[[quoteright:224:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kofikingston_8490.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:224:Boom!]]

'''Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah''' (born August 14, 1981) is a [[UsefulNotes/{{Ghana}} Ghanian]]-American [[ProfessionalWrestling professional wrestler]] with Wrestling/{{WWE}} and currently a part of the [[Wrestling/WWERaw Raw brand.]] He is a four-time [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/ic.html WWE Intercontinental Champion]], as well as three-time [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwf-us-h.html WWE United States Champion]], a one-time [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-world-t.html WWE World Tag Team Champion]] alongside Wrestling/CMPunk and a two-time [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-t.html WWE Tag Team Champion]] (once with Wrestling/EvanBourne and once with [[Wrestling/RonKillings R-Truth]].)

More information about his life and career can be found at [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kofi_Kingston That Other Wiki]].
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!!Tropes associated with Kofi Kingston
* AlliterativeName
* ArchEnemy: He and Wrestling/DolphZiggler once feuded almost nonstop for the midcard titles. They've occasionally revived their feud over the tag titles. Wrestling/RandyOrton qualifies as well. Epico & Primo, and The Prime Time Players while tag champ, the former with [[Wrestling/EvanBourne Bourne]] and the latter with [[Wrestling/RonKillings Truth]]. Wrestling/WadeBarrett's become one recently.
* TheArtifact: The reggae theme music and color scheme of his wrestling gear are artifacts of his FakeNationality... as is his name. [[hottip:note:[[GeniusBonus Kingston is the capital of Jamaica.]]
* AwesomeButImpractical: The S.O.S., which involves flipping himself and his opponent over rather awkwardly. It looks cool, but it's hard as all hell to execute, which is probably the reason it's never become his primary finishing move.
* AssKickingPose: It caused [[Wrestling/TheWorldsGreatestTagTeam Shelton Benjamin]] to initially dismiss him and Wrestling/ChrisJericho had no idea how to approach it.
* AwesomeYetPractical: His Trouble In Paradise finisher. It's a spinning kick to the face that can be executed on nearly anyone from nearly anywhere - including from the ring apron.
** There was on time he pushed TheMiz into the ropes, not even a foot away from him, and managed to land ''one of the nastiest kicks to his face'', knocking him out cold. Give Kofi a chance and he will literally pull the kick off ''anywhere''.
* BadassBeard
* BerserkButton: Don't mention his relative lack of success during his singles run. Not if you know what's good for your health. (See the trope below.)
* BewareTheNiceOnes: One of the WWE's most triumphant examples.
* TheChewToy[=/=]{{Curse}}: This poor guy can ''not'' seem to catch a break, especially as far as tag team partners go. First, his reign with Wrestling/EvanBourne was ended abruptly when the latter had a second Wellness Violation. He would later suffer a career-threatening injury to his foot, and hasn't been seen since. And just when it seemed like WWE had done him a solid by teaming him with [[Wrestling/RonKillings R-Truth]] (who also served a suspension stemming from the same incident), Truth has also been written off television again due to ''a broken foot.''
** Not to mention every time he lost the tag titles, it was on a house show.
** Subverted in the R-Truth case. Truth got better and he and Kofi became Tag Champions. Even when they dropped the belts, it was at Night of Champions.
* ContinuityNod: After losing the Tag Team Titles to Team [[Wrestling/{{Kane}} Hell]] [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson No]], Kofi and Truth split amicably as a tag team. They're still depicted as very good friends, though, to the point where their respective midcard singles feuds (Kofi as the IC Champion defending against Wrestling/WadeBarrett, and Truth as the challenger to Wrestling/AntonioCesaro's US Title) have almost overlapped at points.
* DreadlockRasta
** DreadlockWarrior
* EverythingsBetterWithSpinning: Zigzagged. His moveset's notably low on ''lucha libre''-style moves (that is, for lack of a better descriptor, the "[[BuffySpeak flippy stuff]]"), but a spin's the one thing that separates his [[FinishingMove Trouble In Paradise]] from...well, just a kick. Justified, however, as the way he does it really would transfer the momentum to the kick.
* {{Face}}: Hasn't been anything but in WWE.
* FakeNationality: Was billed as being from Jamaica, but it was revealed he's from Ghana, [[ShapedLikeItself West Africa.]] [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] when Wrestling/TripleH questioned him about his lost accent and he explained he was paying tribute to the Jamaican culture.
* FiveMovesOfDoom: He tends to finish tag team matches off a sequence of four signature moves followed by Trouble in Paradise.
* FragileSpeedster - as a midcarder.
