WaleMania V Recap: Kofi Kingston, Booker T, Samoa Joe & More Appear

I was on hand for WaleMania V at Sony Hall in Manhattan and it was the place to be for fans of wrestling as well as the hip-hop scene. Before the show kicked off, Meka of 2DopeBoyz was spinning tracks that were both of the new and classic ilk (A Tribe Called Quest, Trick Daddy and plenty got the tip of the cap) as people lined up outside the theater of 46th began filing in.

Former WWE writer Kazeem Famuyide and Emilio Sparks were the co-MCs of the event as musical acts and familiar faces from all corners of the squared circle showed up to celebrate WrestleMania weekend kicking into full gear.

Soon-to-be two-time WWE Hall Of Famer (and five-time WCW champ, sucka) Booker T and Sharmell were the guests of honor as talent after talent showed up to pay their respects to the King and his Queen. Booker later mentioned that he shouldn’t be the reason for the celebration, but KofiMania is what everyone should be excited about (and they were). Booker also went on to say he hopes Kofi accomplishes something he wasn’t able to at WrestleMania XIX.

The first two big guests of note were Ricochet and Lio Rush as Kaz and Sparks picked their brains about their journey towards Sunday night. Rush even was asked what’s the most ridiculous question he’s ever gotten and the hype man said someone was curious if Bobby Lashley stole his girl.

Charly Caruso was a major show stealer as she found herself being peer pressured into rapping Tupac’s “Changes” in which she did flawlessly and verbatim. That received one of the biggest pops of the evening.

MVP, who has been to every WaleMania, was the next to take the stage as he shared a story of his son playing with Avengers figures until he saw one of his father’s matches. After that, he noticed his figure getting put into the mix and then getting put over by Thor and Iron Man, but not the Hulk. Nobody gets over Hulkamania (which got some big laughs)

The WWE commentary also got some shine as Corey Graves and Vic Joseph sat down for chat.

Luke Harper came rolling in with a Toronto Maple Leafs hoodie and received a big babyface reaction as did Cryme Tyme who helped motivate the crowd by asking the who looks “sexy AF.”

Tama Tonga received a massive ovation as he appeared with wine in hand to breath in the festivities (Good guy, that he is) and Shane “Swerve” Strickland later got some love from the crowd.

Another guest was Enzo Amore who appeared on stage two separate occasions and did some rapping on his second go-around.

A popular guest later on happened to be the WWE United States Champion, Samoa Joe. The crowd ate up Joe’s presence as he got some time to relish in the hip-hop vibe.

"Joe! Joe! Joe!" @SamoaJoe pic.twitter.com/rAomdM1eUS

— WrestleZone (@WRESTLEZONEcom) April 5, 2019

The biggest surprise of the evening was the appearance of The New Day, including the true man of the hour, Kofi Kingston. Sony Hall exploded with excitement as Kofi took center stage and Wale introduced him as champ and gave him plenty of time to open his heart to fans.

The 11-year vet did just that as he thanked everyone for the love and took a great deal of time to credit Big E and Xavier Woods for his career resurgence and further motivation to stay in game:

“When they came with an idea of the New Day, I was at the point in my career where I was thinking about hanging it up,” Kofi said.

@TrueKofi speaks from the heart at #WaleMania. pic.twitter.com/txD64GFuI2

— Dominic DeAngelo | One True Sport (@DominicDeAngelo) April 5, 2019

Kaz invited all talent who’s ever taken a bump to come on stage and celebrate. Faces from Chris Masters, to Tyler Bate, to DJZ all filled the stage to launch off what further had to be a raucous night.

Being 33 and on a bus for 10 hours before, I cut out at around 12:45 as WaleMania raged on.

List of guests on hand for WaleMania V: