September 15, 2025 • 22 mins
WWE Superstar Kofi Kingston returns to talk about the future of The New Day, going heel with Xavier Woods, his wildest Royal Rumble save spots, what’s still left on his WWE bucket list, and even calls out fan behavior that crosses the line outside the ring.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Battleground Podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
You'll play.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
And exclusive interviews with some of your favorite wrestlers.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Podcast stop it.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
What time you guys.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Welcome back into Iheartate his official wrestling podcast, The Battleground Podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
In his battle from Q ninety five and Man, we.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Are super excited because WWE is coming to Evansville at
the Ford Center and you can still grab tickets right
now ticketmaster dot com. And on the show today, we've
got a guest who's been on here plenty of times.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
At this point, we just say that he's family to
the show.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Kofe Kinkson is on the show. Man, it's a blast
half of your back.
Speaker 4 (00:48):
How you been man together for your boy? Put them
together for your boy. I've been great, man. I can't complain,
you know.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
I try to keep my spirits up even though we
are in the state of morning. As you all know,
we are morning the loss of the Tag Team Division,
and we are you know, anytime the New Day is
not at the Helm, we are not champions. Then that
just means that the Tag Team Division is dead. And
I've painted all my walls. You see this background here,
(01:15):
I've painted all my walls throughout my entire house, my
twelve thousand square foot house.
Speaker 4 (01:21):
All the walls are black. We painted them all black.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
I was just telling another interview that I took all
the clothes out of my kids drawers and I replaced
all their colorful clothes with black clothes.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
So what I'm mourn we are mourned, you know, as
the world should be. Morning.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
I'm a little upset that you're not dressed for the
occasion that you have the black walls, but then you
put a little background.
Speaker 4 (01:44):
On there like you're trying to break it up, you know,
And then you.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Also don't wear black too, so you know you should
be You should have started off the interview saying sorry
for your loss, expressing condolences. But I just somehow knew
that you weren't going to do that. If history is
any indication, I knew that you weren't gonna do that.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Hey, you know we're big fans of yours. So here's
what I'll do, because I didn't wear all black anything
like that. I'll take a moment of silence. How about that.
We'll do a moment of silence for everybody right now?
Is that is that will?
Speaker 3 (02:14):
That's help out for not wearing all black.
Speaker 4 (02:17):
It'll it'll, it'll suck less, it'll suck less.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
We'll give a moment of silence and then we'll do
the tin bell salute. But I don't have a bell.
So a moment of silence right now.
Speaker 4 (02:28):
Hey man, it was supposed to be a moment of silence.
He took a breath.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
Oh okay, another moment of silence.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
Are you taking this seriously or not? Are you taking
it seriously?
Speaker 3 (02:37):
Okay?
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Here we go, an you're taking a breath into that mic.
Speaker 4 (02:42):
That's a very expensive mic and it picks up everything.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
And here you are breathing into the mic, making a
mockery of our morning. Here, I'm not.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
Making a mockery.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
I will take another moment of silence, so a second
moment of silence, and I will let you be the
person that says, okay, now you can speak, So moment
of silence in three two one.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
I just want to say, Okay, we're not gonna do
this anymore because you're not taking it seriously.
Speaker 4 (03:10):
You're you're not seriously.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Bro, You didn't bile your head, you didn't you would
take my hat offs.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
You know what we'll do. We'll do some other ones
later down the Road. Kobe Kingson is our guest on
the show today. I want to talk about this because
even though we're mourning the loss of the New Day
winning the ww Tag Team titles, there's still a chance
that we could bring light to this darkness because you
got World's Collide coming up, and you're going after the Triple.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
A Tag Team Championship.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
And it's a pretty cool thing because when you look
at it, you never thought w W would be working
with other companies, and here we are with this big
collaboration with WWE or Triple A TNA. We've got all
these places that are working together. What do you think
about this?
Speaker 4 (03:57):
I mean, it's awesome, right it really, it really is. Man.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
We are in such a special time right now. And
I was just talking about this in another interview. How
you know we WWE has always been about like expanding,
right and branching out into different areas. But I feel
like in the past year and a half two years,
we have really just kind of sunk our teeth into
(04:20):
anything and everything that we possibly can bro even like
having advertisements in the ring, right, like we should have
been doing that like a long time ago, right, the tables,
the slim gym tables, the Prime Station, you know what
I mean, There's just so many different ways of interacting
and we have just like sunk our teeth into all
(04:43):
of them. And I think it's really really cool. I mean,
not to mention like all the international shows that we've
had this year, right, Like we've had so many premium
live events overseas. I mean, you know, Clash in Paris, right,
Like you know, Crown Jewel coming up Australia. It's it's
just wild to me, man, Like how we can keep
(05:05):
on pushing the boundaries and I love it, man, It's
it's really cool, and especially like worldwide, like we have
such a.
Speaker 4 (05:13):
Rabid fan base throughout.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
The entire world, and they also deserve to have shows
brought to them. You know, they deserve to see shows live,
and we are doing our best to get all over
the world and get in front of the people who
are some of our biggest fans.
Speaker 4 (05:28):
And then, you know, not to mention like.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
You were saying, like the collaborations with different companies with
Triple A, Like who would have ever thought, you know,
you know, I haven't getting to wrestle for the Triple
A Tag Team titles is going to be amazing at
Worlds Collide. Like I'm still kind of in like awe
that it's that's actually even happening, you know, So.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
We have a chance to uh to bring some more
tag Team Gold to the New Days side, which.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
You probably won't like you're a hater, but we like
I'm just saying, well, I'm still off.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
The we're big New Day supporters on this show.
