After seven shows in seven days, we are finally finished! We had seven demanding days of travel, waking up for early plane rides almost every day, and minimal sleep, in addition to having grueling matches each night. All these factors have most definitely taken their toll on each one of us. But no matter how tired we are and no matter how banged up our bodies get, there are several reasons that undeniably make it all worthwhile.

The Brisbane crowd was certainly among the loudest, wildest and most supportive on the entire tour. But all the crowds and all the fans I met throughout New Zealand and Australia were so friendly and enthusiastic. From the lucky contest winners that we signed autographs for before the shows and the dedicated devotees who wait in our hotel lobbies and meet us in airport terminals in hopes of an autograph or a photo opportunity, or just to give us a thoughtful gift, to the people that watch and read our interviews and articles, and even the interviewers themselves; all these people and these situations remind us of how fortunate we are to be a part of World Wrestling Entertainment.

At the end of every show, the fans are on their feet cheering, booing, reacting in some way. Believe this: nothing beats the inner feeling of satisfaction knowing that we have done our jobs and provided, for even a brief moment, an environment where people can forget their stresses, problems or whatever else they have going on in their outside lives, and be entertained. This feeling is what makes all the sacrifices worthwhile.

I have just completed my first New Zealand/Australia tour and hopefully it will be the first of many. I cannot wait to come back because the people of these countries have made it such an enjoyable experience for me. Thank you all for that. Thanks to those people who actually took the time to get a gift for me to take back home. I will be adding them to my collection. Finally, thanks to all of you who tuned in to this blog series over the past few days. I hope you had as much fun reading as I had writing them! Until next time, folks!

The rumors behind the size of the Sydney crowd were indeed true. There were at least 17,000 rabid fans, screaming frantically from the opening bell to the final pinfall. After the show, all of our fans packed the five-story parking garage, reciting Australian sayings and chants. Just like the previous crowds, the Sydney WWE fans were in a massive frenzy, even after the show was over.

This morning’s trip to the zoo almost didn’t happen. We originally planned on waking up early for breakfast and then catching a cab over to the zoo at 8:30. But upon finding out that we had a bus heading over there at 10 a.m., we opted to push breakfast back to 9:30. When we got downstairs, we found out that there would be no bus to take us. Quick thinking led us to return to our original plan of taking the taxi. Since we were delayed, it was suggested that we go to the Aquarium because it was closer, and we didn’t have too much time before we had to be on the bus to Newcastle. What the heck am I going to do at an aquarium? We all agreed that the zoo would be much better, and indeed it was. Within the first five minutes, we found ourselves in a section dedicated solely to wallabies and kangaroos. I always thought a wallaby was a baby kangaroo, but although it is smaller, it’s only relative to the kangaroo. Rocko’s Modern Life was one of my favorite cartoons and Rocko was a wallaby. All this time, I thought Rocko was a baby kangaroo! My bad, Rocko.

Anyway, it was an open area, so they could walk up to us if they so desired. One wallaby was kind enough to let me pet it. It really was incredible. They only let us in with the females, since the males are the ones who fight. So there was no hope of seeing a boxing kangaroo, but it was still all good.

We saw all types of animals: emus, bilbys, giraffes, pelicans, sea lions, spider monkeys and even a wombat. I must say, though, that there was one disappointment: the koala. We purchased a deal where we could go in and interact with the koalas in their habitation. The only the catch was that they would not interact with us! These sorry chumps sleep for 20 hours a day! 20 hours! A day! So you mean to tell me that you charge people to go in and watch koalas sleep? I felt so swindled. We couldn’t even touch them, but we were able to get our pictures taken with them. So that was a positive.

We took a ferry back to the downtown area and we were able to get some nice photos with the Opera House in the background. Sydney’s Opera House has such a unique and modern construction that it’s really cool to see in person.

Operation: K.O.A.L.A. has been successfully completed. I got my boomerang, I saw my kangaroo and saw my koala. I can now leave Australia with a true sense of fulfillment. Tonight will be our second to last show in Newcastle. The countdown continues…

Adelaide’s show last night was probably our best show on the tour thus far. The “growing crowds” theory I mentioned in the last blog proved true yet again. And as I also mentioned, we are in Sydney today and tonight’s show should be our biggest of the entire tour. I’ve heard rumors that we will have close to 20,000 of our fans there. We will find out for sure in a few hours.

I am proud to report that I have completed one phase of Operation: K.O.A.L.A. As soon as we arrived at our hotel in Sydney, a small group of us went to downtown Sydney’s shopping district. I found an open marketplace called the “Rocks Market” (no affiliation with “The Great One” … at all). The market was home to all sorts of Australian trinkets: wooden toy hopping kangaroos, stuffed koalas and wombats, and of course, boomerangs! After shopping around, I settled on a really nice one, made by members of the Burrigubba and Ku Ku Yalanji Tribes of North Queensland. It also came with instructions on how to throw it, and the first thing it says is: “Never hold the boomerang horizontally and throw it like a Frisbee” – which is exactly how I planned to throw it!

