WWE Superstar Xavier Woods has detailed what a cinematic matchup featuring the New Day might look like. Speaking with The No-Sports Report podcast, Woods shared his excitement over the idea. He confessed that WrestleMania 36’s Boneyard match “really touched my soul.”
According to Woods, a cinematic match with the New Day would be set in a “weird, magical, like a rainbow world.”
Within this world, there would be an ominous shadowland where they don’t go. But, when they do, it would be “game time.”
“So, uh, lots of sunshine, lots of rainbows, lots of inanimate objects talking to you… It’d be super weird,” Woods stated. “I like the dissonance between something horrible happening like us just being someone to a pulp with like a nice, children’s music like “Baby Shark” playing in the background.”
Xavier Woods On WWE’s Coronavirus Challenges
Xavier Woods then addressed the challenges WWE has been facing during the coronavirus pandemic. He spoke about Superstars having to wrestle in front of zero fans and the difficulties of attracting new fans during this time.
He admitted he could imagine wrestling in front of an empty arena. Woods compared it to his experiences on the independent circuit. According to him, he had plenty of experience wrestling in near-empty locations to either “no people or like three people.”
He added how wrestling for three people was, in some ways, “more daunting than no people.”
He explained it’s because “[…] now you’ve got these, these six eyes on you and it freaks you out. But luckily the guys and girls that we work with are skilled enough to understand what factors of wrestling – whether it’s promos or matches – need to be altered and changed to go along with what the current situation is.”
Xavier Woods shared how this element is what he really likes about pro wrestling. To him, wrestling is akin to “live performance art.”
He explained how it’s not about having the perfect match or promo. Instead, it’s about how you adapt and improvise if that match or promo derails:
“[…] this is one of those things where everything got derailed essentially and now everybody’s figuring out how they can look into their old school playbook like, ‘Okay, how do we do this?’ And they’re in there doing it.”
Wrestling Attracting New Fans During COVID-19
With few opportunities for live sports or entertainment currently available, Xavier Woods speculated how those curious about wrestling may be tuning in for the first time:
“I feel like a lot of people who didn’t enjoy it or may not have talked about it at all beforehand, might be watching it now.”
Woods added that people could potentially be seeing things on Twitter and feel compelled to give WWE a chance. He argued how, after a few more clicks, these people could be watching RAW or SmackDown. He acknowledged how there has been a “heightened level of conversation about WWE during all of this.”
Woods’ Achilles Recovery During Quarantine
Having been sidelined due to an unfortunate Achilles injury, Xavier Woods shared how he has been recovering at home during the pandemic.
He shared how he has been recouping whilst ensuring he is “being functional.”
He stressed how “being able to hang out with my kid” has been the best thing for him during this tough time.
Xavier Woods acknowledged that it’s a difficult time for so many worldwide. He added that he would be lying if he said he wasn’t enjoying the quality time at home with his family.
