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Kofi Kingston is a WWE Superstar known across the world as an incredible high flyer.

The Ghanaian performer, who has captured 10 championship titles in WWE, regularly astounds millions of fans with breathtaking feats of agility.

Never is this more true than at the annual Royal Rumble event, as he somehow avoids elimination when thrown over the top rope by ensuring his feet don't touch the floor in the most innovative ways imaginable.

But few might guess the inspiration behind Kofi's athletic stunts and show-stealing spots.

He said: "It’s just one of those things where every match I’m involved in I always try to do something to stand out, regardless of whether I win or lose a match, I want you to leave that match talking about me, selfish as that may seem!

"Luckily with the Royal Rumble and Money In The Bank I’ve done some pretty unique things that haven’t been done, which is hard to do because Edge and Christian and the Hardy Boyz and the Dudleys have set the bar so high when it comes to those kind of matches, but for whatever reason the Royal Rumble, with the exception of John Morrison, nobody has really embraced the opportunity to stand out. There are so many things you can do so that’s the reason I do it and I guess it’s working!

"People ask me what have I got planned for next year and honestly I don’t really think about it until the week before or even less. These past two times with the WrestleMania battle royal and Royal Rumble I didn’t think of anything until literally 24 hours before. I always have faith that it will come.

"One of my go-to guys for ideas is Hornswoggle. First of all he is supposed to be my friend but he’s always telling me that I can’t do something. I’m like ‘you of all people should be supporting me, you’ve overcome so much to become a WWE Superstar, you should be motivating me, but here you are saying there’s no way I’m going to be able to do it!’

"Sure enough I’ll go out and do it and come back and he’s like ‘okay, good job, good job’. So he’s the guy who has a lot of different ideas and we bounce things off each other."

With the input of his 4ft 5in pal, Kofi's most memorable effort came in the 2012 Royal Rumble.

"I don’t know if I can pick a number one or rank them, but the handstand was probably the most dangerous one to do because I hadn’t done a handstand at that point in at least 10 years. If you actually go back and watch it and see the way that I’m walking, it’s because I can’t walk the other way, I kept trying to do it and I couldn’t walk a handstand walk, so I ended up walking backwards!

"That could have gone very wrong, very easily, I think Miz was the one who was throwing my leg, he could have thrown me over and I could have fallen, I was going the wrong way, but luckily it all worked out. It's good it did because it seems like Hornswoggle is watching, waiting for me to mess up so he can laugh!”

WWE is bringing two huge nights of action to the Echo arena in Liverpool as part of its UK tour next month.

The company will tape episodes of Raw and Smackdown right here on Merseyside on Monday and Tuesday, November 10 and 11, and Kofi for one, cannot wait.

"I love the fact over the last few years it’s just expected now that the crowds in the UK are going to be rowdy, particularly Raw and SmackDown. The European crowds, English crowds have really just taken over the entire arenas, so it’s always interesting to see what they’re going to chant and who they’re going to be chanting for, because there is always a different vibe to anything that we’re used to, so it’s something we all look forward to.

"The whole Daniel Bryan thing took off the day after WrestleMania and I’m pretty sure that was down to the European crowd at Raw, and there was the English crowd who loved Fandango. I was actually in the ring with Fandango at the Raw after WrestleMania when everyone started singing his song and I couldn’t believe it. You know how that took off.

"I’ve been to Liverpool on several occasions now and I’m glad we’re coming back. The crowd is so animated and involved, it makes it a joy for us to perform there. One of the benefits of travelling the world and visiting a city is actually getting to see it. Hopefully I will get the chance to check some things out. I actually went to The Beatles museum last time I was in Liverpool, Hornswoggle was with me too. He’s a good friend – he’s hilarious on all different levels of life.

The four-time WWE Intercontinental Champion has always stood out because of his athleticism, something he attributes to his childhood days.

"I took gymnastics before I became a wrestler, I've always been involved in sport. I don’t know, I feel like an old guy saying this but back in my day we used to play outside from like dusk until dawn, we had a woods and a forest we’d be running in and I’d be like swinging from the trees, hopping fences, riding bikes, playing baseball, just out all day. I’m outside right now of my house in Tampa, Florida and I don’t see one kid in the street. I think that really helped. I was always so active. That probably had a lot to do with the way I am now in the ring and physically the way I live my life.

"A funny story is that when I first started training, I ended up taking a suplex before learning how to bump! You’re supposed to go in this pattern where you get in the ring, you squat and then you take a bump from a short level, a short height, and then you gradually get higher and work your way up to a suplex. As I was doing things the guy was like ‘I bet you could do it, let’s try it’ and sure enough it was fine. I think from a very early time in my career people have looked at me and it’s been like ‘he can probably do this’ and I go out there and do it."