I proceeded to a little souvenir store just to buy a stand for the boomerang. That’s all I wanted, but the store clerk wanted to make sure I didn’t want anything else, or rather EVERYTHING ELSE in the store! This lady was a true hustler, for real. “You no want a bag? They are 18 dollar, but I give to you for nine … You need socks? Two for one. How ‘bout boomerang? Mine cheap … ” Between the fact that I came in there to look for a boomerang stand and the fact that I know she saw me holding the boomerang I just bought, I don’t know how she justified trying to sell me another one. And who buys socks at a souvenir store anyway?! I left the store and as I stood outside putting the receipt in my wallet, it started to drizzle a little bit. Guess who was right behind me, talking about “You need umbrella, no?” Just foolish.

Low and behold, one phase of Operation: K.O.A.L.A. has been completed, two more to go. We plan on making a trip to the zoo tomorrow so if all goes according to plan, I will have seen my koala and kangaroo by day’s end. It is actually hard to believe that after tonight’s show, we will only have two shows left. This time has flown by so quickly. Well that’s all that I've got for now. Until next time.

I swear, the crowds keep getting bigger and bigger the deeper we go into the tour. Last night’s crowd in Melbourne was electric. They were really into all of the matches throughout the night. So much so, that there were several of them at the hotel lobby when we got back. You have to understand that we probably didn’t get back until after 1 a.m., so when you talk about dedication, the Melbourne fans certainly exemplified the word.

Before our flight to Adelaide, we had to check out of our hotel in Melbourne. We had to be on the bus at 8:15 a.m., but for some reason, I thought we had to be there at 7:15. I randomly woke up at 7:05. Thinking I was late, I rushed to get dressed and make it downstairs. When I got there, I wondered why I was the only one getting on the bus. Long story short, I had robbed myself of an hour sleep…and a shower… and a brushing of teeth. To be honest, I didn’t care so much about the shower and tooth-brushing. I mean, shoot, I can’t smell me. I was more concerned about the lost hour of sleep! Sleep is oh-so very precious on these tours!

Anyways, we went to the airport and The Miz challenged me to a game of Madden. I’m getting a little ahead of myself. I should mention that on these overseas tours, there is a group of us that have formed a society: "The Madden Society" on the Sony PSP. We play when we have some down time on the buses or between flights. At any rate, The Miz challenged Kofi Kingston. The result was nothing short of a Jamaican TROUNCING. I mean a West Indies whooping. Straight up, dreadlock, drubbing, vicious, vile, Caribbean-style shalacking at the hands of the Jamaican Thunderhorse. Y’all get the point.

With three minutes left in the fourth quarter, the score was 42 to 17. Instead of Mike The Miz taking the loss honorably, he shut the game off and tried to claim a tie. (I don’t understand the logic either.) As a result, the commissioners of The Madden Society have agreed on the blackballing of Miz until further notice.

Still no progress on what I have now deemed “Operation: K.O.A.L.A.” [Kingston’s Objectives to Achieve before Leaving Australia] (see previous blog). Although a fan did give me a stuffed koala, wielding a boomerang, Kofi Kingston still needs the real ting, nah mean?

Tomorrow’s show will be in Sydney and it is expected to be the biggest night of the tour. I cannot wait.

We spent our last night in New Zealand yesterday and it ended on a high note for me. Not because the show in Christchurch was even better than the night before, and not because I got to have a fan accompany me to the ring as a guest manager.

For me, the New Zealand portion of our trip ended on a high note because the caterers provided us with carrot cake! And not just any carrot cake; this was probably the second best carrot cake that I have ever had. The best being a recipe one of my mumma’s friends used to bake for us growing up. Ever since, I have always been a carrot cake connoisseur. Oh, snap! That carrot cake was so good that I helped myself to 5 slices! The Miz actually expressed some disgust in my temporary gluttony. Tell me why the boy was gorging himself on the same carrot cake just moments later! Because a great slice of carrot cake is so rare.

But that was New Zealand. We are now in Melbourne, Australia. Down Under! Do you know how much Crocodile Dundee I used to watch? The man who knocked out a purse-snatcher by throwing a can of food at his head from like 50 feet away?! The man who darn near robbed the crooks that tried to rob him?! I know it was a movie, but Dundee was a true, Original Badman!

Now, I know we don’t usually have a lot of time to do a lot of sightseeing when we are on these tours, but being in Australia, I fully expect a few things:

1) I expect to see a koala. I think that they are only in the wild, but I have been keeping my eyes peeled, looking out the window into the trees to try and see one.