Speaker 4 (06:05):
Actions speak loud of the words.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Okay, we were excited when you kick Big E out,
So don't don't come at me saying we're a hater.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
Okay, Okay, you say that now, but then you ask
if you want to more, and then you sit there
smiling and you don't even buy your head or take
off your hat. But I'm just I'm just saying, I'm
just calling it like I see it needless to say
collaborations with w W even like TNA, man, like you know,
Trick Williams being TNA chat heavyweight champion right like crazy crazy,
(06:31):
crazy crazy, but in the.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
Best way possible. Man.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
I think that there's so much talent over there between
Triple A and TNA, and now we get to like
have these fantasy bookings right where I think We have
maybe talked about this the last couple of times we
were on about there was a time where you never
thought you would see aj Styles on a w W
E screen. You never thought you would see Sammy z
Ain on a w W screen. You ever thought you
would see Kevin Owens, you know, but a Shinskate, knakamorro right.
(06:58):
You never thought you'd see these people in w W.
And then all of a sudden we crossed that barricade
and that barrier and it's like, oh my gosh, like
we did it.
Speaker 4 (07:05):
What else can we do?
Speaker 1 (07:06):
And we're still doing things that are like groundbreaking, and
for me personally, just being on the roster to experience
the change in the dynamic of the industry is really
really cool as a wrestling fan and as a as
a as a you know, an employee of the company
or an independent contractor of the company. You know what
I'm saying, right, Uh, it's it's uh, it's really an
(07:28):
honor to be a part of the generations and and
and keeping everything just like moving forward to give the
fans the best possible experience.
Speaker 4 (07:36):
That we can. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Absolutely, And you know we've talked about this before, but
now we can put these things into existence with WW
working with the likes of Triple A and TNA Fantasy Booking.
Is there a particular match, maybe somebody from that TNA roster,
maybe somebody from that Triple A roster that you want
to step inside the ring with.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
Maybe a one on one.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Of Kobe Kingston in this person or maybe a New
Day you know.
Speaker 4 (08:01):
I mean, it's a lot of talent there. Man. The
first thing that comes to my head is Moose. You know,
I really dig his energy. Man.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
I've always liked his energy when he comes out there
and he gets the people behind him, you know, and
then seeing him go toe to toe with with Oba,
you know, was really really cool. But I've always wanted
to kind of mix it up with him. You know,
who knows what will happen.
Speaker 4 (08:23):
But even the zig Man, we know him as Dolf Ziggla,
y'all know him as Nick Nemmoth. Now you know what
I'm saying for us to we talk about the best
of five hundred.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
Series that we had back in the twenty tens, right
throughout one of my favorite opponents, if not my favorite.
Speaker 4 (08:39):
I would love to mix.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
It up with him now, kind of like coming back
around he's gone all over the world and done his thing.
Speaker 4 (08:45):
And leveled up. I've leveled up, you know, doing my thing.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
So to come back and do it again would be
you know, would would be great.
Speaker 4 (08:52):
But there's a lot of talent over there.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Man's it's it's just surreal that we can actually talk
about it now. Right when they opened up the door,
when James came through the Royal Rumble a couple of
years back, I was like, oh, we can actually like
acknowledge that this this other company exists right now and
not get in trouble for it because y'all open the door.
But now the doors have been blasted open. And it's
(09:14):
just really cool to see the collaboration. Man. I think
it's great for us, and it's also incredible for the
fans who are fans of WWE, CNA, you know, Triple A,
whatever it is that you're a fan of.
Speaker 4 (09:26):
You can you know, see a really cool crossover. Man.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
And I'm thinking about that too, because I feel like
now we have an opportunity with the video game, right like.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
All these DLC's and everything else go, let's go, man.
I mean, I'm excited thinking about it. And you know,
if I throw a fantasy booking out here for myself.
I would in mind seeing you talk about Nick Nimmoth.
A lot of people know hims Dovzy Girls as well.
Maybe we get New Day versus the Nimus.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
Yeah yeah, Now, I mean, you know it's gonna be
a squad. It's gonna be a squash match. Now, you
know it's going to be a squash mask now me
and Woods or you know, I'd like to do it
just for the sake of like checking off the box.
And I respect his talent of anything, but now it's
it's got to be it's got to be a squash now.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
You know, it's gotta be less than five minutes the guy.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
Yeah, Hey, we don't get paid by the hour, you
know what I'm saying. So, uh but nah, man, it
would be It would be great, man, it would be great.
Even just like the back and forth on the mic.
Man like he's so underrated on the mic, underrated man,
like underappreciated in a lot of different ways. And uh,
I just I love when he just you know, he
he gets out there and he starts getting real passionate
(10:37):
on the mic, and you can, like I'm getting goosebumps
even thinking about it like you you feel his emotion
when he grabs that mic He is so incredibly passionate
and then just so incredibly talented too, So you know.
Speaker 4 (10:49):
It would be it would be great.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
But you know, I just want to put that out
into the universe, right and then see what happens.
Speaker 4 (10:56):
We'll take it from the absolutely now.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
I want to know this because I mean, you've accomplished
so much in your career with WW, multiple tag team
championship reigns, uh, the unforgettableut WW Championship run, kofe Mania,
building a legacy not only would New Day but also
as Kofe Kingston. What is still left on Kofi Kingston's
wrestling bucket list?
Speaker 1 (11:19):
The funny The funny thing is is like I've never
been a bucket list guy. I've never like had all
these different like goals, And I think it's kind of
impossible in a lot of ways with WW to even
like set goals because there's so much unpredictability. There's so
much that you don't you just don't know what's gonna happen.
