Biggest Fan: Jane Picard "Chief Jay Strongbow was the first real wrestling 'character' that I can remember. I think that if I didn’t have an attachment to the wrestlers of the 80’s and 90’s I probably would have ranked him higher. He entered the ring in full Chief fashion dancing around the ring for the entertainment of the audience… would there really be an ULTIMATE WARRIOR without the Chief?"
Real Name (Kingston): Kofi Sarkodie-Mensah
Biggest Fan: John Rohner "A Hawaiian person. He has a sign called SOS which means save our ship."
When deciding on a wrestling gimmick, an always popular tactic is to embrace one's heritage. And these two superstars have both become hugely successful by doing just that.
Kofi Kingston debuted exactly five years ago today, but he has already made enough of an impression on our panel to crack the Top 100 Superstars list. He is the current United States Champion and is a three-time WWF Intercontinental Champion. At only 29 years old, the thoroughly entertaining Kingston no doubt has many years of wrestling ahead of him, which is very exciting considering that this young man has really started to come into his own recently: Pro Wrestling Illustrated ranked him #26 on the PWI 500 for 2010.
That same publication honored Chief Jay Strongbow with an award, as well. In 1973, eight years before Kingston was even born, PWI named Strongbow the most popular wrestler in the industry. A four-time WWWF Tag Team Champion and Hall of Famer, Chief Jay Strongbow paved the way for many of the superstars of the eighties and nineties. Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior, not to mention Tatanka, probably wouldn't have had their famous adrenaline surges had Strongbow not first "gone on the warpath" whenever the crowd cheered him on. A true innovator and one of the biggest superstars in the pre-WrestleMania era, this Native American had no reservations about laying down a beating on his opponent, whether it was Superstar Billy Graham, Mr. Fuji or Greg "The Hammer" Valentine.
Although the peaks of their careers were separated by nearly six decades, these two superstars are on this list because they've been true to themselves and their heritage, and being true to yourself is cool, boys and girls.
Although, the whole being true to your heritage theme that I used to link these two dudes together is kind of bogus since Kofi Kingston isn't really Jamaican. The guy was born in Ghana.
ReplyDelete