Ghanaian Wrestler Explains Why He �Faked His Nationality�

Kofi Sarkodie Mensah is a Ghanaian wrestler who has once won the Intercontinental and the United States Championships. He has also won the World Tag Team Championship with CM Punk. He began wrestling professionally in 2005, under the ring name of Kofi Kingston. He billed his country of birth as Jamaica rather than Ghana. According to him, people would be more likely to embrace a person from the land of Bob Marley and �reggae music� than someone from Ghana. This was the rational behind his change of nationality. Many Ghanaians especially wrestling lovers considered him as a poor patriot whose patriotism does not enable him to understand how all men everywhere feel about their blood, flag and motherland. In a recent interview with SkySports, the WWE Raw superstar explained why he�s dropped the Jamaican gimmick and confirmed his real birthplace as Ghana, West Africa. �I was actually born in Ghana, West Africa,� Kingston said. �As far as the whole Jamaican thing is actually concerned, growing up I actually loved everything about Jamaica. I loved the food, the culture, the laid-back attitude. When I came to the WWE initially I wanted to come out to something that attributed both my love for wrestling and the Jamaican heritage. �I wanted to come out to something unique and something people had never seen before. But at a certain point it becomes about being real and true to yourself, as opposed to playing a character. You look at guys like Triple H. When he first started out he was Hunter Hearst Helmsley and before that he was Terra Ryzing I don�t know if a lot of people know that. Stone Cold Steve Austin was Stunning Steve Austin before he became Stone Cold. The Rock was Rocky Maivia before he became The Rock. Shawn Michaels was a Rocker before he became the Heartbreak Kid. I think in wrestling and the WWE you see a trend of guys who make transitions. And I think for me I�m in that transition stage into coming into my own.� After confirming his Ghanaian heritage, WWE Superstar Kofi Kingston revealed how much he is looking forward to seeing his country perform well at this year's FIFA World Cup."I'm definitely excited about Ghana being in the World Cup," Kingston told skysports.com. "Hopefully we can make our mark. We did alright the last time. We'll try and take it to the top this time. I'll definitely be rooting for them." Ghana has been drawn with Germany, Australia and Serbia in Group D. But the former Intercontinental Champion is confident in his countrymen's ability. "It's not going to be easy for sure. I know they're all very good teams. We'll see how we'll stack up against them but I know Ghana is ready to bring it."