that he was sidelined with a jaw injury. Kingston returned to the ring on the February 8 episode of ''Raw'', teaming with Woods to defeat Retribution (
T-Bar A surface lift is a type of cable transport for snow sports in which skiers and snowboarders remain on the ground as they are pulled uphill. While they were once prevalent, they have been overtaken in popularity by higher-capacity and higher-co ...
and Mace). At
Elimination Chamber The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE. The match was founded by Chris Jericho , created and introduced by Eric Bischoff in November 2002. It features a large chain-linked circular steel ...
, Kingston competed in the
WWE Championship The WWE Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two world titles on WWE's main roster, alongside SmackDown' ...
Elimination Chamber match, eliminating Randy Orton, before being eliminated by
Sheamus Stephen Farrelly (born 28 January 1978) is an Irish professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sheamus. Prior to joining WWE, he wrestled on the European i ...
. On the March 15 episode of Raw, Kingston and Woods would defeat
Cedric Alexander Cedric Alexander Johnson (born August 16, 1989) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Alexander worked for Ring of Honor (ROH) from 2010 until 2016. He started as part of C&C Factory, ...
and
Shelton Benjamin Shelton James Benjamin (born July 9, 1975) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under his real name. He is also known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Pro Wres ...
to win back the
Raw Tag Team Championship The WWE Raw Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two male tag team championships for WWE's main roste ...
, the New Day's 11th tag team championship, and Kingston's 14th individually. They would hold the championship until
WrestleMania 37 WrestleMania 37 was the 37th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place as a two-night ...
where they lost the titles to AJ Styles and
Omos Tolulope "Jordan" Omogbehin (born May 16, 1994) is a Nigerian-American professional wrestler and former college basketball player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the WWE Raw brand under the ring name Omos. He played colle ...
. On the May 17 episode of ''Raw'', Kingston defeated Randy Orton, and then WWE Champion
Bobby Lashley Franklin Roberto Lashley (born July 16, 1976) is an American professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and bodybuilder. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. He is an eight-time world champion, having been a two-t ...
on the same night. The following week on ''Raw'', he faced
Drew McIntyre Andrew McLean Galloway IV (born 6 June 1985) is a Scottish professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Drew McIntyre. McIntyre is a two-time WWE Champion, one-time WWE I ...
in a singles match with a stipulation in which the winner will face Lashley for the WWE Championship at
Hell in a Cell Hell in a Cell is a professional wrestling steel cage-based match which originated in 1997 in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It features a large cell structure, a five-sided cuboid made from open-weave steel mesh chain-link fen ...
, and the match ended in a no contest. A rematch between him and McIntyre was scheduled on ''Raw'' next week with the same stakes, where Kingston would lose. On the June 21 episode of ''Raw'', Kingston interrupted Lashley and challenged him for the title, Lashley accepted and the match was scheduled for Money in the Bank. At the event, he lost the match. As a part of the 2021 Draft, Kingston and Woods were drafted to the SmackDown brand. In October, Kingston entered the
King of the Ring King of the Ring was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and WWE Network event produced by WWE, a Connecticut-based professional wrestling promotion. The PPV event was held annually in June and was established in 1993 when the promotion ...
tournament, where he lost to
Jinder Mahal Yuvraj Singh Dhesi (born July 19, 1986) is a Canadian professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand, under the ring name Jinder Mahal. Having started his career on the independent circuit, Mahal joine ...
in the first round. Woods, however, went on to win the King of the Ring tournament. Woods in turn changed his ring name to "King Woods", and he knighted Kingston as "Sir Kofi Kingston", the Hand of the King.Kingston and Woods then reignited their feud with The Usos, but would be defeated to them at
WWE Day 1 WWE Day 1 was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on Saturday, January 1, 2022, at the St ...
and then again in a Street Fight on following SmackDown. In following weeks, Big E would rejoin The New Day as they would start a new feud with Sheamus and Ridge Holland, but during a match Big E encountered a neck injury. Kingston and Woods eventually challenged Sheamus and Ridge Holland for a tag team match at WrestleMania 38 in a losing effort. They would then start a feud with returning Viking Raiders , who would brutally attack them. They would be unsuccessful in defeating Viking Raiders several times. They would then once again start a brief feud with The Usos as they wanted to defend their record of longest reigning tag team champions, however they were unsuccessful. They would make a surprise appearance on NXT in December challenging for NXT tag team championship. New Day would win the match and the titles, giving them the Tag Team Triple Crown (Raw, SmackDown, and NXT Tag Team Championships), and making Kingston the first wrestler to have won both WWE's traditional Triple Crown and Tag Team Triple Crown.


