35 Current WWE Stars And Their '90s Counterparts

9. Kofi Kingston/1-2-3 Kid

Kofi Kingston and the 1-2-3 Kid
WWE.com/WWE

Originally New Day on this list as a modern-day Freebirds, but just felt not quite the right fit. Sure, there’s three of them, they switch up who competes, and they’re heels who sneak wins, but that’s it. So with that said, let’s take a look at why Kofi Kingston is essentially a present day 1-2-3 Kid.

Debuting as an athletic babyface who could pull off some jaw-dropping, innovate spots, the 1-2-3 Kid was a high-flying performer who was trusted to have a good match with anybody and as someone that was a great underdog face who could take a mighty ass-whooping. A heel turn would then follow as he joined up with a dastardly stable of bad guys (Ted DiBiase’s Million Dollar Corporation), although he'd never reach the promised land of main event status.

You could literally just take the above paragraph and change the words 1-2-3 Kid to Kofi Kingston, then substitute the Million Dollar Corporation for New Day.

It’s always hard for somebody so reliant on high-flying moves to truly get over as a heel, but the current run that New Day and Kofi are having is proving a successful one. Additionally, Kingston’s yet to have any misdemeanours against his name or spend any nights in Chyna - always a winner!

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Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.