Kofi Kingston Shares Who Inspired His Royal Rumble Spots

During Sunday’s Royal Rumble matchup, New Day members, Xavier Woods and Big E, paid homage to their stablemate, Kofi Kingston. Each member wore gear that showcased Kofi Kingston’s amazing Rumble moments from over the years, captured in comic book form.

Kingston has made a name for himself within the Rumble match, saving himself from elimination in different, unique ways to the point that the WWE Universe anticipate witnessing his next close escape each year.

Turns out, however, that another man inspired Kingston to begin his accidental tradition. Speaking with ‘The Sun,’ Kofi shared that he never intended for these near eliminations to become what he’s known for in the Rumble. He also directly credited former WWE Superstar, John Morrison, as his initial inspiration.

“I didn’t expect to become the guy who people look to do something cool in the Rumble in terms of avoiding elimination,” he admitted. “Actually, it was all started by John Morrison for me when he got knocked off the apron and jumped all the way to the barrier and parkoured his way back into the ring. Then the next year when it came to the Rumble he was not around so I was like, ‘Hey, let me try to fill this void’.”

“It became something cool and I tried to figure out something to do it again the next year and then all of a sudden everyone is like, ‘What’s Kofi gonna do now?’ Fast-forward a few years later and here we are,” he said.

“It’s cool and I couldn’t say exactly which one was my favorite, I just put them all out there and let the people rank and pick their best. It’s just cool to be in that spot,” he confessed. “The Royal Rumble is really about being the guy who survives 30-plus people and goes on to WrestleMania, then people are also looking at me. So it’s really great to be in that position.”