Kofi Kingston
| Kofi Kingston | |
|---|---|
 Kingston in 2018 | |
| Birth name | Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah |
| Born | August 14, 1981 Kumasi, Ashanti, Ghana |
| Alma mater | Boston College |
| Spouse(s) |
Kori Campfield (m. 2010) |
| Children | 3 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Kofi Kofi Kingston Sir Kofi Kingston Kofi Nahaje Kingston |
| Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) |
| Billed weight | 212 lb (96 kg) |
| Billed from | Ghana, West Africa Kingston, Jamaica |
| Trained by | Chaotic Wrestling Killer Kowalski Ohio Valley Wrestling |
| Debut | 2006 |
Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah (born August 14, 1981) is a Ghanaian-born American professional wrestler. He is currently wrestling for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Kofi and is a member of The New Level with Austin Creed. They are two thirds of the AEW World Trios Champions along with Swerve Strickland.
He is best known for his time in WWE under the ring name Kofi Kingston. He was a part of The New Day alongside Creed (then known as Xavier Woods) and Big E. Kingston is the first African-born WWE Champion and held the Intercontinental and United States Championships multiple times. He also has won tag team championships in WWE 16 times, only the Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley) are listed as holding more by WWE (18 times). Kingston originally played the character of a Jamaican wrestler until late 2009. In May 2026, Kingston left WWE after nearly 20 years.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Kickin' It | Himself | Episode "Kickin' It on Our Own" |
| 2016 | Countdown | Himself | Uncredited |
| 2016 | Scooby-Doo! and WWE: Curse of the Speed Demon | Himself | Voice |
| 2021 | The Main Event | Himself | Cameo |
| 2021 | Escape the Undertaker | Himself | Main star |
Championships and accomplishments
- All Elite Wrestling
- CBS Sports
- Best Moment/Angle of the Year (2019) – Winning the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 35
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Tag Team of the Year (2012) with R-Truth
- Tag Team of the Year (2015, 2016) with Big E and Xavier Woods
- Ranked No. 4 of the best 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2019
- Ranked No. 8 of the top 50 tag teams in the PWI Tag Team 50 in 2020 with Big E and Xavier Woods
- Sports Illustrated
- Ranked No. 9 of the top 10 male wrestlers in 2019
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Best Gimmick (2015) – The New Day, shared with Big E and Xavier Woods
- WWE/World Wrestling Entertainment
- WWE Championship (1 time)
- WWE Intercontinental Championship (4 times)
- WWE United States Championship (3 times)
- WWE/Raw/World Tag Team Championship (7 times) – with Evan Bourne (1), R-Truth (1), Big E (2) and Xavier Woods (5)
- WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship (7 times) – with Big E (6) and Xavier Woods (7)
- World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with CM Punk
- NXT Tag Team Championship (1 time) – 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, Rey Mysterio, Jack Swagger, Alberto Del Rio, Edge and Tyler Reks)
- WWE Intercontinental Championship Tournament (2010)
- WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship Tournament (2018) – with Big E and Xavier Woods
- Slammy Award (2 times)
- "Tell Me I Did Not Just See That" Moment of the Year (2012) – Hand walking during the Royal Rumble match to avoid elimination
- Ring Gear of the Year (2020) – with Big E and Xavier Woods
- WWE Year-End Award (2 times)
- Men's Tag Team of the Year (2019) – with Big E and Xavier Woods
- Moment of the Year (2019) – Winning the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 35
Footnotes
- ↑ Big E, Kingston, and Woods defended the title under the Freebird Rule during their first two reigns. The title, originally called "WWE Tag Team Championship", was renamed "WWE Raw Tag Team Championship" during their second reign and was known as the "World Tag Team Championship" during their fifth reign.
- ↑ Big E, Kingston, and Woods defended the title under the Freebird Rule.
References
- 1 2 3 "Kofi Kingston's WWE profile". WWE. Retrieved January 29, 2012.
- 1 2 Chris Bergeron (August 16, 2006). "Wrestle mania". The Milford Daily News. Archived from the original on April 9, 2008. Retrieved February 22, 2008.
- ↑ Lambert, Jeremy (2026-05-02). "Kofi Kingston Departs WWE". Fightful | WWE News, AEW News, Pro Wrestling Backstage News. Retrieved 2026-05-02.
- ↑ "Netflix's Escape The Undertaker Review: An Underwhelming Undertaking". GameSpot. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
- ↑ Campbell, Brian (December 24, 2019). "How Adam Cole went from main event substitute to clear choice for 2019 Wrestler of the Year". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
- ↑ Lambert, Jeremy (August 29, 2019). "Seth Rollins Tops Annual PWI 500". Fightful. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
- ↑ Middleton, Marc (November 18, 2020). "FTR Takes Top Spot On The Inaugural PWI Tag Team 50 List". Wrestling Inc. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
- ↑ Barrassodec, J., "The Top 10 Male Wrestlers of 2019", Sports Illustrated, December 27, 2019.
- ↑ Meltzer, Dave (January 25, 2016). "January 25, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: 2015 Observer Awards Issue". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California: 46. ISSN 1083-9593.
- ↑ "WWE Championship". WWE. Retrieved April 8, 2019.
- ↑ "WWE Intercontinental Championship history". WWE. June 29, 2008. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
- ↑ "WWE United States Championship". Retrieved May 25, 2020.
- ↑ "WWE Tag Team Championship history". WWE. Retrieved August 30, 2011.
- ↑ "WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championships". WWE. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
- ↑ "World Tag Team Championship history". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved October 28, 2008.
- ↑ "Official NXT Tag Team Championship Title History". World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "WWE Intercontinental Title Tournament « Tournaments Database « CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Archived from the original on 2016-02-29. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
- ↑ "Matches « WWE SmackDown Tag Team Title #1 Contendership Tournament « Tournaments Database « CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Archived from the original on 2024-11-27. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
- ↑ Benigno, Anthony (December 17, 2012). "Kofi Kingston won the "Tell Me I Did Not Just See That" Moment of the Year Slammy". WWE.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2012. Retrieved December 18, 2012.
- ↑ "2020 SLAMMY Award winners announced". WWE. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
- 1 2 Mendhe, Abhilash (December 25, 2019). "WWE Year End Awards 2019: Analyzing each award category – Seth Rollins should have won Male Superstar of the Year". Sportskeeda. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
Other websites
| Media from Commons |
| Quotations from Wikiquote |
| Data from Wikidata |
- TrueKofi Kofi Kingston on Twitter
- Kofi Kingston on WWE.com
- Kofi Sarkodie-Mensah on IMDb
- Official website Archived 2008-12-05 at the Wayback Machine
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