Big E, Xavier Woods, and Kofi Kingston spoke about racial injustice this week on The New Day: Feel The Power podcast. During the discussion, all 3 members of the group noted the emotional impact current events have had on them.

“I haven’t been able to get this out of my mind and it’s really weighed heavy on me,” Big E said on the show. “I think it’s been a hard few months for so many of us. When Shad passed, when Hana Kimura passed, I kept imagining myself in the water. For some reason, I just kept putting myself in Shad’s position. I don’t know if he knew his son got to safety, I don’t know what his last thoughts were when he died. With Hana, the stuff that was going through her mind when she took her life.”

Big E Talks Racial Injustice

Big E continued to talk about the empathy he has been feeling for others during what has been a very difficult time both in wrestling and the world at large.

“I just keep putting myself in George Floyd’s position when I saw him be murdered like that,” he continued. “To have a man put his knee on his neck like that, man, I don’t know how you don’t feel empathy for a man like that who was accused of passing a counterfeit $20 bill. He didn’t deserve to die like that and we cannot be okay with murdering us, you just can’t be okay with it because it’s not the first time and it’s not the second time. I’ve seen and heard these stories from my parents and their parents and their parents before them. I cannot accept living in a country where this is acceptable.”

“I can’t stop imagining myself in their shoes, in that position. This man had a daughter, he had people who loved him, he had people who cared about him. Same thing with Ahmaud Arbery,” Big E continued.

Kofi Kingston On Racial Injustice

“That’s the scariest thing about all these situations is that it could very well have been any of us,” Kofi said. “Seeing the video of Ahmaud Arbery, he was just going for a run in his neighborhood. I’ve recently just started running around in my neighborhood.”

“No one should have to live like that,” he continued. “Constantly looking over their shoulder in fear or worrying that harm may come but the reality of the world that we live in today is that it is possible.”

“It’s very refreshing in a sense to see that so many people who are not African-American coming to the aid and really wanting to know what they can do,” Kofi continued. “White America wants to know what they can do because I feel like these images specifically, watching this, seeing this with your own eyes and knowing that it’s real and that it’s actually happening and it’s not hearsay.”

“Seeing that makes it very real and it’s not just for us, it’s for anybody that witnesses it.”

“I feel like this situation is just hitting a little bit differently. I feel like we are hopefully on the cusp of something turning around because we are not the only ones who have had enough. It feels good to have White America listening, you know what I’m saying? As opposed to talking about the semantics of Kaepernick protesting and talking about it being about the flag.”

• Big E On The New Day Being Declared “The Greatest Faction Of All Time”

This is a heavy and emotional podcast but also one I think many fans would appreciate listening to. You can listen to the full episode below:

The New Day have dethroned The Miz and John Morrison as the SmackDown Tag Team Champions

The title change happened on Friday Night SmackDown when Big E beat Jey Usos and The Miz in a Triple Threat Match with the titles on the line. This marks the eighth time that The New Day has won WWE Tag Team gold. 

Just a few weeks ago, WWE had Morrison defend and successfully retain the titles in a Triple Threat Ladder Match against Kofi Kingston and Jimmy Uso at WrestleMania. 

Although not confirmed, the belief is that a three-way tag team title match between The New Day, The Usos and Miz & Morrison will take place at WWE’s next pay-per-view event, Money in the Bank. 

WWE has also confirmed matches for next week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center on FOX. 

Among the matches set for the show includes two Money in the Bank Qualifying bouts. Here is what’s on tap for the show: 

• WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross vs. Dana Brooke & Carmella.
• Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Drew Gulak vs. Baron Corbin.
• Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Sasha Banks vs. Lacey Evans.
• The Triple H 25th Anniversary Celebration begins.
• Part Three of Jeff Hardy documentary.
• The History of Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman.

Money In The Bank Ladder Matches To Be Held At WWE Headquarters

During an episode of their podcast, Feel The Power, The New Day opened up about how they deal with backstage politics. They also broached how they decide which member of the group wrestles in a matchup.