** LightningBruiser - pushed as this during his brief upper-card feuds.
* GenreSavvy: Might have had a moment like this after a recent rematch with Wrestling/TheMiz. Miz tried to [[OutOfCharacterMoment shake Kofi's hand]] after the match. Kofi responded by dropkicking Miz in the face.
** His 2013 Championship win against Antonio Caesaro. During a championship match, it is very rare that someone will be able to measure up their opponent and then pull off their finisher...so while he was getting up after a failed pinning attempt, Kofi pulled out Antonio's leg and then used Trouble in Paradise to knock him out.
* IgnoredEnemy: Sometimes he's taken for granted by opponents with seemingly bigger fish to fry. Some people - like Wrestling/ChrisJericho and Wrestling/RandyOrton, for instance - have found out that this only makes him angrier, and isn't a good idea.
* IHaveTheHighGround
* {{Keet}}
* KidAppealCharacter
* LeParkour
* LondonEnglandSyndrome: Billed from, "Ghana, West Africa"
* LoopholeAbuse[=/=]ExactWords: Once saved himself from Elimination in the Wrestling/RoyalRumble by walking on his hands outside the ring, all the way to the steps. The rules state that a competitor is eliminated if he ([[Wrestling/{{Chyna}} or]] [[Wrestling/BethPhoenix she]]) goes over the top rope and '''both ''feet''''' touch the floor.
** For this, he won the Slammy Award for the [[{{Wrestling/BookerT}} "Tell Me I Did Not Just See That" Moment]].
** He pulled another such stunt at the 2013 Rumble, by jumping onto the recently eliminated Tensai's back, climbing onto the SpanishAnnouncersTable, then borrowing [[Wrestling/JohnBradshawLayfield JBL]]'s rolling chair and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO6DfTgiSOQ hopping back to the ring on it.]]
* MrFanservice: When he went after Wrestling/TheMiz during a segment involving them both and Larry King, a tux-wearing Kofi removed his jacket, tie and shirt. Audible female screaming could be heard from the audience.
* NamedByDemocracy: Kofi's and Evan's tag name, Air Boom, was voted by the fans.
* NoManOfWomanBorn[=/=]ExactWords: Played straight in his U.S. Title win against Wrestling/AntonioCesaro, where the latter boastfully declared that no ''American'' could beat him for the title. Kofi, of course, is from Ghana.
* NotQuiteFlight: Kofi jumps ''really'' ''high.''
* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: A subversion; Won the Intercontinental Title from Wrestling/TheMiz in a match that was (apparently) very acclaimed by wrestling dirtsheets and the IWC. Miz only shows up on Smackdown on Friday after the fact and without his title. But this moment ''wasn't'' offscreen if you happen to have the ION channel, which is the cable network on which WWE's new {{B Show}}, ''Wrestling/WWEMainEvent'', aired the match.
* OnlySaneMan: Kind of a given when your tag team [[Wrestling/RonKillings partner]] is seeing invisible {{Little Jimm|y}}ies.
* OneOfUs: In an interview with ''Magazine/NintendoPower'', he said he wanted a [[VideoGame/PunchOut pink hoodie]].
* PromotedFanboy: Was in the audience for ''[[Wrestling/WrestleMania WrestleMania]] XIV'', March, 29, 1998, almost a decade before he made his [=WWE=] debut.
* TheRival: Montel Vontavious Porter, a friendly rival mostly, who symbolically passed his torch onto Kofi.
* SignatureMove: Double Leg "boom" drop, jumping forearm, top rope cross body block in tribute to Wrestling/RickySteamboat, Frog splash to rising opponent's back, double open handed chest strike...
* SlasherSmile: His unofficial "logo", upon a second glance, is...[[http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/7900000/Kofi-Kingston-kofi-sarkodie-mensah-7985864-512-320.jpg a bit frightening.]]
* TookALevelInBadass: ''Huge'' during his feud with Wrestling/RandyOrton - on one occasion, he jumped from a barricade and [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMoments delivered a double leg drop to a prone Orton through the]] SpanishAnnouncersTable.
** Not only that, but in his Traditional Survivor Series tag team match against Team Orton, he pins both Wrestling/CMPunk and Orton -two former world champions- in 6 seconds, becoming the sole survivor of the match.
* UnderestimatingBadassery: Mainly because he's all smiles, but once you get him angry, all bets are off.
* UnderwearOfPower
* YankTheDogsChain: Kofi is the unfortunate victim of the glass ceiling in wrestling. Every time he gets a singles push and starts to get over, he gets the rug pulled from under him.