2) I expect to see a kangaroo. I mean, how sad would it be to come all the way to Australia and not see a Kangaroo? If I could see a boxing kangaroo, it would be tremendous, but that might be asking for a little much. I will settle for just a straight-up kangaroo.

3) I expect to leave Australia with a boomerang. Yes, I need a boomerang as a souvenir. Just like Crocodile Dundee. A crocodile tooth necklace would also be a bonus.

I don’t have proper time to look for these items today, plus, it is a little rainy, anyway. But mark my words; finding these three items will be my mission for the remainder of the tour. Believe it!

P.S. Happy Birthday to Poppa Kingston!

We departed Los Angeles on Monday the 11th and landed in Auckland, New Zealand on Wednesday the 13th, which means that technically, the 12th did not exist for Kofi Kingston. We were supposed to arrive at 4:45 in the morning, but due to a two-hour stopover for fuel in Fiji, we didn’t land in Auckland until around 7 a.m. Anyway, after a 15-hour trip, we have arrived on what will be my first trip to New Zealand and Australia.

As we took our charter bus to the hotel, I noticed that the roads are quite hilly, and there are many houses and neighborhoods, not at all like Jamaica, but more like the United States, which as I think about it now, makes sense. I guess I was half expecting to see more wildlife. Instead, it’s just the opposite and we are residing in a hotel right in the heart of downtown Auckland. And actually, it was overcast and a little cold. I wish it were a little warmer! Everything is irie though, because the cars drive on the left side of the road just like back home in Jamaica!

After a much needed complimentary breakfast, a group of us headed to the gym which was cool, because afterwards, I ran into another Dread (probably the only other on the island) while Scott Armstrong and I waited for our ride back to the hotel. We gave each other a pound. For those unfamiliar with the term ‘pound’, a pound is a touching of two people’s fists. It is similar to a handshake, but without the use of the hands … or the shaking. Anyway, the other Dread and I shared a pound. No conversation, just a simple passing pound acknowledging one another’s presence, though we had never met. In many cases, growing dreadlocks symbolizes a spiritual journey taken that embraces individuality and self-love as well as a rejection for that which is restricting and conventional. Nothing about Kofi Kingston is conventional!

Scott and myself proceeded to ‘St. Pierre’s Sushi of Japan’, which boasts having Auckland’s best and most authentic Sushi. I must say it was quite delicious –possibly the best sushi I have ever had. Sounds like the beginning of a dirty joke, “… so a Jamaican went to New Zealand and ordered some Sushi ….” Well not quite.

Tonight, the ECW and SmackDown Superstars have a show here at Vector Arena before going on to Christchurch, New Zealand where we will do it all over again. You must read my next entry to find out how it all went down. Peace!

ChristChurch New Zealand - Day 2
From Jamaica to the Land Down Under
Last night’s show in Auckland was phenomenal! Arriving to the building was not like it was in South America and Europe, where fans are usually awaiting anxiously by the hundreds, just to greet us as we get off the buses. Actually, there were no fans at all when we got off the buses. Initially, I found that to be strange, but by the time I came through the curtain, I swear it seemed like several thousands of fans were erupting as far as the eye could see! It was truly like a sea of flailing bodies excited to embrace the action.

As icing on the sugar bun, I got to meet New Zealand’s own, Bushwacker Butch! I remember growing up and being so entertained by the Bushwackers and now several years later, I was actually shaking Butch’s hand! It was a great jumpstart to the tour to say the least.

After the show, jet lag started to make its presence felt, as most people were sleeping on the way back to the hotel. I got about four and three quarters of an hour of sleep (every bit counts) before checking out of the hotel. Tony Garea (a wrestling legend and a future WWE Hall of Famer) was checking out next to me. He was born in Auckland and when the receptionist asked if he wanted an envelope for his receipt, he responded in his New Zealand accent, “No, I don’t need an envelope. I believe in recycling. Don’t you know I planted most of the trees on this island?” Classic. We made it to the Auckland airport where a nice woman who worked for the Qantas Airline wanted to take a few pictures of us, I believe for their newsletter. CM Punk and I were happy to oblige.

After two failed attempts to land our plane, our pilot finally succeeded in hitting the runway and we arrived in Christchurch. This airport was more like what we are used to, with fans wanting pictures and autographs as we wait to claim our baggage. We headed to the hotel and I was scheduled to do some media interviews.

The media interviews went extremely well – I had three of them. I haven’t done many of these, but I do always enjoy giving these interviews. Not only is it a place where we can share some insight, but it is also another link to the people that make our industry the success it is today.

We leave for tonight’s show in about 45 minutes so I must be out. Until next time!