“I feel like when you really look at [backstage politics], a lot of it is getting that tough skin, so you know you can bite back because cutting promos is how we sell [pro] wrestling.” Woods explained, “so if you can’t do it in the back, then they don’t think that you can do it out there.”

How The New Day Decide Who Wrestles

Woods broke down how they usually decide who wrestles in a matchup. He detailed how the first step is for everyone to share their “selfish” reasons for being in the match. Once those are out in the open, the trio will discuss those reasons before talking about why everyone else should be in the match. This process leads to a detailed discussion. 

Despite this democratic process, there is also an element of rotation in play:

“[…] a lot of times, the rotation is, whoever wasn’t in gets rotated out, so like if it’s E and Kof, next it will be me and E, and then, it’ll be me and Kof. And then, Kof and E. Yeah, me and Kof are Speed Force. And then, Kof and E is Pops & Powers. And then, me and E are Muscle Bomb. Yes, E’s the muscle, Kof is the speed, and I’m the hybrid, so I’ll kind of adjust to whoever.”

At the time of writing, The New Day is not currently scheduled for a matchup at WrestleMania 36. The event is set to place on April 5 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. 

H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Kofi Kingston had recently confirmed on Feel The Power podcast that he signed a new contract extension with WWE and now the company has announced that all three members of the New Day have done the same.

The promotion announced on their website that the trio of Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods and Big E have all agreed to ‘matching multi-year’ contract extensions:

“Kofi Kingston, Big E & Xavier Woods solidified a pact of identical length and compensation on their contracts to maintain equal status among the team.”

While the release did not confirm the length of their new deals, Kingston had said that he has signed a new 5 years long contract with the company.

• Also Read: Xavier Woods Says Recent Injury Has Shaken Him To His Core

So contracts of matching length will mean that all three members of New Day will be staying with the company at least until 2024.

Out of these three, Xavier Woods is recovering from an Achilles injury. There is no solid timetable for his return but it’s said that Woods can stay out of action for 6 months to a year depending on his recovery process.

On the other hand, both Kofi Kingston and Big E are currently holding the SmackDown Tag Team Championships and they are announced for a match against Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live.

The New Day’s official WWE podcast third episode was released today on all major Podcasting networks. New Day member Xavier Woods took the opportunity to address his Achilles tendon injury that he sustained earlier this year in Sydney, Australia. Woods revealed the physical and emotional toll that the injury has taken on his body and the length of time he is expected to be out of action.

“I am currently dealing with one that is pretty serious”

“Today we’ll talk about something a little bit more serious we’re gonna talk about injuries. We’re gonna kick it off talking about mine actually to begin with” Woods started. “I am currently dealing with one that is pretty serious. I know that we’re we’re all laughey jokey happy clap your hands stuff all the time. So you don’t really get to see a range of motion from us on television. But this is something for me that is hard to talk about.”

Xavier Woods – “It compounded a disk in my neck…”

Woods then told a story from his time in FCW, where he sustained a horrific head and neck injury. “I’ve been in wrestling professionally/training since I was seventeen, I’m thirty three now. The longest I’ve ever been out was three months and that was when I was in developmental in FCW. The whole roster would have shows all over the place. And at one point I end up getting clotheslined in the top of my head.”

“there wasn’t enough blood circulating to my brain…”

“Some crazy situation, and it compounded the disk in my neck. I slept legit in my closet all day because I couldn’t do with any sunlight. LED light, like whatever and one of those nights I ended up hurting so bad that I had to get a friend to drive me to the ER. I thought I was going to die. And what ended up happening is I got pumped full of whatever they pumped me full of. That helped release the pressure on my brain. Because apparently there wasn’t enough blood circulating to my brain and my brain was over heating. If I wouldn’t have gone to the ER immediately when I did I could have had permanent brain damage. Because my brain was just three million degrees…whatever it was.”