Other media

Kingston, under the nickname Mr. 24/7, frequently appears on fellow WWE wrestler, Xavier Woods' YouTube channel ''UpUpDownDown''. In May 2019, he defeated UpUpDownDown Champion
Gentleman Jack Gallagher Oliver Westfield Claffey, better known by the ring name Jack Gallagher, is an English professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is best known for his time in WWE, where he performed on the NXT and 205 Live brands, mostly under the ring ...
in a game of ''
Mortal Kombat 3 ''Mortal Kombat 3'' is a 1995 arcade fighting game developed by Midway Games and first released into arcades in 1995. It is the third main installment in the '' Mortal Kombat'' franchise and a sequel to 1993's ''Mortal Kombat II''. As in the p ...
'' to win Gallagher's championship. Kingston lost the title one month later to
Jey Uso Jey may refer to: *Jey, Iran, a village in Alborz Province, Iran *Jey Rural District, in Isfahan Province, Iran *Alih Jey, a Latin Grammy nominated Dominican Rock music singer and songwriter *Clarence Jey, a Los Angeles-based Billboard Record Produ ...
in a game of ''
Tetris ''Tetris'' (russian: link=no, Тетрис) is a puzzle video game created by Soviet software engineer Alexey Pajitnov in 1984. It has been published by several companies for multiple platforms, most prominently during a dispute over the appro ...
''.https://youtube/JPFT58X4jg4 In 2012, he guest-starred in an episode of
Disney XD Disney XD is an American pay television channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven years ...
's karate sitcom '' Kickin' It''. In 2016, he appeared with his New Day teammates on a Christmas Family themed ''
Let's Make a Deal ''Let's Make a Deal'' (also known as ''LMAD'') is an American television musical comedy variety-game show that originated in the United States in 1963 and has since been produced in many countries throughout the world. The program was created an ...
''. In 2017, he published ''The Book of Booty: Shake It. Love It. Never Be It'' with fellow New Day members Big E and
Xavier Woods Austin Watson (born September 4, 1986) is an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT (WWE brand), NXT WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Xavier Woods. He app ...
. Along with Xavier Woods, Kingston appeared on episode #33 of Smosh Pit's, from the
Smosh Smosh is an American YouTube sketch comedy- improv collective founded by Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox. In 2002, Padilla created a website named "smosh.com" for making Flash animations, and he was later joined by Hecox. They began to post v ...
family on YouTube, Try Not to Laugh Series. The Smosh members joining them were: Ian Hecox,
Shayne Topp Shayne Robert Topp (born September 14, 1991) is an American actor and comedian most known for his work on Smosh. He is also known for his roles as Shayne Zabo on Disney Channel's ''So Random!,'' and as Matt Bradley in ABC's '' The Goldbergs.' ...
, Damien Haas, and Mari Takahashi.


Film


Video games


Personal life

Sarkodie-Mensah married Kori Campfield on September 11, 2010. Their son Kai was born in 2013. They welcomed another son, Orion Kingsley on April 28, 2016. Their daughter Lotus Selene was born on November 23, 2021. Sarkodie-Mensah's favorite wrestler growing up was Shawn Michaels. In a June 2019 interview, he stated that
Dolph Ziggler Nicholas Theodore Nemeth (born July 27, 1980) is an American professional wrestler and stand-up comedian. He is currently signed to WWE under the ring name Dolph Ziggler, where he performs on the Raw brand. After a prolific career in amateur ...
was "one of my favorite opponents of all-time, if not my favorite. Not to toot my own horn or our horn, our matches have always been off the chain. We have really good chemistry." Sarkodie-Mensah has
tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several Process of tatt ...
s of Ghanaian
Adinkra symbols ''Adinkra'' are symbols from Ghana that represent concepts or aphorisms. ''Adinkra'' are used extensively in fabrics, logos and pottery. They are incorporated into walls and other architectural features. ''Adinkra'' symbols appear on some tradit ...
along his spine. His first name (Kofi) is the traditional name in Ghana for people born on a Friday.


