Kofi Kingston Interview with Justin Valentine
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00what's going on justin valentine with motor city sports talk the roar and the michigan panthers
00:09are getting ready for their final home game this sunday night and it's a little extra special twist
00:15it's wwe superstars night now what that means is on top of big e being there hosting as he has all
00:22season he's gonna have the help of two of his very good friends one of which is here with me right now
00:28the other two-thirds of the new day and one's right here kofi kingston how you doing today
00:32what's up man yeah yeah thanks for having me on i got you man how you feeling everything doing all
00:37right i feel fantastic man we're super excited about this uh you know biggie has been the official
00:42host of the michigan of the uh of you know the panthers um for a while and i've been seeing on
00:48social media like how much fun he's having he's been talking about all the fun that he's been having so
00:53like now myself and woods we get to like be in on the fun you know what i'm saying so
00:58we're really excited to be there really excited to interact with everybody i mean the crowd just
01:02seems like it's amazing so you know being wwe superstars we like amazing crowds so we can't
01:08wait to be there i love it man so you mentioned you're used to crowds right the wwe superstars
01:12now a football crowd how exciting and maybe even nervous is it to be in front of a live football
01:19experience hosting a live professional football game oh i wouldn't say nervous at all i think that we
01:25are uh like kind of excitement junkies you know especially i don't know if you've ever watched
01:29the wwe product but myself woods and e are you know two-thirds are all a group called the new day
01:35i said myself woods and e are two-thirds of the group my math is not good that would be three-thirds
01:39that would be all of us but we are the new day and uh what we do when we go out there is we make sure
01:44to engage with the crowd oftentimes like more so than we're paying attention to what's going on in the
01:49match so we're excited to be in front of a football crowd because you know how exciting uh you know
01:55how excited the fans are so we get to be a part of that it's going to be amazing you mentioned
01:58you've been watching biggie all season long right he's been hosting the michigan panthers home games
02:02how do you feel like he's been doing any constructive criticism that you can add on sunday night oh no no
02:09he's been doing a great job matter of fact he doesn't need us to be there he's been doing a
02:13great job on his own you know i think mainly for us we just want to be able to feel that energy too
02:19you know we want to be a part of it you know selfishly we want to be we want to be there
02:23and not to mention i mean uh we haven't had a chance to really hang out with all three of us
02:28as much as we'd like to so um for our own sake we just love being around each other uh
02:34we are truly like three brothers when we get together and people get to feel that that that
02:39energy and that vibe so it's going to be a lot of piggybacking off of each other where
02:44you know you guys are going to provide this sense of energy and high level entertainment and
02:49we're going to give it back and you're going to give it back to us and we kind of keep on going
02:52back and forth until the whole roof blows off so we're really again we're really excited to be there
02:56and be a part of it well you mentioned you guys all three of you haven't been able to hang out as
03:00much as you'd like to as of late uh for fans who don't what maybe watch the wwe product consistently
03:06but they're going to be at ford field sunday night what can they expect when they have all three of you
03:10together finally in the same building in this atmosphere it's a lot of chaos it's a lot of nonsense but
03:17most of all it's just good times and having fun we always want to make sure that everybody that
03:23comes to a show or everybody that like lays eyes on us leaves remembering that they had a great time
03:29so um that's what you can expect you know if you if you enjoy fun then you're gonna have a good time
03:34with us some people hate fun you know some people don't like to have a good time some people don't
03:38like smiling and laughing and if that's the case don't come don't come that's what you're gonna do
03:42don't come if you don't like that because there's gonna be so much fun so much excitement when we
03:47all get together and we're in that arena so um yeah it's gonna be good times all around all right
03:52so we have summer slam coming here at ford field as well that is august 5th let's slide into the
03:58wrestling side of things for the wrestling fans out there first and foremost you haven't been on tv
04:02for a minute you've been dealing with an injury how are you doing how's the rehab process going
04:06and when can we potentially expect you back i mean hopefully soon everything is going really well