Xavier Woods – “the thought crossed my mind that it was my Achilles…”

Xavier Woods then described how that was the toughest injury of his career before the Achilles damage sustained a few months ago. “That was like the toughest one that I dealt with until we were in Sydney Australia. First match the night I ended up doing a back flip in the beginning of the match. As soon as I landed I felt like somebody’d kicked me in the back of the foot. I realized I couldn’t push off of that foot. Immediately the thought crossed my mind that it was my Achilles.”

Xavier Woods then talked about how the injury had ‘shaken him’ to his core. “It’s kind of shaken me to my core. When you get injured it’s something that’s like ‘ah this sucks but you know I get like a like a month at home.’ When you’re coming back pretty much with a ruptured Achilles that’s been surgically repaired there’s a lot more gray area. So there’s no real time frame on when when I will come back. It’s almost a kind of scary because yeah there’s a possibility that if I do everything right and everything goes well I could be back in five months. But maybe not, maybe I’ll be back next year but maybe not. Maybe I’ll be back by like WrestleMania next year. But maybe not.”

As soon as we have an update on Woods’ condition we will update you here.

*Please credit SEScoops if you use any quotes from this article

The New Day (Kofi Kingston, Big E, and Xavier Woods) recently joined the After The Bell podcast with Corey Graves to promote their new podcast. 

During the interview, they spoke about Kingston losing the WWE Championship to Brock Lesnar in a match that lasted about 10 seconds on the premiere episode of SmackDown on FOX back on October 4th. 

When Big E found out about the plans, he was upset. 

“Kofi Kingston is a lot more level-headed than maybe anyone else that I have met in the business because everyone else would have reacted. I was irate when I found out about it and that is a testament to Kofi.”

Big E continued by stating that he thinks very few people would have had that approach and not many people would not have sour grapes and be able to move on. 

Big E recalled how Kingston winning the title from Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 35 was a big win for the whole group due to the long journey that they were on that lead to that point. 

Kofi Kingston Says Vince McMahon Started Dancing When He Heard New Day’s Theme Song

This interview was done to promote The New Day’s podcast, “Feel the Power” that aired its first episode this past Monday. 

Speaking on the premiere episode of their new podcast, Feel the Power, New Day members Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods and Big E discussed how their group was compared to ‘90s stable the Nation of Domination when they first formed.

Reflecting on how they came together, Kingston confessed there was a sense of disgruntlement amongst them. He noted, however, that “the difference between us and The Nation was that we weren’t promoting any kind of racial anything.”

Woods added, “I can understand like shades of it because our shade is brown and so people were like, ‘Oh man, it’s The Nation of Domination.’ I was like, ‘You never called The Wyatts The Godwins and that’s like the same thing.’”

“And then I think when people started trying to like label it, we took it upon ourselves to be like, ‘No. You don’t get to tell us what it is. We’re going to make it into whatever we want it to be, you know and kind of like took ownership of it that way,” Kingston added.

PLAN

Woods then explained how the initial idea of the three of them coming together had its origins back when Big E was in developmental. He shared how their idea was a group called PLAN, which stood for the People’s Liberation Of American Nationalism. Back then, the stable would have consisted of Woods, Big E, Byron Saxton and Abe Washington. 

“The New Day is kind of an evolved thought of that, but it was essentially people who were not happy with their position in the company and wanted more from themselves and from their job and so that’s when I talked to E about it and we kind of shot a bunch of different things and pre-tapes and kicking back and forth ideas and that’s when it really hit me like ‘none of this is really clicking. None of it is really working.’ I was like, ‘I think we need a third person for this to actually work.’ He was like, ‘Who?’ I was like, ‘I think we need to get Kofi.’”

Kofi would agree to join the two Superstars. He reflected on how he was unhappy at the time and wanted to redirect his career and help Woods and Big E establish themselves on the WWE roster. 

H/T to Wrestlezone for the transcription.

Despite what many fans and oddsmakers were expected, Daniel Bryan and Erick Rowan have dropped the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Titles.