(11:40):
You don't know what tomorrow is gonna bring. So I
take a lot of pride in being able to adjust.
Speaker 4 (11:45):
On the fly.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
You know, I take a lot of pride in being
able to like take what's given to me and make
it into the best possible products.
Speaker 4 (11:53):
You know. So I don't know, man, I really, I
really don't. Man. I think.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
For Xavier to have a singles title, I know that's
important to him, and I know he's like long's it's
long overdue, you know what I'm saying, Uh, talking about
people who are like incredible on the mic.
Speaker 4 (12:13):
He's amazing on the mic, He's amazing in the ring.
His physique, I don't know if you've seen the boy.
I don't know if you've seen him. I don't know
if you've seen him.
Speaker 3 (12:22):
On the show recently.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
So yeah, body game up? Oh there were Yeah? Yeah,
did he flex for you?
Speaker 3 (12:29):
It did in flex.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
He had a little bit of neck issue, so he
didn't really do much of anything.
Speaker 4 (12:34):
Yeah. Yeah, Yeah, he's been he's been trying to take
it easy.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
But he's just so uh you know, just so benevolent
and so just he's he's a he's he works diligently.
You know, he doesn't have any quit in him. A
lesser man would have been home laid up trying to rehab.
But Woods is out there every single week, you know,
out there doing it and that yes, he's being forced
(12:58):
by that ballheaded tyrant, Adam. You know he's being forced,
but he's out there and he's doing it. That's the
kind of guy he is. He's not gonna sit around
and complain about it. He just goes out and he
gets the job done. That's the kind of man that
he is, you know what I'm saying. So he deserves
to have singles goal. It's long overdue, you know. So
(13:19):
we're gonna keep on putting the pressure on the bald
headed tyrants. That's Adam Pierce, the general manager of RAW,
and we're going to We're gonna force him to make
that happen at some point in time.
Speaker 3 (13:32):
Yeah, absolutely, for sure.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Covie Kingston our guest right now, get your tickets Monday night,
Raw is heading to the Ford Center in Evansville. Ticketmaster
dot coms where you can still grab those tickets.
Speaker 4 (13:43):
Now.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
A lot of people know, Covid Kingston, You've given some
great moments, some crazy moments when it comes to the
Royal Rumble, creative save spots, they're great, fantastic. Now when
you're coming up with these ideas, is that all you do,
you have a little creative squad helping you out, And
was there ever an idea that was just way too
wild to pull off?
Speaker 4 (14:03):
Well, see, now I see what you're doing here. I
see what you're doing here.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
Because you fed it with the you let in with
oh well kofee in the Royal rumble and then was
there and now you're talking about the last few times
I was in the rumble and how when I want
to go try to save myself it didn't quite work
out so much.
Speaker 3 (14:18):
Now I know that's no, no, no, no, no. I
was not bringing that up.
Speaker 4 (14:23):
Saying that's I know.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
Look, I know where you're going, I know where you're
going to crumbs that you're leading to, and so let's
just go ahead and put it out there.
Speaker 4 (14:31):
I know what you're trying to do. Man, that's that
you know you you've changed, broy.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
You Hey, I'm out, I'm out. I was not trying
to bring up anything of you on.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
The last couple of spots I was asking in the
past before those, was there ever a crazy spot that
you're like, nah, I'm not gonna do this, or how
do you come up with these spots?
Speaker 1 (14:49):
No, man, it's it's a situation where, yeah, you try
to figure out ways to uh to outdo yourself and
raise the bar, you know what I'm saying. Every single
So after being like a decade in of doing these
incredible things, which I always give credit to John Morrison
because he was the one who jumped all the way
(15:10):
to the barricade and spider man his way back to
the ring, and then the next year when he wasn't
with the company, I was like, Okay, somebody can.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
Fill that spot.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
And then insert the next ten years of creating memorable
spots and moments for the Royal Rumble. But I think
it's a situation again where it's like it's very difficult
to stand out in WWE because the roster is so
incredibly talented. So anytime you can find a place where
(15:39):
you can do something unique, you gotta go ahead and
do it, you know. So for me, that was the
Royal Rumble, and that turned into something something really crazy
and special, you know. But at the same time, like
I think that we should all be trying to challenge
ourselves and not be afraid of failure, you know. So
as the years went on with the Royal Rumbles, situation
(16:00):
like I'm trying to level up, and I'm like, okay,
well let's push the barrier. Let's push the barrier a
little bit more. Let's see if we can do this
impossible thing.
Speaker 4 (16:09):
You know.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
Can I get pushed from the top grope and land
all the way on the batricade? You know, seems impossible.
I don't know, can I do it? Didn't really work
out the way that I wanted it to, you know,
But I don't think that this is a life lesson
is even though things might seem impossible, that shouldn't stop
you from trying to do the impossible, because there's a
(16:30):
lot of growth in there. There's a lot of growth,
like the biggest uh like the biggest growth or the
most growth that we have come from the moments when
we failed. So not that you go out there and
you try to fail, but if you go and you
try as hard as you can and you fail, you
level up and you come back stronger.
Speaker 4 (16:46):
Look at Goku and Dragon Ball Z.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
People think it's just an anime cartoon or whatever, But
there's a lot of life lessons in that, you know,
and then you get to a point where you don't
fear fear, you don't fear failing, you know, and in
front of thousands of people and in front of millions
of people, and then your confidence is built up.
