Personal Information
Full Name | Kofi Sarkodie-Mensah |
Date of Birth | August 13, 1981 |
Nationality | Ghanaian, American |
Height | 6'0'' |
Family | Kori Campfield (spouse) |
Kofi Kingston Videos
Kofi Kingston: A Brief Biography
Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah is a Ghanaian-American professional wrestler signed with WWE. He is best known for his work with WWE as Kofi Kingston. He is a fourteen-time tag team champion and a grand slam champion.
Professional Wrestling Career
Early Years (2005-2006)
In 2005, Mensah began training for a career in professional wrestling. In 2006, he made his wrestling debut at Chaotic Wrestling. Later, he wrestled for several promotions, such as NWA, MFW, NECW, EWA, and Chaotic Wrestling.
WWE (2006-Present)
Intercontinental, United States and Tag Team Champion (2007-2014)
In 2006, Mensah signed with WWE and began working for their developmental territories. While working for WWE, he received a new name called Kofi Kingston. After spending a year in FCW and OVW, they moved him to the main roster. In 2008, he made his debut on ECW. After a few months, they moved Kingston to RAW. After moving to RAW, he received his first match against Chris Jericho and defeated him to become the Intercontinental Champion. At SummerSlam, Kofi Kingston and Mickie James lost the Intercontinental and Women's Championship to Santino Marella and Beth Phoenix, respectively.
After losing the title, Kingston began aiding CM Punk against The Legacy. In October, they defeated Rhodes and DiBiase to win the WWE World Tag Team Championship. In December, they lost the title to The Miz and Morrison on a live event. Kofi was scheduled to enter the elimination chamber to compete for the World Heavyweight Championship. However, Edge attacked him before the match and took his spot. At WrestleMania XXV, he entered the Money in the Bank ladder match but lost. In June, he won the United States Championship from MVP.
After 126 days and numerous title defenses, he lost the title to The Miz. Kingston was given a singles push where he was involved in storylines with John Cena and Randy Orton. However, the push didn't last long due to a botched ending in a triple threat match. In 2010, Kingston entered the Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber, and Money in the Bank lader match but failed to win. Later, he won the Intercontinental Championship by defeating Drew McIntyre.
In 2011, Kingston won his fourth Intercontinental Championship by defeating Dolph Ziggler. During a storyline with The Corre, Kingston lost the Intercontinental Championship to Wade Barrett. After WrestleMania XXVII, he was drafted to RAW where he won the United States Championship by defeating Sheamus. In June, he lost the title to Ziggler and moved to the tag team division. From August 2011 to 2012, Kingston worked in the tag team division where he teamed up with Evan Bourne and R-Truth and won the WWE Tag Team Championship on two occasions.
After splitting with R-Truth, Kingston won his fourth Intercontinental Championship by defeating The Miz. In 2013, he entered the Royal Rumble but failed to win. Kingston had become a recurring highlight at rumble matches with entertaining saves. In April, he defeated Cesaro to win his third United States Championship. In May, he lost the title to Dean Ambrose. Kingston spent the remaining years in the singles division and took some time off due to injuries.
The New Day (2014-Present)
In 2014, Kofi Kingston and Big E were approached by Xavier Woods to form a stable. In November, the trio made its debut as The New Day. The New Day is regarded as one of the best stable and tag team of the current generation. In 2015, The New Day defeated Cesaro and Tyson Kidd to win their first WWE Tag Team Championship. At SummerSlam, they won the titles for the second time, which became the longest reign of the modern era of 483 days. After losing the titles, The New Day became the host for WrestleMania 33.
In April, The New Day moved to SmackDown. During their SmackDown run, The New Day won the SmackDown Tag Team Championship on seven different occasions. The trio defeated teams such as the Usos, Dolph Ziggler and Bobby Roode, Miz and Morrison, and Bludgeon Brothers to win the titles. At Survivor Series, The New Day was defeated by The Shield. In 2019, Kofi Kingston had a solo run where he feuded with Daniel Bryan. After a series of hurdles and matches, Kingston earned the opportunity to face Daniel Bryan. At WrestleMania 35, Kingston defeated Bryan to win the WWE Championship.
In October, Kingston lost the title to Brock Lesnar and returned to the tag team division. After WrestleMania 36, Kingston and Big E won the SmackDown Tag Team Championship. In July, they lost the titles to Cesaro, and Nakamura, and Kingston was sidelined. After returning in October, Kingston and Woods won the titles back, but they drafted Big E to SmackDown. The next night, they moved the team to RAW.
On RAW, they won the RAW Tag Team Championship from The Hurt Business. At WrestleMania 37, The New Day was defeated by AJ Styles and Omos. Kingston earned an opportunity to challenge the WWE Champion. At Money in the Bank, Kingston was defeated by Bobby Lashley. The New Day made sporadic appearances and teamed up on several instances. In January, the duo reunited with Big E on SmackDown. At Day 1, Kingston and Woods lost to The Usos. Kingston was last seen on SmackDown. At WrestleMania 38, Kingston and Woods lost to Sheamus and Ridge Holland.
Championships and Accomplishments
Championship | Number of Times |
WWE Championship | 1 |
WWE Intercontinental Championship | 4 |
WWE United States Championship | 3 |
WWE Raw Tag Team Championship | 6 |
WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship | 7 |
World Tag Team Championship | 1 |