The story of the New Day is a wonderful one. Toiling in the lower midcard, Xavier Woods, Big E, and Kofi Kingston teamed up to form the New Day, a faction that championed the power of positivity. After a rocky start, the group grew to become one of the WWE’s most popular acts, selling tons and tons of merchandise, while also setting the WWE’s record for longest tag team reign. That was then, this is now.
The Curious Case of the New Day
Last last year at the RoadBlock pay per view, the team of Sheamus and Cesaro defeated the New Day for Raw’s Tag Team Championships. Since then, they’ve been completely lost. They had a brief feud with Titus O’Neil where they basically took turns embarrassing the former Florida football star, and now it looks like they’re selling some kind of ice cream.
Merch Moves
WWE has never been shy about pushing guys that move the most merch. This is one of the many reasons that John Cena has basically lived in the main event picture for the last decade. But now, it feels like that’s the only reason the New Day are still together.
It was announced on Monday afternoon that the New Day would be the official hosts of WrestleMania this year. But that doesn’t make any sense. Shouldn’t the New Day, the longest reigning tag team champions in WWE history, and the best team on the flagship show, be doing more than hosting?
Maybe it’s time for WWE to go in a different direction with the group. They could turn heel again, split up, or at least get back in the title picture. Is the money the WWE makes off of unicorn horns and Booty-O’s really more important that three huge stars? Especially at a time where the show can use all the talent it can get?
Three New Stars
It’s easy to forget, but all three members of the New Day are extremely talented. Big E could easily be a monster heel or a devastating babyface, Kofi Kingston is arguably the most underrated talent in WWE history, and Xavier Woods is a fantastic talker. Even if they decided to keep all three men as faces and just split them up, you’ve got three new stars automatically.
Xavier Woods has never really had a feud of his own on the main roster. In fact, he hasn’t done much on the main roster at all. Giving Woods a singles push gives you a brand new star that already has equity with the fans and history with the wrestlers. Depending how he’s booked, Woods could go all the way to the top.
Big E is a monster of a man. Before the New Day, he had a small feud with Rusev, and it was fantastic. Imagine bringing that back. What about Big E vs. Kevin Owens or Big E vs. Samoa Joe? Big E could be a big star in WWE.
And what is there to say about Kofi Kingston that hasn’t been said a thousand times? He’s always good for a brilliant spot, he can have a good match with anyone, and he’s not bad on the microphone. WWE missed their chance to make Kingston a real star when he was younger, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have another United States Championship run in him. On a show that’s desperate for talent, they’re wasting three of their best and brightest.
Like Dancing
And if you look at the tag team division and realize you don’t want to split up your most popular faction, then you can always give them a makeover. When people first heard that the three men were teaming up, they were inclined to believe it was the second coming of the Nation of Domination.
Obviously, it would be very difficult for them to be taken seriously after pushing booty cereals and wearing unicorn horns, but why not turn the New Day heel again and give them something to work with.
Back when he was in ECW, Mick Foley turned heel. And instead of just being himself, but dastardly, he changed his gimmick to be what the crowd hated. He took away all of the hardcore and extreme stuff, and he became the opposite of what the fans wanted. What if the New Day came out and they were all business?
Even further, they’re basically already heels. They held onto their titles for months via screwy finishes, and now all they do is bury everyone. They’ve verbally torn down everyone they’ve wrestled in recent memory before absolutely squashing them. They’re already heels, being portrayed as babyfaces, in an effort to sell cereal, unicorn horns, and ice cream.
The Last Word
The WWE are doing fine. Ratings are down, fans are complaining, and it seems like SmackDown Live! is the better show, but they’re still printing money. The New Day are probably the biggest merch-getters on Monday Night Raw, and if money is what matters, WWE is doing fine. But they’re doing themselves a disservice. Xavier Woods, Big E, and Kofi Kingston are being wasted as WWE spokespeople.
Main Photo: WWE.com