Speaker 4 (17:07):
You know.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
It's like, well I failed in front of a lot
of people before what I'm still alive.
Speaker 4 (17:12):
I'm still here.
Speaker 1 (17:13):
So you go out to you know, you keep on
pushing yourself. So I love those lessons. I love the
lessons that you learn in failure.
Speaker 4 (17:21):
And yeah there have been.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
I've always willing to try things and sometimes they work out,
sometimes they don't. You pick yourself up, you dust yourself up,
and you try again, and it.
Speaker 4 (17:34):
Makes you stronger for it. So I think that is
the most That's what I'm like.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
The most grateful for throughout the entire like Royal Rumble
Spots Extravaganza, you know, is just being able to put
myself in a situation where I've learned and I've leveled
up as a human being, as an athlete.
Speaker 4 (17:57):
As a performer, as a wrestler, as a person. Know.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
So yeah, yeah, solid answer right there.
Speaker 4 (18:04):
Now.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
I know, Uh, time is precious because you gotta still
mourn over those you know, tag team division championships and
everything else, and you gotta you know, kind of get
mentally in the right headspace to win those Triple A
tag team championship. Last question for you, because we all
know that you've had some iconic themes in the past,
including one of my favorites.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
If we go back to the s O s uh.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
But if Kobe Kingston could hand pick anyone in music
to craft his next theme song, who's the top person
on that list?
Speaker 4 (18:37):
Dang, that's man. Wow.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
Uh, there's so many, it's really impossible to choose.
Speaker 4 (18:45):
But the first name that came to my head was
Central C.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
He is a rapper from the UK, from the UK,
and he has a lot of just a lot of
great songs out there. And I can't tell if like
I just like the accent or if I if I
like the content of the lyrics. The lyrics are great,
you know, and he has a great beats and everything
like that. But yeah, Central Central C, you know, would
(19:13):
be the one right now. And then you know, Mega
Ran Megarran is Megarran is good. You know, he has
our theme right now, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 4 (19:21):
Uh. Sometimes he likes to pop off at the mouth.
He goes to these uh he.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Has a performance or whatever, and he tries to show
out and he tries to incite the crowd and tries
to get them to chant New Day Sucks to our song,
which we don't appreciate, you know what I'm saying. But
at the same time, we got to give him props
for making our song. You know, the man is the
man is talented. I just wish he would apply his
talents in a direction that was, uh, that was a
little bit more positive.
Speaker 4 (19:44):
You know.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
We always talk about the power of positivity and we
practice that on a weekly basis.
Speaker 4 (19:49):
And to see uh Mega Ran go to.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
These different uh uh avenues and uh different different venues
and and incite these these riots and this vitriol these people,
it's disheartening to see. I mean, not if it's heartening
as the people themselves, because they should know that New
Day rocks, that we don't suck. We're the greatest tag
(20:13):
team of all time. We you know, have the most
tag team rains. You know what I'm saying. We've done
this for a long time. We've done it very well.
So when you say New Day sucks, you're really saying
a lot more about yourself. You're saying that you don't
understand what it means to be successful. You don't understand
what actual success is. You don't understand what the word
sucks actually means because you can't really associate.
Speaker 4 (20:34):
That with us.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
But I digress. You know, I don't want to go
too off topic. I don't want to go too off topic.
Speaker 4 (20:40):
Central CE, Central C would probably be the man who
I would have as an artist.
Speaker 3 (20:46):
Yes, solid, solid pick right there, kofe.
Speaker 2 (20:49):
Before we let you go, is there anything you want
to say, uh to people that are watching or listening
to this right now?
Speaker 4 (20:54):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (20:55):
We got that show in Evansville coming up, you know
what I'm saying, and at the Ford Center.
Speaker 4 (21:00):
And I have a really.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
Special place in my heart for Evansville because, as I've
probably mentioned before, I went to the Tropicana Casino several
years back, and I tried my luck on a slot
machine and I put a quarter in and I won
fifteen hundred dollars.
Speaker 4 (21:15):
That's right. So my luck is always up in Evansville.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
So chances are there's gonna be some good things that's
gonna happen in relation to myself and the new day.
So I'm looking forward. I always look forward to going
there just so I can like capitalize on the luck
I don't really care for the people. I don't really
care for the people, you know what I mean. You
guys come, you guys have a good time. There's a
lot of good energy there. You probably enjoy being around
each other and all the different the great.
Speaker 4 (21:38):
Energy that you bring. But I don't me personally, I'm
not there for the people.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
I'm there to capitalize on the luck, to be a
suckybust of the good.
Speaker 4 (21:47):
Fortune that is that I received. When I come there,
it's like a vortex for me.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
I go in there and all the just the good
luck comes to me and good things happen to me
to me, so I can't wait to be there for me,
you know. And there's a show going on as well.
There's the show going on as well. You know it's
gonna be a great show. You know what I'm saying.
Are your favorite WW superstars, you know, if you want to,
if you're a yater, if you're a yater, you're gonna
get to go out there. And yet with jau So
(22:14):
and maybe even Jimmy you so now looks like they're
getting back together. You got two brothers who are twins
in the womb who fought uh what came to fisticuffs.
Speaker 4 (22:24):
Are they really twins? I don't know. I don't know.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
I wouldn't fight my twin brother. But that's that's neither
here nor there. It's gonna be a great show. Tickets
are still available ticketmaster dot com. If you like having fun,
then come to the show. And if you don't like
having fun, then stay your ass somewhere else. As a
as in the house.
Speaker 4 (22:42):
You know what I'm saying. So we can't wait to
be there. It's gonna be great.
