Kofi Kingston: Vince McMahon Is The Driving Force Behind Keeping New Day Together

Kofi Kingston has had many WrestleMania roles.

From KofiMania’s WWE Championship journey last year, to appearing in a ladder match for the Smackdown Tag Team Championships this year, to everything else in between. His versaitility has helped lead him to a number of different capacities on the “Grandest Stage of Them All,” including some that had rarely been seen.

In 2017, Kingston and fellow New Day members Big E and Xavier Woods were given a spot as hosts of WrestleMania. The trio would introduce the returning Hardy Boyz, and entertain the crowd throughout the evening.

Kofi Kingston recalled to Fightful being presented the opportunity, and some of the public cynicism around it.

“When we got that opportunity, there was a lot of people who were on social media talking like, ‘You guys should be on the card. You guys are talented.’ We know we’re talented in the ring, but at the same time, you’ve got to think about the big picture. The amount of people that have hosted WrestleMania, at that time, it was just like The Rock and Cena as far as actual wrestling talent. Then it was us. We knew how big of an opportunity it was for us to be in that situation. It’s an honor to be in that situation. You just know the kind of trust that Vince has in us to be able to put us in that situation. You just know that when you look at the amount of people who have done it and been asked. To be even considered in the same sentence and breath as Cena and Rock in terms of entertainment on any kind of platform, it really says a lot. It’s not something we went into the office with and he’s like, ‘You know what guys, can I trust you to go out there and do this?’ No, he just gave us that role because he did trust us.”

Kofi Kingston would expand on WWE Chairman Vince McMahon’s influence on the group, and the spot they landed in. Kingston said that McMahon’s belief in their act has led to them gaining a unique variety of opportunities.

“Even with the whole inception of the New Day, Vince McMahon was the driving force behind keeping us together as a group and as a faction and putting us on TV and going back-and-forth with us for five or six months, meeting with him in the middle of Raw or SmackDown, before the show or after the show, taking the time with us to make sure that we got our stuff in sync. He was one of the biggest believers in us. We’ve been able to kind of keep that trust over the years, being able to deliver on so many different levels. As far as hosting a WrestleMania, that is a badge of honor. There’s not a whole lot of people that have been WWE superstars that can say they hosted WrestleMania. We wear it as a badge of honor.”

Kofi’s future leads him to the Smackdown Tag Team Championship match this weekend, which features himself and Big E vying for the titles against champions John Morrison and the Miz and fellow challengers the Usos. The three teams will compete in a ladder match during the two-night WrestleMania spectacular.

WWE WrestleMania 36 takes place this weekend, and can be viewed on PPV or the WWE Network. Fightful will have full, live coverage of the shows, and live post-show podcasts.