Ghanaian-American wrestler Kofi Kingston made history at WWE’s biggest annual calendar event Wrestlemania 35 which took place at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Sunday.
Squaring off against Daniel Bryan in a very feisty, entertaining and roller-coaster encounter, the veteran came up tops after finishing off Bryan with his signature Trouble in Paradise move to clinch the highly coveted WWE Championship.
Born Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah in Kumasi, Ghana, the 37-year-old’s victory makes him the second black man and the first native African to win the WWE Championship, according to CBS Sports.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you all.Without your love & support, especially over the past couple months, none of this happens. You helped me achieve my childhood dream & I’m eternally grateful for each & every one of you.Sincerely,Your WWE World Heavyweight Champion-Kofi— KOFI (@TrueKofi) April 8, 2019
Kingston was joined in the celebrations by his two sons and his fellow New Day teammates Big E and Xavier Woods who were ringside to support him during the fight.
📍Proud Ghana moment 🇬🇭💃🏿🥳🎉Kofi Kingston has become the first African-American WWE Champion after defeating Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 35.Keep soaring, Kofi 🏅 pic.twitter.com/2o9OFxdWET— #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) April 8, 2019
“It’s so emotional. Like, you work so hard to get here and sometimes you work as hard as you can and things aren’t going your way, you know? And you don’t know if the hard work is going to pay off. It’s paying off right now. It just feels surreal. It feels like a legitimate dream – I feel like I’m in a dream, and I don’t want to wake up,” Kingston said about his win in a post-match interview.
Kingston’s historic win was also widely celebrated and hailed by Ghanaians on social media. Take a look at some of the reactions below:
🚫WWE Champion🚫Intercontinental Champion🚫Smackdown Tag Team ChampionBow down to the first Ghanaian🇬🇭 and African to win the WWE #Wrestlemania Grand slam.Thank you for doing us all proud Kofi Kingston🇬🇭 pic.twitter.com/ChbwIHJqRW— Nat Tetteh🇬🇭 (@NatTetteh_NDC) April 8, 2019
📍Proud Ghana moment 🇬🇭💃🏿🥳🎉Kofi Kingston has become the first African-American WWE Champion after defeating Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 35.Keep soaring, Kofi 🏅 pic.twitter.com/2o9OFxdWET— #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) April 8, 2019
That is so great, well done the great hero in wwe wrestling Mania @ Kofi Kingston 😘😘👏👏💪 Ghanaians are so proud of You.— Clark Kofi (@ClarkKofi) April 9, 2019
So as everybro dey post, make I post some err. Congratulations Kofi Kingston for your call up to the Black Stars of Ghana. pic.twitter.com/lTr0WIkCor— Kumasi Jamie Foxx 🇬🇭 (@xtra_ordinaire) April 8, 2019