Speaker 3 (22:48):
I am going to end it just like that, boom,
We're done.
Speaker 4 (22:51):
Yeah,
Welcome to the Battleground Podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
You'll play.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
And exclusive interviews with some of your favorite wrestlers.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Podcast stop it.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
What time you guys.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Welcome back into Iheartate his official wrestling podcast, The Battleground Podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
In his battle from Q ninety five and Man, we.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Are super excited because WWE is coming to Evansville at
the Ford Center and you can still grab tickets right
now ticketmaster dot com. And on the show today, we've
got a guest who's been on here plenty of times.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
At this point, we just say that he's family to
the show.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Kofe Kinkson is on the show. Man, it's a blast
half of your back.
Speaker 4 (00:48):
How you been man together for your boy? Put them
together for your boy. I've been great, man. I can't complain,
you know.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
I try to keep my spirits up even though we
are in the state of morning. As you all know,
we are morning the loss of the Tag Team Division,
and we are you know, anytime the New Day is
not at the Helm, we are not champions. Then that
just means that the Tag Team Division is dead. And
I've painted all my walls. You see this background here,
(01:15):
I've painted all my walls throughout my entire house, my
twelve thousand square foot house.
Speaker 4 (01:21):
All the walls are black. We painted them all black.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
I was just telling another interview that I took all
the clothes out of my kids drawers and I replaced
all their colorful clothes with black clothes.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
So what I'm mourn we are mourned, you know, as
the world should be. Morning.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
I'm a little upset that you're not dressed for the
occasion that you have the black walls, but then you
put a little background.
Speaker 4 (01:44):
On there like you're trying to break it up, you know,
And then you.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Also don't wear black too, so you know you should
be You should have started off the interview saying sorry
for your loss, expressing condolences. But I just somehow knew
that you weren't going to do that. If history is
any indication, I knew that you weren't gonna do that.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Hey, you know we're big fans of yours. So here's
what I'll do, because I didn't wear all black anything
like that. I'll take a moment of silence. How about that.
We'll do a moment of silence for everybody right now?
Is that is that will?
Speaker 3 (02:14):
That's help out for not wearing all black.
Speaker 4 (02:17):
It'll it'll, it'll suck less, it'll suck less.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
We'll give a moment of silence and then we'll do
the tin bell salute. But I don't have a bell.
So a moment of silence right now.
Speaker 4 (02:28):
Hey man, it was supposed to be a moment of silence.
He took a breath.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
Oh okay, another moment of silence.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
Are you taking this seriously or not? Are you taking
it seriously?
Speaker 3 (02:37):
Okay?
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Here we go, an you're taking a breath into that mic.
Speaker 4 (02:42):
That's a very expensive mic and it picks up everything.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
And here you are breathing into the mic, making a
mockery of our morning. Here, I'm not.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
Making a mockery.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
I will take another moment of silence, so a second
moment of silence, and I will let you be the
person that says, okay, now you can speak, So moment
of silence in three two one.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
I just want to say, Okay, we're not gonna do
this anymore because you're not taking it seriously.
Speaker 4 (03:10):
You're you're not seriously.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Bro, You didn't bile your head, you didn't you would
take my hat offs.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
You know what we'll do. We'll do some other ones
later down the Road. Kobe Kingson is our guest on
the show today. I want to talk about this because
even though we're mourning the loss of the New Day
winning the ww Tag Team titles, there's still a chance
that we could bring light to this darkness because you
got World's Collide coming up, and you're going after the Triple.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
A Tag Team Championship.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
And it's a pretty cool thing because when you look
at it, you never thought w W would be working
with other companies, and here we are with this big
collaboration with WWE or Triple A TNA. We've got all
these places that are working together. What do you think
about this?
Speaker 4 (03:57):
I mean, it's awesome, right it really, it really is. Man.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
We are in such a special time right now. And
I was just talking about this in another interview. How
you know we WWE has always been about like expanding,
right and branching out into different areas. But I feel
like in the past year and a half two years,
we have really just kind of sunk our teeth into
(04:20):
anything and everything that we possibly can bro even like
having advertisements in the ring, right, like we should have
been doing that like a long time ago, right, the tables,
the slim gym tables, the Prime Station, you know what
I mean, There's just so many different ways of interacting
and we have just like sunk our teeth into all
(04:43):
of them. And I think it's really really cool. I mean,
not to mention like all the international shows that we've
had this year, right, Like we've had so many premium
live events overseas. I mean, you know, Clash in Paris, right,
Like you know, Crown Jewel coming up Australia. It's it's
just wild to me, man, Like how we can keep
(05:05):
on pushing the boundaries and I love it, man, It's
it's really cool, and especially like worldwide, like we have
such a.
Speaker 4 (05:13):
Rabid fan base throughout.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
The entire world, and they also deserve to have shows
brought to them. You know, they deserve to see shows live,
and we are doing our best to get all over
the world and get in front of the people who
are some of our biggest fans.
Speaker 4 (05:28):
And then, you know, not to mention like.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
You were saying, like the collaborations with different companies with
Triple A, Like who would have ever thought, you know,
you know, I haven't getting to wrestle for the Triple
A Tag Team titles is going to be amazing at
Worlds Collide. Like I'm still kind of in like awe
that it's that's actually even happening, you know, So.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
We have a chance to uh to bring some more
tag Team Gold to the New Days side, which.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
You probably won't like you're a hater, but we like
I'm just saying, well, I'm still off.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
The we're big New Day supporters on this show.