04:11i'm actually uh in orlando at nxt right now been doing some things in the ring over the past a couple
04:17of days i'm here for the whole week just kind of seeing where we're at i think uh this friday will
04:21be like 12 weeks post-op from my surgery but uh i'm doing really really well you know uh i'm i'm able
04:27to put a lot of pressure on my ankle uh and do a lot of like regular human things so now it's time to
04:34like see how much like wwe superstar things i could do you know so uh that's kind of why i'm here but
04:41everything is going great i'm in great hands i've had great uh great training and great physical
04:46therapy i've been going about three times a week for the past 12 weeks so i'm just doing everything
04:50i can to to get back you know so um but yeah it's a one day at a time process but everything is
04:56progressing very very well very cool man so summer slam here in detroit talk about the excitement
05:01within the company to finally bring an event the magnitude of a summer slam back to the city of
05:08detroit in august oh we can't wait we can't wait see detroit i feel like is a city that doesn't get
05:14enough credit for how hype the fans are i said it all we are wrestling man anytime people ask about
05:21like where the best fans are you know i feel like detroit never gets a shout so i think that uh this
05:27wrestle may i mean this uh summer slam is going to be amazing as a matter of fact so
05:31back in like 2016 i believe wrestlemania was in detroit it was either 2016 or 2017 i remember
05:38because i was actually asked to go as a uh like developmental talent so i got to be there
05:44before i got to the main roster and experience that then 2007 oh what did i say 17 yeah i've been
05:50around for a long time i gave you a decade i wasn't gonna say that yeah 2000 yeah wrestlemania 23
05:562007 yeah i first when i just got signed with the company in 2006 and uh 2007 i actually got a chance
06:02to go and uh and be in the midst of detroit and what an incredible mania it was you know just um
06:08just either it was like the hair versus hair match right yes bobby lashley and umaga you know
06:13jeff hardy you know jeff hardy going through the ladder on edge yeah man it was a really cool mania and
06:20again for me like as a uh as a youth coming up like i knew i'm like oh my god like this is this
06:27is where i want to be so it provided a lot of motivation for me to like step my game up to get
06:31onto the main roster so um all credit to like the energy of the detroit crowd so um i think it's going
06:38to be like tenfold come summer slam you know what i'm saying so i'm looking forward to it i know the
06:44entire wwe roster is looking forward to it summer slam is always a special show and i feel like with
06:50the pay-per-views that we've been having uh this year like the momentum has really been building even
06:55before mania but mania was amazing you know night of champions just now was amazing so we're really
07:01just uh i feel like the game has been just stepped up and it keeps getting incrementally better so by the
07:07time summer slam comes around it's going to be a it's just going to be really awesome you guys got
07:11money in the bank in london before you even get to detroit that is wow summer for you guys
07:16great man so again wwe superstars night sunday night with the entire new day host in the michigan
07:22panthers final home game against philadelphia now when it comes to wwe when the new day debuted way
07:28back when you guys were actually heels okay at what point within the new day run did you realize was
07:36there a moment or a show or what was it that you realized we have something special here
07:41that's gonna blow up it's funny that we so now that we mentioned it it's actually pretty ironic
07:47because it's detroit was one of the shows so we didn't initially come out and have the intention of
07:52being heels or bad guys for those of you who don't know wrestle talk wrestle speak we're talking
07:57we'll talk here we're talking a little little wrestle speak here you know uh but we uh which was
08:02supposed to be like good guys and we were these positivity preaching preachers essentially just
08:06telling people to be better and like embrace the best versions of themselves and initially people
08:11were like they were they were happy to see us doing something because at the time we all myself wasn't
08:16we weren't doing anything we were kind of floundering um but then it wasn't you know maybe like a month
08:22into it people were just like oh we don't really like these guys we're gonna start chanting new day
08:26sucks you know and they would like just vehemently be chanting new day sucks throughout all of our
08:32matches and for us we were initially kind of like a little aggravated about that because we had
08:36worked so hard to get onto television and then we were getting rejected but the thing about being
08:41a wwe superstar is that you want to have people react it doesn't matter if they cheer you or they
