I didn’t think I’d say this for my entire life as a wrestling fan, but I have to now. For the first time in their decade-long history, The New Day is at risk of breaking up.
It didn’t have to be like this, but it is. Let’s talk about it.
Discussing the entire history of The New Day in this article would be redundant, so this will not be a history lesson. You can watch plenty of YouTube videos to get a complete summary of their history.
Moreover, this will be about how the power of brotherhood and positivity gradually brought three wrestlers, once at crucial crossroads in their careers, to the spotlight and may take them right out in the snap of a finger. Let’s talk about it.
A Lightbulb Moment
Take some time out of your day to watch this video. It’s under four minutes long and isn’t very straining on the eyes. However, these three minutes and forty-seven seconds may be the most important of these three wrestlers’ careers, and probably more wrestlers, if we look into the complete history of The New Day and who they helped elevate.
At the time, Kofi Kingston, Big E, and Xavier Woods were directionless. Following a 167-day run as the Intercontinental Champion and complete stagnation after a feud with Rusev and failure to regain the belt, Big E was lost. No longer having Dolph Ziggler and AJ Lee by his side, as those two moved on, the big man, who was once hailed as WWE’s next pet project, had nothing much going for him.
Kofi Kingston, on the other hand, had stagnation built into his character and career. Discounting a failed main-event singles push in 2009, which was quickly shot down by Randy Orton calling him stupid, you could always find Kingston in the midcard of a weekly show or opening a pay-per-view as either the Intercontinental or United States Champion or in a tag or multi-man match to get the crowd excited.
However, while these two had their struggles at the time, they may as well have been co-owners of the WWE Championship compared to Xavier Woods, which is ironic since Woods had the most pre-WWE success compared to his contemporaries. Unfortunately, Consequences Creed couldn’t save Woods on the main roster, where he was R-Truth’s lackey and feuded with Brodus Clay.
What was he feuding with him over, you ask? It was over Woods’ usage of Clay’s theme song, “Somebody Call My Mama,” which is funny since those two might not even be the most famous wrestlers to use that song. Ernest “The Cat” Miller says hello.
Xavier’s Gamble: Betting it All on The New Day
Wait a minute, what’s this? First of all, the original segment was in July. Why is their first match four months later?
Also, why are they all happy-go-lucky when Woods said they could not get far by kissing babies and shaking hands? Well, this was a calculated plan by Xavier Woods behind the scenes.
With his character floundering and not being given any attention on-screen, Woods pitched an idea to WWE writers of a snarky, heel character, bringing Big E into the fold since his career was similarly floundering. However, something was still missing, and that’s when Woods had the idea of bringing Kofi Kingston in to form a stable.
Understandably, writers and Vince McMahon himself were skeptical about the possibility of Kingston getting booed, as he spent his entire career up to that point as a babyface who excited the crowd with his high-flying style. Woods, having known Kingston since 2006 when Woods was in college, went so far as to put his job in WWE on the line on the promise that he could get Kingston booed.
In other words, if this New Day experiment didn’t work out, Xavier Woods would be fired from WWE, and Kofi and Big E would still be directionless. They put all their eggs in one basket, hoping they would be given an omelet in the future.
You can see the skepticism from writers and higher-ups in the early stages as, after a few appearances on Main Event following Woods’ initial promo, he disappeared from TV as Kingston and Big E remained as separate singles stars. However, this time off to tweak their gimmick paid off in the long run, as upon their return, they perfected the snarky, overly-positive babyface characters to the point where the boos eventually started to pour in for every member.
Slowly but surely, The New Day began straying away from their initial gospel-inspired characters and started playing dirtier, with more mid-match interference and attacks on babyface opponents. If you were watching WWE from 2012 to 2014, you could compare it to what Bo Dallas was doing in NXT around the same time: an overly-positive-to-the-point-of-being-phony motivational speaker character who was only in it for himself. Imagine that, but three of them.
The Golden Years and an Unbreakable Bond
What happened over the next eight years doesn’t need much retelling but is worth highlighting. Between 2014 and 2022, the trio of Kingston, Big E, and Woods etched their names in WWE history by winning the Raw Tag Team Championships four times and the SmackDown Tag Team Championships seven times, including a record-setting 483-day reign. On an individual level, Kingston and Big E achieved the pinnacle of professional wrestling by capturing the WWE Championship, with KofiMania becoming the highlight of WrestleMania 35.
One thing remained constant through all the highs, lows, and individual successes: the brotherhood that formed The New Day. During Kingston’s WWE Championship run, Woods and Big E were by his side, even securing his WrestleMania opportunity by winning a tag team gauntlet match on SmackDown.
Their bond endured despite being split during the 2020 WWE Draft, with Big E staying on Raw while Kingston and Woods moved to SmackDown. The trio assured fans this was an amicable split, not a breakup. True to their word, Woods and Kingston celebrated with Big E when he won the WWE Championship in 2021 after cashing in his Money in the Bank contract.
Tragedy, Mid-Life Crisis, and a Fractured Brotherhood
Unfortunately, tragedy struck in March 2022 when Big E suffered a broken neck during a match, effectively ending his in-ring career. Despite Woods and Kingston’s efforts to carry the New Day’s legacy, including winning the NXT Tag Team Championships, the group felt incomplete. Big E’s energy, charisma, and infectious enthusiasm were irreplaceable, leaving an increasingly evident void as what remained of The New Day entered its “Mid-Life Crisis” era.
By November 2024, tensions had reached a breaking point. The once-unshakable bond between Kingston and Woods cracked under the strain of carrying on the New Day’s name without their large friend. Frustrated and disillusioned, Woods and Kingston lashed out at each other, with Kingston blaming Woods for never taking off as a singles star and Woods blaming Kingston for “pissing away” his WWE Championship run (that Woods helped get him the opportunity for) to Brock Lesnar in six seconds.
It’s important to note that this is the first time anyone has brought this up to Kingston, and Lesnar’s name has rarely been mentioned this year, so the fact that Kingston’s best friend brought it up had to sting. While Woods is frustrated with his lack of singles success, he is also frustrated with covering for his friends for years and getting close to nothing in return, as his King of the Ring victory in 2021 quickly fizzled away with little payoff. The creator of one of the greatest ideas in wrestling history is now frustrated with his creation and on the verge of destroying it.
What’s Next?: The New Day Anniversary Show and Big E’s Involvement
This brings us to the two elephants in the room: Big E’s involvement and the upcoming New Day Anniversary Edition of Raw. When asked about his brothers on the Survivor Series post-show, Big E looked angry and avoided the question.
Big E addresses the recent antics between Xavier Woods & Kofi Kingston. He smirks when discussing the 10 Year Anniversary this Monday.
He is FOR SURE showing up!#SurvivorSeries pic.twitter.com/cHZo5UbS0K
— The Movement – Pro Wrestling (@TheMovementXx) December 1, 2024
Since his injury, Big E has moved to a pre-show panelist role and has rarely interacted with his former partners, but now may be the time. If “Feel The Power” doesn’t blast through arena speakers this Monday night, it may mark the end of one of the most iconic teams of the modern era. Whether as a manager for Woods and Kingston or, if he’s miraculously cleared for in-ring competition, a wrestler to reform the trio, The New Day needs Big E more than ever.
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