Speaker 4 (06:05):
Actions speak loud of the words.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Okay, we were excited when you kick Big E out,
So don't don't come at me saying we're a hater.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
Okay, Okay, you say that now, but then you ask
if you want to more, and then you sit there
smiling and you don't even buy your head or take
off your hat. But I'm just I'm just saying, I'm
just calling it like I see it needless to say
collaborations with w W even like TNA, man, like you know,
Trick Williams being TNA chat heavyweight champion right like crazy crazy,
(06:31):
crazy crazy, but in the.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
Best way possible. Man.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
I think that there's so much talent over there between
Triple A and TNA, and now we get to like
have these fantasy bookings right where I think We have
maybe talked about this the last couple of times we
were on about there was a time where you never
thought you would see aj Styles on a w W
E screen. You never thought you would see Sammy z
Ain on a w W screen. You ever thought you
would see Kevin Owens, you know, but a Shinskate, knakamorro right.
(06:58):
You never thought you'd see these people in w W.
And then all of a sudden we crossed that barricade
and that barrier and it's like, oh my gosh, like
we did it.
Speaker 4 (07:05):
What else can we do?
Speaker 1 (07:06):
And we're still doing things that are like groundbreaking, and
for me personally, just being on the roster to experience
the change in the dynamic of the industry is really
really cool as a wrestling fan and as a as
a as a you know, an employee of the company
or an independent contractor of the company. You know what
I'm saying, right, Uh, it's it's uh, it's really an
(07:28):
honor to be a part of the generations and and
and keeping everything just like moving forward to give the
fans the best possible experience.
Speaker 4 (07:36):
That we can. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Absolutely, And you know we've talked about this before, but
now we can put these things into existence with WW
working with the likes of Triple A and TNA Fantasy Booking.
Is there a particular match, maybe somebody from that TNA roster,
maybe somebody from that Triple A roster that you want
to step inside the ring with.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
Maybe a one on one.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Of Kobe Kingston in this person or maybe a New
Day you know.
Speaker 4 (08:01):
I mean, it's a lot of talent there. Man. The
first thing that comes to my head is Moose. You know,
I really dig his energy. Man.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
I've always liked his energy when he comes out there
and he gets the people behind him, you know, and
then seeing him go toe to toe with with Oba,
you know, was really really cool. But I've always wanted
to kind of mix it up with him. You know,
who knows what will happen.
Speaker 4 (08:23):
But even the zig Man, we know him as Dolf Ziggla,
y'all know him as Nick Nemmoth. Now you know what
I'm saying for us to we talk about the best
of five hundred.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
Series that we had back in the twenty tens, right
throughout one of my favorite opponents, if not my favorite.
Speaker 4 (08:39):
I would love to mix.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
It up with him now, kind of like coming back
around he's gone all over the world and done his thing.
Speaker 4 (08:45):
And leveled up. I've leveled up, you know, doing my thing.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
So to come back and do it again would be
you know, would would be great.
Speaker 4 (08:52):
But there's a lot of talent over there.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Man's it's it's just surreal that we can actually talk
about it now. Right when they opened up the door,
when James came through the Royal Rumble a couple of
years back, I was like, oh, we can actually like
acknowledge that this this other company exists right now and
not get in trouble for it because y'all open the door.
But now the doors have been blasted open. And it's
(09:14):
just really cool to see the collaboration. Man. I think
it's great for us, and it's also incredible for the
fans who are fans of WWE, CNA, you know, Triple A,
whatever it is that you're a fan of.
Speaker 4 (09:26):
You can you know, see a really cool crossover. Man.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
And I'm thinking about that too, because I feel like
now we have an opportunity with the video game, right like.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
All these DLC's and everything else go, let's go, man.
I mean, I'm excited thinking about it. And you know,
if I throw a fantasy booking out here for myself.
I would in mind seeing you talk about Nick Nimmoth.
A lot of people know hims Dovzy Girls as well.
Maybe we get New Day versus the Nimus.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
Yeah yeah, Now, I mean, you know it's gonna be
a squad. It's gonna be a squash match. Now, you
know it's going to be a squash mask now me
and Woods or you know, I'd like to do it
just for the sake of like checking off the box.
And I respect his talent of anything, but now it's
it's got to be it's got to be a squash now.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
You know, it's gotta be less than five minutes the guy.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
Yeah, Hey, we don't get paid by the hour, you
know what I'm saying. So, uh but nah, man, it
would be It would be great, man, it would be great.
Even just like the back and forth on the mic.
Man like he's so underrated on the mic, underrated man,
like underappreciated in a lot of different ways. And uh,
I just I love when he just you know, he
he gets out there and he starts getting real passionate
(10:37):
on the mic, and you can, like I'm getting goosebumps
even thinking about it like you you feel his emotion
when he grabs that mic He is so incredibly passionate
and then just so incredibly talented too, So you know.
Speaker 4 (10:49):
It would be it would be great.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
But you know, I just want to put that out
into the universe, right and then see what happens.
Speaker 4 (10:56):
We'll take it from the absolutely now.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
I want to know this because I mean, you've accomplished
so much in your career with WW, multiple tag team
championship reigns, uh, the unforgettableut WW Championship run, kofe Mania,
building a legacy not only would New Day but also
as Kofe Kingston. What is still left on Kofi Kingston's
wrestling bucket list?
Speaker 1 (11:19):
The funny The funny thing is is like I've never
been a bucket list guy. I've never like had all
these different like goals, And I think it's kind of
impossible in a lot of ways with WW to even
like set goals because there's so much unpredictability. There's so
much that you don't you just don't know what's gonna happen.