The New Day (Big E & Xavier Woods) beat Bryan and Rowan beat Heavy Machinery to win the titles at Sunday’s (July 14, 2019) WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view event. This show took place in Philadelphia, PA at the Wells Fargo Center.

• WWE Extreme Rules 2019 Results (7/14)

Bryan and Rowan were victorious over Heavy Machinery in their title defense at the WWE Stomping Grounds pay-per-view event last month.

Originally, it was announced Bryan and Rowan vs. The New Day. However, WWE later booked Heavy Machinery vs. Kevin Owens and Dolph Ziggler on SmackDown Live that saw Otis and Tucker go over. As a result, they were added to this title match at Extreme Rules. 

Bryan and Rowan beat The Usos (Jimmy & Jey) to win the titles that were vacant at the time on the May 7th episode of SmackDown Live in Louisville, KY at the KFC Yum Center.

What are your thoughts on New Day winning the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Titles? Was this the right call by WWE officials? Who do you want to see the champions feud with next? Sound off in the comment section.

The Freebird rule allows a member of any faction to be champions even when his other teammates win the belt and the current WWE Champion Kofi Kingston is no stranger to this rule.

Kingston has been a part of the New Day since 2014 and the group has applied this rule throughout their five tag title reigns since the group’s inception.

However, during a recent interview with The Daily Star Kingston talked about the members of the New Day possibly challenging him for the WWE title and claimed that they obey the Freebird rule with the WWE title too.

Continuing on the topic, Kofi said that he would have supported Big E or Xavier Woods the same way they are supporting him now if they became the WWE Champion and when one of them achieves success, they all achieve it:

“If Big E or Woods were WWE Champion right now I would support them as much as they have supported me. And they feel the same way. We all work together and when one of us achieves the ultimate level of success, we all achieve it.”

Kofi’s claims make the situation pretty interesting and the Freebird rule being applied to the WWE title is something fans would love to see. Though so far, WWE has not confirmed this and they have only acknowledged Kofi Kingston alone as the WWE Champion.

This past Tuesday on SmackDown Live, honorary New Day member, Kevin Owens, would turn on both Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston.

Owens, who has a long history of turning on friends and tag team partners, showed his true colors once again. The attack would begin after the former Universal Champion nailed Kofi Kingston with a superkick. He would then deliver an impactful powerbomb to the apron onto Xavier Woods, who Owens had been performing commentary moments earlier during Kingston’s matchup against Shinsuke Nakamura.

Now the entirety of the New Day, including currently injured member, Big E, have reacted to the situation. Taking to Twitter, each member shared their thoughts and opinions on Kevin Owens and his actions.

“There Will Be Hell To Pay”

Woods would describe Owens as a “complete garbage human”:

His stablemate, Big E, described him as a “parasite,” adding that his “greatest joy” will be coming back to dole out a beating on KO.

“KO is the parasite in the system that desperately clings on to its host for life. Once its sucked all of the nutrients it can out of its host, it seeks another. I only take pleasure in knowing the virus has been detected & @TrueKofi & @XavierWoodsPhD will stomp out the organism.”

“My greatest joy will be returning in time to stomp the life out of the already lifeless roach myself.”

Current WWE Champion, Kofi Kingston, took a more thoughtful approach. He addressed the New Day giving Owens a chance, even when no one else would. He then promises that there will be hell to pay because of his most recent betrayal.

“Sometimes you feel compelled believe in someone and give them a chance, even when no one else will. As unpopular a decision as it may seem at the time, you give them the benefit of the doubt…And Then that person proves everyone right. Mark my words, there will be Hell to pay.”

With Kofi Kingston having won the WWE championship at WrestleMania 35, some are wondering what the future of New Day is. Will one of his partners turn against him in a quest to win the title for themselves? Will Kofi leave his teammates behind as he looks to headline future PPVs?

Kingston spoke to TMZ Sports recently and stated that New Day will never break up.