08:47boo you as long as they're reacting and they're reacting strongly and they were reacting strongly
08:51for us so it was actually a show in detroit i believe we were wrestling uh gold dust and stardust at
08:58the time you know what i'm saying uh and and we were just getting booed out of the building and
09:04we came back through the curtain and we actually went to vince who watches every single show and
09:08we were like hey we got to talk tomorrow because people are like they're really not liking us we
09:14might need to flip the script a little bit and ended up being like the best thing for our careers
09:17uh for me never getting to be a bad guy uh on on television i was clamoring at the opportunity to do
09:25that so um it was great but detroit was one of the turning points where people were literally
09:30so mad at us uh we had to like change what we were doing so again like the passion that detroit brings to
09:38their to their shows and just all levels of entertainment is like it's kind of unmatched
09:42so with you being able to kind of sit back during the rehab watch what's going on of course the new
09:51day has turned into one of the greatest tag teams in wwe history what's a tag team right now that
09:59could be doing something special that we should keep our eyes out for about a time summer slam gets
10:04to detroit in august oh yeah well so myself uh and woods we had a chance to come to nxt and wrestle
10:10against a team called pretty deadly and we actually uh beat them for the nxt titles and we got a chance
10:16to run with them for a period of about like two to three months and uh as annoying as they are um
10:22they just debuted on the smackdown uh as annoying as they are they are incredibly talented yeah they uh
10:28they they have the ability to uh to embrace like the hate that people throw at them and they throw it
10:34back like so well so i think um they're definitely a team to to watch out for for sure um as the coming
10:42as as the weeks uh you know progress because they're like i said man they're just incredibly
10:47talented they have a good understanding of the business in general they know how to kind of work
10:52with the crowd and you know a lot of people who don't like to be booed sometimes will ignore the
10:57crowd and they'll just focus on their matches and you'll find very quickly that people lose interest
11:01in you they are not that they embrace just the the feelings from the emotions from the crowd
11:08yeah they give it back and that is really what wwe shows are all about that interactive experience
11:12hey so we're all fans here including yourself so let's have some fun some wrestling fandom questions
11:18for you i'm gonna run these by you just give me your favorite whatever it is that i give you when
11:22it comes to wrestling all right so we got what is your favorite pay-per-view name in wwe history oh boy
11:30favorite favorite pay-per-view name uh i mean i yeah it's tough i mean i i just there's a so i i like
11:42the older like classics you know yeah so like in your house was was cool and it's not like a creative
11:50like name or anything like that but i feel like it always had like a special vibe so i have a little
11:55bit of nostalgia actually i brought my son here to the pc to do some rehab with me to you know coach me
12:00along and as we were leaving he's like hey look there's a something called in your house i was
12:03telling him all about in your house you know so it was uh kind of you know just a nostalgia factor
12:09being in your house having wwe in your house okay well about your favorite moment that you watched
12:15as a fan before favorite moment oh as a fan so i went to wrestlemania 14 uh boston in boston yep yep
12:25when i was young we saved up all of our money in high school and uh you know we had the worst seats
12:31in the place or a bachelor literally up against the wall but we uh did like the special superstar
12:36um like meet and greet which we ate dinner the rock and roll express was there uh jim ross was there
12:43uh i saw edge there before this was like when he was about to debut yeah yeah i saw him in the crowd
12:49with the jackal and they were just like looking through the crowd we went up to him and tried to say
12:52what's up and the jack will suit us off but that's okay it's okay it's okay they're working you know
12:56what i mean but um that was an incredible experience and again one of the ones that was like oh my god
13:01like i have to find a way to get here all right so we're the roar here i gotta ask you in wrestling
13:08terms it's called a pop what is the loudest roar or pop that you have been a part of in your career
13:15whether it was for you or you were just a part of that segment or whatever it was the loudest pop
13:21that you've been a part of yep so it's probably split between two uh so number one before i got
13:29signed i was an extra for um undertaker was feuding with randy orton okay and uh i was a druid
13:38were you really i got to come out as a druid and like hold some uh some some torches yeah and when