(11:40):
You don't know what tomorrow is gonna bring. So I
take a lot of pride in being able to adjust.
Speaker 4 (11:45):
On the fly.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
You know, I take a lot of pride in being
able to like take what's given to me and make
it into the best possible products.
Speaker 4 (11:53):
You know. So I don't know, man, I really, I
really don't. Man. I think.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
For Xavier to have a singles title, I know that's
important to him, and I know he's like long's it's
long overdue, you know what I'm saying, Uh, talking about
people who are like incredible on the mic.
Speaker 4 (12:13):
He's amazing on the mic, He's amazing in the ring.
His physique, I don't know if you've seen the boy.
I don't know if you've seen him. I don't know
if you've seen him.
Speaker 3 (12:22):
On the show recently.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
So yeah, body game up? Oh there were Yeah? Yeah,
did he flex for you?
Speaker 3 (12:29):
It did in flex.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
He had a little bit of neck issue, so he
didn't really do much of anything.
Speaker 4 (12:34):
Yeah. Yeah, Yeah, he's been he's been trying to take
it easy.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
But he's just so uh you know, just so benevolent
and so just he's he's a he's he works diligently.
You know, he doesn't have any quit in him. A
lesser man would have been home laid up trying to rehab.
But Woods is out there every single week, you know,
out there doing it and that yes, he's being forced
(12:58):
by that ballheaded tyrant, Adam. You know he's being forced,
but he's out there and he's doing it. That's the
kind of guy he is. He's not gonna sit around
and complain about it. He just goes out and he
gets the job done. That's the kind of man that
he is, you know what I'm saying. So he deserves
to have singles goal. It's long overdue, you know. So
(13:19):
we're gonna keep on putting the pressure on the bald
headed tyrants. That's Adam Pierce, the general manager of RAW,
and we're going to We're gonna force him to make
that happen at some point in time.
Speaker 3 (13:32):
Yeah, absolutely, for sure.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Covie Kingston our guest right now, get your tickets Monday night,
Raw is heading to the Ford Center in Evansville. Ticketmaster
dot coms where you can still grab those tickets.
Speaker 4 (13:43):
Now.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
A lot of people know, Covid Kingston, You've given some
great moments, some crazy moments when it comes to the
Royal Rumble, creative save spots, they're great, fantastic. Now when
you're coming up with these ideas, is that all you do,
you have a little creative squad helping you out, And
was there ever an idea that was just way too
wild to pull off?
Speaker 4 (14:03):
Well, see, now I see what you're doing here. I
see what you're doing here.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
Because you fed it with the you let in with
oh well kofee in the Royal rumble and then was
there and now you're talking about the last few times
I was in the rumble and how when I want
to go try to save myself it didn't quite work
out so much.
Speaker 3 (14:18):
Now I know that's no, no, no, no, no. I
was not bringing that up.
Speaker 4 (14:23):
Saying that's I know.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
Look, I know where you're going, I know where you're
going to crumbs that you're leading to, and so let's
just go ahead and put it out there.
Speaker 4 (14:31):
I know what you're trying to do. Man, that's that
you know you you've changed, broy.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
You Hey, I'm out, I'm out. I was not trying
to bring up anything of you on.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
The last couple of spots I was asking in the
past before those, was there ever a crazy spot that
you're like, nah, I'm not gonna do this, or how
do you come up with these spots?
Speaker 1 (14:49):
No, man, it's it's a situation where, yeah, you try
to figure out ways to uh to outdo yourself and
raise the bar, you know what I'm saying. Every single
So after being like a decade in of doing these
incredible things, which I always give credit to John Morrison
because he was the one who jumped all the way
(15:10):
to the barricade and spider man his way back to
the ring, and then the next year when he wasn't
with the company, I was like, Okay, somebody can.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
Fill that spot.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
And then insert the next ten years of creating memorable
spots and moments for the Royal Rumble. But I think
it's a situation again where it's like it's very difficult
to stand out in WWE because the roster is so
incredibly talented. So anytime you can find a place where
(15:39):
you can do something unique, you gotta go ahead and
do it, you know. So for me, that was the
Royal Rumble, and that turned into something something really crazy
and special, you know. But at the same time, like
I think that we should all be trying to challenge
ourselves and not be afraid of failure, you know. So
as the years went on with the Royal Rumbles, situation
(16:00):
like I'm trying to level up, and I'm like, okay,
well let's push the barrier. Let's push the barrier a
little bit more. Let's see if we can do this
impossible thing.
Speaker 4 (16:09):
You know.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
Can I get pushed from the top grope and land
all the way on the batricade? You know, seems impossible.
I don't know, can I do it? Didn't really work
out the way that I wanted it to, you know,
But I don't think that this is a life lesson
is even though things might seem impossible, that shouldn't stop
you from trying to do the impossible, because there's a
(16:30):
lot of growth in there. There's a lot of growth,
like the biggest uh like the biggest growth or the
most growth that we have come from the moments when
we failed. So not that you go out there and
you try to fail, but if you go and you
try as hard as you can and you fail, you
level up and you come back stronger.
Speaker 4 (16:46):
Look at Goku and Dragon Ball Z.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
People think it's just an anime cartoon or whatever, But
there's a lot of life lessons in that, you know,
and then you get to a point where you don't
fear fear, you don't fear failing, you know, and in
front of thousands of people and in front of millions
of people, and then your confidence is built up.
Speaker 4 (17:07):
You know.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
It's like, well I failed in front of a lot
of people before what I'm still alive.
Speaker 4 (17:12):
I'm still here.