Kofi Kingston On New Day Potentially Breaking Up

“The philosophy of New Day has always been to lift your brother up,” Kingston said. “So, that is the goal.”

He continued to say that while sometimes a wrestler in a faction who has individual success leaves the group, he doesn’t see that as the path any member of New Day would take.

“Anyone who has seen New Day on TV, everything that we do is atypical,” he continued. “We come out, we skip, clap, I twerk, I wear unicorn horns, we wear pink and blue, you know what I’m saying?”

To break-up like other factions do, Kingston says, would not be a fitting story for New Day.

“Everything that we do is not your typical story,” he continued. “So for us to break up like that would be like the opposite of New Day and just doing the standard fair. So, from that aspect alone, it just won’t happen. Everything we do, we do together.”

Unfortunately for Kingston’s New Day stablemate, Big E, he’s out for an extended period of time with a torn meniscus.

• Big E Out With A Torn Meniscus

“New Day is all about the group and that’s the way it’s going to be,” Kingston continued.

WWE has no intentions on slowing down with their recent clothing collaborations. The company recently partnered with New Era Cap to release a range of Superstar specific caps. Now, WWE Superstars announced their partnership products with Foot Locker and FILA.

This deal sees a limited number of sneakers available for purchase at footlocker.com and the Foot Locker store in New York’s Time Square. The shoes will launch on April 4th—so just in time for wrestling fans descending upon New York for WrestleMania 35.

WWE x FILA

Two Superstars, in particular, have shared their collaboration shoes, inspired by their character and gimmicks.

“The Boss” Sasha Banks shared an image of her golden sneakers inside a locker, writing that:

“Sasha Banks Edition part of the Fila x @WWE collab, launching on 4/4, exclusively on , and available at the Footlocker times square location. Just in time for you to rock them at the grandest stage of them all, WRESTLEMANIA!!!

It’s Limited Edition, Yes It Is

New Day’s Kofi Kingston, on the cusp of Kofi-Mania, also hyped his FILA x WWE collaboration, sharing that the Kofi/New Day shoe is limited to only 483 pairs. The number is representative of the New Day’s 483-day tag team title reign.

He wrote:

“Ya boys done came up…We got our own sneaker! ? Only 483 pairs made in honor of our record tag title run.”

So if you’re a wrestling fan, a sneakerhead, enjoy collecting, or just like the look of these shoes, be sure to grab them as soon as they become available. The New Day ones, in particular, may not be around for long.

The New Day finally pulled off the impossible when Xavier Woods and Big E won the gauntlet tag team match on SmackDown this week and earned their third member Kofi Kingston an opportunity to go to WrestleMania.

After the show, this trio of the former Tag Team Champions reacted to the events of the show in an unusually long and emotional post-show interview.

Kofi, who will now be facing Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania for the WWE title was the first to speak and he claimed that this moment is the epitome of New Day’s brotherhood.

When Kingston thanked both of them, Xavier Woods claimed the mic saying that he doesn’t need to thank them because this is what they came together for.

The trio then remembered their start and how they have come this far from being three people who were just trying to get an opportunity to get on TV.

Overall this interview is a great example which shows why this story of Kofi Kingston going to WrestleMania has worked so well despite all the odds being stacked against him.

The emotions flowing throughout the interview are very real and the way you can connect to them is everything we all love about professional wrestling:

Daniel Bryan proved to be too much of an obstacle for Kofi Kingston this past Tuesday on SmackDown Live. After having endured a gruelling gauntlet match against five of SmackDown’s top Superstars, Vince McMahon would then insert “The Planet’s Champion” as a surprise sixth entrant.

It was just too much for an exhausted Kofi who, in losing the gauntlet match, has now lost his opportunity to face Bryan for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 35.

The New Day regrouped backstage on Tuesday night, with Big E and Xavier Woods discussing quitting WWE — an idea that Kofi shot down.