13:45undertaker's gong hit yeah the people like were so incredibly loud yeah like and so bob orton actually
13:54came out with us this was the one where like the druids walk back and he stays back out and there's
13:57one druid that's there and it's bob orton you know randy orton's dad holding the thing gotcha
14:01so i feel like i feel like that one was probably the loudest one that i'd ever heard at the time
14:08um but then also when uh when we hosted wrestlemania and we had uh we came out and we introduced the
14:17hardys to come out for that multi-man tag match ass nobody knew that they were going to be there
14:23because they had just wrestled i think earlier that day or like the night before at a different
14:27promotion for you know some independent promotion yeah um but that was crazy loud too you know and that
14:35when i could actually like emote you know and be like and like wild out with the undertaker it was
14:39like huge pop and i had to like be stoic as a druid like oh my god this is crazy you know so yeah
14:46those are probably the two loudest ones i gotta tell you too the hardy boys return to that wrestlemania
14:50was probably one of the few returns in the past few years that nothing was spoiled even a little bit
14:55nobody saw that coming nobody saw that coming that was because we just it was that ladder match and we
15:01just assumed you guys would be the next the last participant in that ladder match right and then
15:06we didn't even know about them coming until like midway through that day so it's like oh you know
15:11you guys are going to host okay we have a special guest maybe coming out we're like so they finally
15:14tell us it's going to be the hardies and then we're like oh my god and to be sitting on that piece
15:18of information when you literally have like a hundred thousand people plus in the area that have no idea
15:24to be a part of that little circle it was very uh very cool well one more thing i want to bring up
15:29before we get you out of here uh some news that came through right before you and i actually got
15:34on here the iron sheik uh wwe hall of famer has passed away at the age of 81 uh what type of
15:40experiences can you being of course in the industry for as long as you have can you uh give us when it
15:45comes to the iron sheik and remembering him yeah we had talked about that right before we got on man
15:50uh i'm super shocking man because um you know he was such a big part of wrestling especially in the
15:5680s like the ultimate bad guy i was talking about people who were like not afraid to be booed yeah
16:03the ultimate just antagonist you know and was able to draw so much emotion out of people such a huge
16:10part of um of of wrestling and and building the product you know you have a lot of good guys you give
16:18the credit to for being able to bring people in but you also need somebody um who is you know
16:23equally like hateable you know what i'm saying as a character and he brought that every single time
16:29you know and just you know embrace it to the to the max you know so definitely a huge loss within our
16:36industry because even after the 80s and 90s like his uh you know his twitter page is always just off
16:42the charts you would always put a smile on your face and um you know still draw some emotion out of
16:48you you know what i'm saying i think it's like the ultimate compliment to a performer is somebody
16:54who's able to make you feel and um he definitely made people feel um so yeah definitely a a huge loss
17:01and uh and and really really sad um to to hear you know exactly right to hear it well and you mentioned
17:09there's something special in the industry with someone that can get booed just as much as someone
17:13that can get cheered right and that's exactly what he it's a special talent it's not as easy as people
17:18think because there's a type of boo that you need and he had the right one always did always did and
17:25it wasn't it's not like like like cheap heat either coming out and just saying random things it's like
17:29people like emotionally like they react they have a visceral feeling to you it makes me feel like that
17:36just means you're so incredibly talented at your craft so um yeah again just a sad day for sure
17:43and a big loss for the wrestling industry well and i'm comfortable to say that you guys will not
17:47get booed sunday night uh kofi kingston xavier woods biggie the new day wwe superstars night
17:52hosting the final michigan panthers home game uh sunday june 18th against philadelphia game time
17:58is seven o'clock tickets still available go to the usfl.com and then ford fields hosting summer slam
18:04august 5th you guys are taking over the motor city this summer i'm looking forward to it kofi thank you
18:10so much for taking the time sir good luck with your rehab and good luck sunday night all right
18:13thank you man looking forward to it come out and see us come out like i said if you like having fun
18:18come out and have all the fun when your boy is the new day come to town to do what we do it's gonna be
18:24great
18:29you