Kofi Kingston says it's "silly" that The Rock isn't regarded as an African-American WWE Champion

Kofi Kingston had a phenomenal 2019, where he won the WWE Championship for the very first time. It was a big achievement for Kingston, as well as WWE, as African-American Superstars hadn't won many WWE Championships over the years.

In a recent appearance on WWE Hall of Famer D-Von Dudley's Table Talk podcast, Kofi Kingston was asked about becoming the first African-American to win the WWE Championship. Kingston corrected D-Von by stating that The Rock was the first one to win it:

"I think it’s silly that people try to not count The Rock in that category. Regardless of what you look like, you are what you are. He’s black. Whether he’s half black, he’s black. I definitely take a lot of pride in that sentiment like you said. I think for a long time, people of color, especially African Americans have been waiting for someone who looks exactly like them to hold that title." (H/T WrestlingInc)

He said that the people had made it happen and they demanded that he be given an opportunity, not just African-Americans but people of all races. Kofi also said that his story was that of struggle and people can be motivated by his story.

Kofi Kingston as WWE Champion

The likes of Booker T and Mark Henry have also held world titles in the company, but they held the World Heavyweight Champion. The Rock was the only African-American before Kofi Kingston that held the WWE Championship, winning it eight times.

Kofi Kingston's WWE Championship reign began at WrestleMania 35, where he defeated Daniel Bryan to win the title, for the very first time. He held the belt for 180 days, losing the title to Brock Lesnar on SmackDown in October, 2019. Kingston has gone on to hold the SmackDown Tag Team title once again in 2020, and has now held the title for 6 times.