Kofi Kingston has admitted he would have liked his WWE Championship reign to have ended differently last October.
Friday Night SmackDown on Fox kicked off with a bang in October last year, as Kingston lost the WWE Championship in mere seconds in the show’s main event.
Brock Lesnar hit Kingston with just one F5 on the night before pinning him to win the WWE title in under ten seconds, as well as bring Kingston’s WWE title reign to an end after 180 days.
Many wrestling fans were angry with WWE’s decision to have Lesnar beat Kofi so easily as they felt it was disrespectful towards his 2019 reign.
Kingston himself has always tried to defend the decision to have him lose the title so easily, but in a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, he admitted he would have liked his WWE title reign to have ended differently.
The former WWE Champion said when asked how he felt about losing the title in under ten seconds to Lesnar: "I will say this: It was actually closer to eight seconds, not six. Those two seconds are a big difference in track and field [laughing].
“I was in the same boat as a lot of people. When I found out that it was going to end the way that it did, I had a different version. But at the end of the day, we are charged with going out and playing the role, and that's really all we can do. I was so blessed to have had the WWE Championship.
“The way that it came about, everything was just so serendipitous. From me having to wait 11 years to get a single title shot, then I was finally able to achieve the dream against a guy like Daniel Bryan, who was in the very same role as me five years before, when the people were demanding he become WWE Champion."
Kofi admitted he would have liked for his WWE title reign to end differently, but he doesn’t dwell on it as he’s proud of the impact his title reign and KofiMania had on many people.
He said: "It was the year of returns. The President of Ghana named that year 'Year of Return,' and that happened to be the year I won the championship and could go back to Ghana with the championship. I was able to show that championship to children all over and show them the most prestigious title in the history of wrestling, and motivate people that way.
“People who had been through any kind of struggle were able to look at my story and really believe they could do something because I actually did it. People of color, same thing. It's one thing to say, 'Anything is possible,' but it's another thing to say it's possible because it happened. I take a lot of pride in being the guy that everyone can look to.
“Yes, it ended in eight seconds. But I was thankful that everything unfolded the way that it did. It was picture-perfect from the gauntlet match to the Elimination Chamber, all the way through what people called 'KofiMania.'
“I try not to dwell on the way that it ended. Six months is a very long title reign in this day and age, and I was able to motivate people and push people to be the best version of themselves. At the end of the day, that's really all I want to do in this industry.
“I want to push people to follow their dreams, and I feel like I did a great job of that in that title reign. That's what I focus on. I would have liked for it to end differently, but at the end of the day, you go out and do the job you're asked to do."