10 Best Wrestling Talkers Of 2019 (So Far)
8. Kofi Kingston
In which Kofi Kingston transcended the serious mode trope to elevate himself into the WWE Title picture ahead of WrestleMania 35.
There's a bass and a growl to his voice that powers the conviction he has in himself as a World Championship-calibre performer, which, coupled with his passion, presents him as man who has developed real gravitas throughout those much talked-about "11 years" in WWE. Kofi is also very, very good at using facial expressions to accentuate his sympathetic babyface character; downtrodden, vulnerable, and fierce at the finish, he is a Champion manipulator. He took the WWE fans on the KofiMania journey without once succumbing to the risk inherent to the often-basic material. It wasn't a basic task; he had to project himself as an overlooked, prospective headliner without complaining or aspiring too desperately to it.
Ultimately, he elevated that material, too, and often by not even delivering it; when he reacted to Vince McMahon's constant attempts to undermine him, he did so in good faith, and how could you not respect that optimism?
Kofi is a thoroughly likeable bloke. It's little wonder his 'Mania Moment soared as much as it did.