Introducing...Kofi Kingston

June 4, 2:26 PMPro Wrestling ExaminerMark Satrang

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This past week live on Monday Night RAW from Birmingham, Alabama, young rising superstar Kofi Kingston became the WWE United States Champion for the first time. He beat his fellow rising superstar Montel Vontavious Porter clean in the middle of the ring. And in a very rare move in today’s WWE climate, the two men shook hands in the middle of the ring post-match.

To say that Kofi has accomplished a lot in his young career would be an understatement. Even though he was born in Ghana in west Africa, he has been billed as being Jamaican since his debut. Let’s face it, a happy-go-lucky Jamaican beach bum is a lot easier to market than someone from Ghana, a country many have probably never heard of.

He began wrestling professionally in 2005 and was signed to a WWE developmental contract in September 2006. He toured the WWE developmental circuit, working at Deep South Wrestling, Ohio Valley Wrestling and Florida Championship Wrestling

Video packages hyping his impending debuted began airing on the ECW brand in December 2007. He debuted in January 2008 on the ECW brand and racked up a four-month undefeated streak in singles competition. In June 2008 he was sent to RAW in the 2008 Draft and on his first night as a RAW superstar he was tapped to beat Chris Jericho for the Intercontinental Championship, live on pay per view. It was apparent that WWE had big things in store for Kofi.

He held the Intercontinental Title for two months but rebounded quickly. By October he teamed up with CM Punk to beat Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase, Jr. to win the World Tag Team Championships. A month and a half later they lost the Championships to The Miz & John Morrison but Kofi kept his popularity in tact.

After the loss he has remained a solid mid-card fixture on the RAW brand and tried his best to steal the show at WrestleMania XXV in the Money in the Bank ladder match.

His victory over MVP was definitely an upset and a bit of a pleasant surprise. Both Kingston and Porter have become big fan favorites and Porter has arguably been riding the push of his career currently and the loss to Kofi comes as bit of a shock. The two men (along with William Regal and Matt Hardy) will meet in a four corners match at this Sunday’s Extreme Rules pay per view. Expect Kingston to come out of the match still as Champion and continue his feud with Regal and Hardy while Porter moves on to bigger things.

Kofi Kingston has an infectious personality and undeniable charisma that makes it easy for the fans to get behind. He’s young, well built, incredibly in shape and one of the most agile athletes in WWE today. Barring any unforeseen circumstances expect the Kingston to have a long and prosperous career in the ranks of World Wrestling Entertainment.

Billed Height – 6’
Billed Weight - 218 lbs.
Nicknames - The Jamaican Sensation
Billed From – Kingston, Jamaica
Signature Moves - Trouble in Paradise
Major Titles Held - WWE United States Championship (current), WWE Intercontinental Championship, WWE World Tag Team Championship
Debuted - 2006

For more info:
Kofi Kingston's profile on WWE.com
Kofi Kingston's Wikipedia entry
Kofi Kingston on Online World of Wrestling