Freddie Prinze Jr. On Moment Vince McMahon Said WWE Talent Would Be “A Star!”

On this week's Wrestling with Freddie podcast from iHeart Media's My Cultra Network, former WWE creative team member Freddie Prinze Jr. discussed the evolution of Kofi Kingston in WWE.

Freddie noted that in 2009 when he worked for the company, Kofi delivered a standout promo that set the wheels in motion for a potential push, building towards winning a mid-card championship. The promo was a segment filmed backstage involving a NASCAR vehicle, that had been customed made for Randy Orton at the time. The segment ended with Kofi vandalizing the car to the displeasure of Orton who watched on.

"All this happened because Kofi had this crazy scene on live television," Freddie Prinze Jr. explained. "Hey, maybe it was Monday Night RAW and it was the U.S. Title? But one of the NASCAR guys, and I don't follow NASCAR, so I don't know their names the way some of you do. So forgive me for not knowing.

"One of these guys gave Randy Orton a NASCAR. Like an actual NASCAR race car. NASCAR. And it's shiny and it's got all the logos. It looks like, you know, straight out of Tom Cruise's Days of Thunder. Maybe not with a good of hair as he had, but still, the same vibe, and it's glistening the way they have the lights on it. And Kofi's going just ballistic for something that happened. Forgive me, again, this is a long time ago. I can't remember.

"But he takes an ax. A fire axe to this NASCAR, while he's cutting the promo. So there's a ton of effort and breath behind it and it doesn't sound like the standard babyface promo, or babyface trying to be a tough guy. Hell, trying? The man is holding an ax and he's cutting holes into the hood of what looks like, and it's clearly not, but of what looks like a two million dollar car. However much a NASCAR costs. I have no idea."

Freddie Prinze Jr. revealed that he observed Vince McMahon's reaction, while Kofi Kingston was delivering the potentially career-changing promo.

"And he's like, 'Is this what you wanted? Is that what..' And he's yelling every time the ax hits. And I'm watching Vince's reactions to this and he's just lighting up like a teenager watching it. I mean, you just see when he sees something in somebody. He's like, 'That's it dammit. Yes!' He's just behind him all the way and then Kofi finally puts the axe through the windshield, or if you're in England, the windscreen. I respect all cultures. And he just jumps off the car and storms off, and Vince is like, 'Dammit. Yes!' and, 'this kid's gonna be a star!"

Following the promo, the WWE creative team were then assigned to create the storyline for Kofi Kingston chasing after a mid-card title. However, Freddie revealed it wasn't always easy to get an idea across, even with a green light to do so.

"We started writing crazy. As quick as we could, because we knew we had a green light," Freddie said. "And when you work at that company, there is so much uncertainty and so much of your hard work feels like it goes to waste sometimes because you get assignments that aren't even approved by the boss. Or maybe they were approved but just in passing, so he wasn't really listening."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Wrestling with Freddie with an h/t to Wrestling Inc for the transcription.