WWE Superstar Kofi Kingston recently did an interview with Channel Guide Magazine to promote his role in the new Scooby-Doo and the Curse of the Speed Demon. Here are some highlights below:
On how Booty O’s made it from an idea to a real cereal now: “It has been crazy because when we first started out as a group we had a hard time getting approval to do things. For example, there was a time Xavier was wearing an Aircast because he had broken his ankle on a live event. So we wanted to say something on TV or have it part of an angle to explain why he was wearing gray and blue, New Day-themed Aircast, and they wouldn’t let us say it or acknowledge. We just had to go out there and be, and you picked up on it or not. Fast forward a year later and there is actually edible BootyOs for sale. When we go to tell Xavier, when we saw him, about our concept, before I can finish my sentence about what we would call it, he goes, ‘Yeah, BootyOs,’ So again, it’s amazing how we are always on the same page. That chemistry we have. So when we pitched the idea to creative and the merchandise team, they were on board. Two weeks later, they had a design and all of us on the front with the BootyO’s. It was great. Then everyone wanted to have the cereal when we had the shirt in a collective box. There was no actual cereal. Everyone was wondering where the cereal was, so now there has been enough demand that it’s out now. It’s been a wild ride with these guys. Our journey from being questioned of what we were dong to being hated and despised by the WWE Universe to now people buying our BootyO’s flavored cereal. It’s crazy.”
On RAW and Smackdown being competitive now: “For the SmackDown brand to be live, which it hasn’t been for a while regularly, the guys on that show see it as a chance to dethrone Raw as the flagship show. So us on the Raw side, we see this as a chance to keep up with ourselves and prove ourselves. We don’t want to relinquish the throne. So it’s instant competition with the brand extensions. That has been kind of missing within WWE over the past few years. There is no competition. Now with Raw and SmackDown, we have created a competition within ourselves. It really provides for an amazing product because we want to be the best on the Raw side, and they want to be the best on the SmackDown side. It provides for a great time for the WWE Universe. It’s been awesome so far. Raw has changed its look with a new set. It’s weird now seeing the announce table out of the arena and by the ramp. There are these little things that when you look at each show it has a different feel, and that’s good.”
On growing up as a Scooby-Doo fan: “I was a huge fan of Scooby-Doo. It was one of the staple cartoons that we grew up with as ’80s babies. To be in a movie with Scooby-Doo is right up there with becoming a WWE superstar, having my own toy and action figure and being in video games. Being in a cartoon, especially with a character I grew up watching, is really cool.”
On the challenges of voice-over work: “You have to be animated with your voice. A lot of the context I was given with the lines, I didn’t actually see or know what was going on. They would kind of tell me, and I would have to kind of put myself in that situation and really be a bit more emotional with my voice. In WWE, I can express emotions without even saying a word. I can show you I’m feeling pain on my face by making a certain facial or even show how I feel by the movements that I’m doing. It was a bit challenging in that aspect to envision myself in the role of this character and convey emotions that way. It was a lot of fun. Everyone was really cool. It was a different experience. I think when it’s all said and done with my wrestling career I would definitely like to get in some voiceover work. This is a good taste of what it would be like. So I’m in for sure.”
