Kofi Explains Full Circle Moment Of Debuting Beside Prince Nana At AEW All In 2026

Before Kofi dropped his Jamaican accent in WWE, he debuted as a Jamaican, which his on-screen surname of "Kingston" was an homage to. Later down the line, he'd reveal that he was actually Ghanaian all along, and embrace his real identity. At the same time, another Ghanaian wrestler had already established himself on the indies: Prince Nana. 

Today both Kofi and Prince Nana aren't just signed to the same promotion, but in the same stable, which Kofi commented on during an interview on "TMZ's Inside The Ring."

"It is so crazy how things come around!" he expressed. "Initially, you know, when I first debuted as an on-screen character I was Kofi Kingston. From Kingston, Jamaica, you know? And people on MySpace were like really mad at me, Jamaicans were mad at me, and then Ghanaians were also mad at me because I wasn't representing!"

Kofi explained that his name is very common in Ghana, comparing it to being as common as the name 'Mike.' "If your name is Kofi, you're from Ghana, we know that. How come you're representing Jamaica? You don't want our culture or whatever," he recalled. "One of the big reasons that I went away from a Ghanaian character was because Prince Nana was already doing it in ROH! So I was like, 'Oh, I don't want to just come out and be like another guy! I got to do something different that hasn't been done!'"

Kofi claimed that he's crossed paths with Prince Nana "a little bit" over the years, and credited him for helping The New Level and Swerve Strickland win at AEW All In: London.

"He's been really awesome! Just a great personality, very knowledgeable about the business, I think underrated in a lot of different ways," he said. "Really cool to be alongside of him, it's just crazy how everything always comes back around."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "TMZ's Inside The Ring," and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.