Speaker 1 (17:13):
So you go out to you know, you keep on
pushing yourself. So I love those lessons. I love the
lessons that you learn in failure.
Speaker 4 (17:21):
And yeah there have been.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
I've always willing to try things and sometimes they work out,
sometimes they don't. You pick yourself up, you dust yourself up,
and you try again, and it.
Speaker 4 (17:34):
Makes you stronger for it. So I think that is
the most That's what I'm like.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
The most grateful for throughout the entire like Royal Rumble
Spots Extravaganza, you know, is just being able to put
myself in a situation where I've learned and I've leveled
up as a human being, as an athlete.
Speaker 4 (17:57):
As a performer, as a wrestler, as a person. Know.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
So yeah, yeah, solid answer right there.
Speaker 4 (18:04):
Now.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
I know, Uh, time is precious because you gotta still
mourn over those you know, tag team division championships and
everything else, and you gotta you know, kind of get
mentally in the right headspace to win those Triple A
tag team championship. Last question for you, because we all
know that you've had some iconic themes in the past,
including one of my favorites.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
If we go back to the s O s uh.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
But if Kobe Kingston could hand pick anyone in music
to craft his next theme song, who's the top person
on that list?
Speaker 4 (18:37):
Dang, that's man. Wow.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
Uh, there's so many, it's really impossible to choose.
Speaker 4 (18:45):
But the first name that came to my head was
Central C.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
He is a rapper from the UK, from the UK,
and he has a lot of just a lot of
great songs out there. And I can't tell if like
I just like the accent or if I if I
like the content of the lyrics. The lyrics are great,
you know, and he has a great beats and everything
like that. But yeah, Central Central C, you know, would
(19:13):
be the one right now. And then you know, Mega
Ran Megarran is Megarran is good. You know, he has
our theme right now, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 4 (19:21):
Uh. Sometimes he likes to pop off at the mouth.
He goes to these uh he.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Has a performance or whatever, and he tries to show
out and he tries to incite the crowd and tries
to get them to chant New Day Sucks to our song,
which we don't appreciate, you know what I'm saying. But
at the same time, we got to give him props
for making our song. You know, the man is the
man is talented. I just wish he would apply his
talents in a direction that was, uh, that was a
little bit more positive.
Speaker 4 (19:44):
You know.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
We always talk about the power of positivity and we
practice that on a weekly basis.
Speaker 4 (19:49):
And to see uh Mega Ran go to.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
These different uh uh avenues and uh different different venues
and and incite these these riots and this vitriol these people,
it's disheartening to see. I mean, not if it's heartening
as the people themselves, because they should know that New
Day rocks, that we don't suck. We're the greatest tag
(20:13):
team of all time. We you know, have the most
tag team rains. You know what I'm saying. We've done
this for a long time. We've done it very well.
So when you say New Day sucks, you're really saying
a lot more about yourself. You're saying that you don't
understand what it means to be successful. You don't understand
what actual success is. You don't understand what the word
sucks actually means because you can't really associate.
Speaker 4 (20:34):
That with us.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
But I digress. You know, I don't want to go
too off topic. I don't want to go too off topic.
Speaker 4 (20:40):
Central CE, Central C would probably be the man who
I would have as an artist.
Speaker 3 (20:46):
Yes, solid, solid pick right there, kofe.
Speaker 2 (20:49):
Before we let you go, is there anything you want
to say, uh to people that are watching or listening
to this right now?
Speaker 4 (20:54):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (20:55):
We got that show in Evansville coming up, you know
what I'm saying, and at the Ford Center.
Speaker 4 (21:00):
And I have a really.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
Special place in my heart for Evansville because, as I've
probably mentioned before, I went to the Tropicana Casino several
years back, and I tried my luck on a slot
machine and I put a quarter in and I won
fifteen hundred dollars.
Speaker 4 (21:15):
That's right. So my luck is always up in Evansville.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
So chances are there's gonna be some good things that's
gonna happen in relation to myself and the new day.
So I'm looking forward. I always look forward to going
there just so I can like capitalize on the luck
I don't really care for the people. I don't really
care for the people, you know what I mean. You
guys come, you guys have a good time. There's a
lot of good energy there. You probably enjoy being around
each other and all the different the great.
Speaker 4 (21:38):
Energy that you bring. But I don't me personally, I'm
not there for the people.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
I'm there to capitalize on the luck, to be a
suckybust of the good.
Speaker 4 (21:47):
Fortune that is that I received. When I come there,
it's like a vortex for me.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
I go in there and all the just the good
luck comes to me and good things happen to me
to me, so I can't wait to be there for me,
you know. And there's a show going on as well.
There's the show going on as well. You know it's
gonna be a great show. You know what I'm saying.
Are your favorite WW superstars, you know, if you want to,
if you're a yater, if you're a yater, you're gonna
get to go out there. And yet with jau So
(22:14):
and maybe even Jimmy you so now looks like they're
getting back together. You got two brothers who are twins
in the womb who fought uh what came to fisticuffs.
Speaker 4 (22:24):
Are they really twins? I don't know. I don't know.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
I wouldn't fight my twin brother. But that's that's neither
here nor there. It's gonna be a great show. Tickets
are still available ticketmaster dot com. If you like having fun,
then come to the show. And if you don't like
having fun, then stay your ass somewhere else. As a
as in the house.
Speaker 4 (22:42):
You know what I'm saying. So we can't wait to
be there. It's gonna be great.
Speaker 3 (22:48):
I am going to end it just like that, boom,
We're done.
Speaker 4 (22:51):
Yeah,
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