Having conquered the mid-card - Kofi is also a three-time WWE United States Champion and three-time tag title holder - his aim is to keep progressing to the next level.

"My goal is always about getting better. There are a lot of different guys coming in, especially with NXT now who I’m looking forward to working with and just having great matches with.

"And also it's trying to climb that ladder. If you’re not getting better you’re getting worse – I’m always trying to be better today than I was yesterday. That’s all I have control over. As long as I can still do it, go out and have fun and have great matches then it’s the greatest thing in the world, because this is all I’ve ever wanted to do, and I’m one of the very few people on the planet who actually get to say they’re living out their childhood dream."

One thing that could help him reach world champion status would be more time on the microphone, which for Kofi has been limited so far. He recognises this is essential to truly connect with an audience.

"That’s really a part of the big picture, but to put a positive spin on it, it leaves people with something to desire. When that does happen I think it will be great and a chance to show people another side of me they haven’t seen before.

"That’s what a big part of longevity is, you look at a guy like Kane, who has been with the WWE for so long, and he’s been able to do so many different things and play so many different characters. He can do comedic stuff, he can do very serious stuff, he takes his mask off, he does this corporate stuff, you know what I mean, being able to be here for a long time is not just about physically being able to hold up, it’s also being able to play people’s emotions differently, affect people’s emotions differently, and it keeps it fresh for us."

A new development has seen Kofi form an alliance with Big E and Xavier Woods, however after a couple on scenes, the trio have yet to reappear on television.

"We’re still trying to get it off the ground, we’ve had a lot of different matches on the live events together, and it’s awesome man, it’s a great dynamic, all three of us get along, anytime we’re in the ring it’s a great match, we have a lot of great chemistry doing things onscreen if you watch the backstage segments, it’s just fun. I think all three of us are on the same page. If and when it does get onscreen it’s going to be awesome and like I said before it’s just another way we can show different characters.

"We’ll see, you never quite know what is on the cards, even from the perspective of us being out there one day and being gone the next! You never quite know what is going to happen in WWE and that’s why people watch, that’s why Raw is the longest running episodic show in history, because people are always on the edge of their seats and they never know what’s going to happen. As far as what direction we’ll go with the group, who knows."

When WWE do arrive in Merseyside, the company will be bringing a strong British contingent of talent along for the ride - with Kofi revealing he and his newfound allies could be facing the most talked about group in WWE.

"The interesting thing about the UK tour is there are going to be so many people, it’s actually like an actual ‘UK tour’ because there are so many people on the roster from the UK now. You’ve got Adrian Neville, Paige, Wade Barrett, it’s like a UK takeover.

"I’ve had the pleasure of wrestling Wade in London which was awesome, everyone was obviously cheering for him but just to be in a match where you have somebody who is a hometown boy and has everybody in the crowd into the match like 100% was awesome. That’s what you clamour for as a performer. I would love to work with any of those guys.

"I know for sure I should be teaming up with Big E and Xavier Woods should be out there too so we’ll see who we’ll be facing, I think we should be going up against the Wyatts as of now."

Now 33, Kofi has one eye on the future, but has no intention of hanging up his boots any time soon.

"Right now my goal is to wrestle as much as possible, save as much money as possible, so that when it’s all said and done I can do anything I want. There are a lot of different avenues, I would definitely like to do some acting roles in some way, shape or form, but it’s far down the line. I would still like to be involved in the industry in some way too. When the time comes we’ll see.

"To be honest the coolest thing about being a WWE Superstar is yes, while we’re known for being in the ring and having matches, the coolest thing for me is doing things that are influential of people’s lives.

"For example there is the Make-A-Wish Foundation, we’ve done a lot of appearances for them, and the anti-bullying Be A Star campaign. We’re able to go out to different schools and let people know and kids know at a very early age that it’s not okay to bully and some of the different things they can do when they are being bullied. So that’s a cool thing for me.

"Even sharing a story - letting people know if you work hard enough you can follow your dreams. I’m living proof. I was always told I was always too small or I didn’t weigh enough.

"Now fast forward and I’ve held 10 championships in the most prestigious wrestling company in the world. Just being able to have that voice is the coolest part of my job, meeting people of the WWE Universe, because without them, there is no us."

You can buy tickets to watch SmackDown live at the Echo Arena on Tuesday, November 11 by calling 0844 8000 400 or by visitingwww.bookingsdirect.com, where tickets to all other #WWEUKTour shows are also available.