Championships and accomplishments

* ''
CBS Sports CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on W ...
'' ** Best Moment/Angle of the Year (2019) – * ''
Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...
'' ** Tag Team of the Year (2012) ** Tag Team of the Year (2015, 2016) ** Ranked No. 4 of the best 500 singles wrestlers in the ''
PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...
'' in 2019 ** Ranked No. 8 of the top 50 tag teams in the '' PWI Tag Team 50'' in 2020 * ''
Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four W ...
'' ** Best Gimmick (2015) – * WWE/World Wrestling Entertainment **
WWE Championship The WWE Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two world titles on WWE's main roster, alongside SmackDown' ...
( 1 time) **
WWE Intercontinental Championship The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, currently defended on the SmackDown brand division. It is one of two secondary championships for WWE's main roste ...
( 4 times) **
WWE United States Championship The WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling Professional wrestling championship#Location-specific championships, championship promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE, currently de ...
( 3 times) **
WWE Raw Tag Team Championship The WWE Raw Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two male tag team championships for WWE's main roster, ...
( 6 times) – with
Evan Bourne Matthew Joseph Korklan (born March 19, 1983), better known by the ring name Matt Sydal, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Prior to signing with AEW, Sydal wrestled in WWE as Evan Bourne, and was ...
(1),
R-Truth Ronnie Aaron Killings (born January 19, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and rapper. He is currently signed to WWE, performing on the Raw brand under the ring name R-Truth. Killings worked for World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now ...
(1), Big E and
Xavier Woods Austin Watson (born September 4, 1986) is an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT (WWE brand), NXT WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Xavier Woods. He app ...
(2) and Xavier Woods (2) **
WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship The WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, representing the SmackDown brand division. It is one of two male tag team championships for WWE ...
( 7 times) – with Big E and
Xavier Woods Austin Watson (born September 4, 1986) is an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT (WWE brand), NXT WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Xavier Woods. He app ...
(6) and Xavier Woods (1) **
World Tag Team Championship The world tag team championship is the name usually given to the primary tag team championship (professional wrestling), championships in professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotions, promotions. Nomenclature The name of the promo ...
( 1 time) – with CM Punk **
NXT Tag Team Championship The NXT Tag Team Championship is a men's professional wrestling tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. Introduced on January 2 ...
( 1 time, current) – with Xavier Woods ** 13th Grand Slam Champion (under current format; 20th overall) ** 30th Triple Crown Champion (traditional format) ** Third Tag Team Triple Crown Champion – with Xavier Woods ** Bragging Rights Trophy (2010) – with Team SmackDown (
Big Show Paul Donald Wight II (born February 8, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as an in-ring performer, and as a commentator for its web television show, '' AEW Dark: Elevation,'' under ...
,
Rey Mysterio Óscar Gutiérrez (born December 11, 1974), better known by his ring name Rey Mysterio, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand. Widely regarded as one of the greatest prof ...
,
Jack Swagger Donald Jacob Hager Jr. (born March 24, 1982) is an American professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Jake Hager, where he is a member of the Jericho Appreciation Society ...
,
Alberto Del Rio José Alberto Rodríguez Chucuan (born 25 May 1977) is a Mexican-American professional wrestler, professional wrestling promoter, sports commentator, and mixed martial artist, currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) as a c ...
,
Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed ...
and
Tyler Reks Gabbi Alon Tuft (born November 1, 1978) is an American retired professional wrestler. Tuft is best known for her time with WWE under the ring name Tyler Reks. Tuft also competed in WWE's developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling ( ...
)
** WWE Intercontinental Championship Tournament (2010) ** WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship Tournament (2018) – with Big E and
Xavier Woods Austin Watson (born September 4, 1986) is an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT (WWE brand), NXT WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Xavier Woods. He app ...
**
Slammy Award The Slammy Awards is a concept used by WWE, where awards, similar to the Academy and Grammy Awards, are given to professional wrestlers and other individuals within WWE, such as commentators and managers. Introduced in 1986, there have been 13 e ...
(2 times) *** "Tell Me I Did Not Just See That" Moment of the Year (
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
) – *** Ring Gear of the Year (
2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
) – with Big E and Xavier Woods **
WWE Year-End Award The WWE Year-End Awards is a concept used by WWE, where awards, similar to the Academy and Grammy Awards, are given to professional wrestlers at the end of the year who have performed on Raw and SmackDown. Introduced in 2018, there have been two ...
(2 times) *** Men's Tag Team of the Year (2019) – with Big E and Xavier Woods *** Moment of the Year (2019) –


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* * * * *Kofi Kingston Records a
WWE NEWS
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kingston, Kofi 1981 births 21st-century professional wrestlers African-American male professional wrestlers American capoeira practitioners American male professional wrestlers American people of Ashanti descent Boston College alumni Expatriate professional wrestlers Ghanaian emigrants to the United States Ghanaian professional wrestlers Living people NWA/WCW/WWE United States Heavyweight Champions People from Ashanti Region Professional wrestlers from Florida Professional wrestlers from Massachusetts Sportspeople from Kumasi WWF/WWE Intercontinental Champions WWE Champions WWE Grand Slam champions