Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods told WWE, “Nah, it’s a New Day!”
Good morning, pro wrestling fans. Kofi and Austin Creed, the wrestler formerly known as Xavier Woods, wished WWE best of luck in the company’s future endeavors. And if that’s not a signature move, I don’t know what is.Once upon a time, Big E and Kofi Kingston were a tag team on a losing streak. After yet another loss, this time to Ryback and Curtis Axel, God bless, Xavier Woods came to the ring with a microphone and declared that together they could find purpose and take what they wanted.Short-sighted fans immediately said this would be a new Nation of Domination. The creative genius inside Titan Towers said they should be preachers. But Kofi, Woods, and Big E turned WWE’s creative failure into the Power of Positivity, which was a vehicle that translated their real life personalities into on-screen personas. Same thing Steve Austin did to become Stone Cold. He told Vince, “I have a bald head, a goatee, black trunks and black boots. If you take away my personality, I can’t compete. But if you let me keep my personality, I can compete with anybody in the world.” He went on to become one of the GOATs.And so did the New Day. 13-time tag champs. Xavier Woods, King of the Ring & the creator of Up Up Down Down, do the math on that. Big E, WWE Champion. And of course, WrestleMania 35. Kofimania. No disrespect to any other world title in the company, but the WWE Championship goes back to 1963. The company was known as the Capital Wrestling Corporation and was part of the National Wrestling Alliance. That year, they left the NWA and rebranded themselves the World Wide Wrestling Federation, or the WWWF. Kofi was only the 2nd black man to hold that title, after The Rock. Same company where HHH can tell Booker T, to his face in the middle of the ring, “somebody like you doesn’t get to be world champion.” In the 63 year history of the company, there’ve only been 4 black WWE Champions - Bobby Lashley and Big E being the other 2. That means ½ of that list were members of the New Day.It was a big deal because nobody trusted WWE to make it happen. That’s why MVP and Shad Gaspard cried when Kofi raised that title. 2024, the New Day had a full circle moment. This time, Kofi & Woods were the tag team on a losing streak, only this time, they were in the ring to celebrate 10 years of the New Day. Big E, injured and out of action, played the role of man-on-the-mic attempting to galvanize the team and return to form. “I’ll be in your corner every week.” Then Kofi & Woods turned their backs on him and turned heel in the process. Lit the wrestling world on fire, once again. And then WWE Creative failed them - once again. No plans. No follow up. Just promos during commercial breaks on Monday Night Raw. And here we are. 2026. TKO/WWE asks Kofi & Woods to take a pay cut. Kofi & Woods said, “That's not gonna work for me, brother,” and opted to leave the company. Be clear: this is WWE’s loss. They had the opportunity to do right by one of the biggest and most successful acts in the history of the industry but instead, they decided that it was more important to pay wrestlers less so they can pay Ari Emmanuel, Mark Shapiro, and Nick Khan more..But nevermind TKO. Because tomorrow is a new day. There was no official announcement from WWE. No 1-day contract to give WWE fans a chance to say goodbye. At least Michael Cole made mention of “trouble in paradise” on commentary.But there were a couple of social media posts to let us know what’s up. First, Austin Creed: “And to everyone who has been part of this ride: thank you for believing in me. Thank you for letting me be Xavier Woods. Thank you for giving me the confidence to walk away as Austin Creed.”And from Kofi: “Do not ever compromise or accept less than your due when it comes to your worth.”Thank God for the New Day!#kofikingston #xavierwoods #bige #newday #wwe #prowrestling
