Kofi Kingston becoming the 1st African-born WWE champ has inspired a generation of young black wrestlers to kick ass ... WWE legend Mark Henry tells TMZ Sports.
We talked to the WWE Hall of Famer -- who was promoting his "Busted Open" show where he's ranking the greatest black wrestlers EVER (hint: The Rock ain't #1) -- about Kingston's impact on wrestling, and what the belt actually means ... aside from looking really cool.
Remember, Kingston beat Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania35 .