Big E recently took to his Twitter account to upload a video of his thoughts on the situation. The video covers a lot of ground, with Big E lambasting WWE as he says that The New Day finally “understand the game.”

“If This Is All We Will Ever Be? I Don’t Know If It’s Worth It”

Big E believes that it doesn’t matter how good you are, how much your hone your craft and “jump through all the right hoops,” or how respectful you are as a professional and individual — to him the idea that if “You do everything, you check all the boxes, you show up in shape—you do everything that’s asked of you in this business —that if you do all those things you have a good chance of making it to the top” is a lie.

He goes on to say that “people like us will only get so far. […] You can climb the mountain. They’ll let you climb the mountain, but as far as getting to the peak and staying at the peak – it’s not a thing that people like us, historically and moving forward clearly, can only get so far.”

Clearly deflated from all these challenges being placed in front of his friend’s dreams, Big E would tease the idea of leaving WWE, contemplating whether all this hard work and being away from family for “250 days plus a year is worth it.” He ends the video by stating, |[…] obviously proud of Kofi, proud of us as a trio, proud of what we’ve done, but if this is all we ever be? I don’t know if it’s worth it.”

Kofi Kingston is on a trajectory similar to that of Daniel Bryan’s journey leading into WrestleMania 30. With authority figures doing everything to stop Kofi getting his opportunity, it will be interesting to see how they eventually make Kofi vs Bryan official. One thing is for sure, however: the WWE Universe want Kofi-Mania.

Kevin Owens returned last night during SmackDown Live. He was introduced by Vince McMahon as Kofi Kingston’s replacement for WWE’s upcoming Fastlane event as a man “more deserving” of the spot than the New Day member.

The WWE Universe made their frustration known via social media after the announcement. This vocal disappointment was shared by fellow New Day members, Xavier Woods and Big E.

Both expressed their clear exasperation with the decision via Twitter, taking umbrage with Vince McMahon’s ruling.

Xavier, whose current Twitter name is #KofiVsBryan, said:

“So what else does @TrueKofi have to do? He’s a multi-time champion. He’s given 11 amazing years to this company. He’s pinned the @wwe champion. Kofi is more than good enough. Kofi is more than worthy. What else do you want from him? WHAT ELSE?”

So what else does @TrueKofi have to do? He’s a multi-time champion. He’s given 11 amazing years to this company. He’s pinned the @wwe champion. Kofi is more than good enough. Kofi is more than worthy. What else do you want from him? WHAT ELSE?

— Austin Creed (@AustinCreedWins) February 27, 2019

His partner, Big E, however, took a more resentful approach, simply writing, “I don’t even know why we’re surprised anymore.”

I don’t even know why we’re surprised anymore.

— Ettore “Big E” Ewen (@WWEBigE) February 27, 2019

Despite this turn of events, Owens would eventually tag with Kofi Kingston in the main event of SmackDown. The two would defeat “The New” Daniel Bryan and Erick Rowan after Owens hit a Stunner for the victory.

With WrestleMania edging ever closer, are WWE saving Kofi for a high profile title win? Could he finally do it on the “Grandest Stage Of Them All”?

The New Day wasn’t always the fun-loving group they are today. Over time, the New Day members were able to add their own inflection onto their WWE characters, eventually turning into the trio known and loved today, becoming a group that may just be around forever.

That’s not to say, however, that New Day has always been popular amongst the WWE Universe.

New Day member, Xavier Woods, recently sat down with Corridor Cast. They spoke about a time when the group were starting to get booed, receiving ‘New Day Sucks’ chants. Wishing to lean into that momentum, Woods wanted to turn the group heel. Vince McMahon, however, didn’t believe that would work — primarily because of long-time babyface, Kofi Kingston.

Xavier would then make a unique bet with Vince: if he couldn’t get Kofi booed in four weeks, he would relinquish his place within the New Day.

“If I Can’t Make Good On This, Then I Don’t Deserve To Be Here”

“When they let us make the group, we were good guys. For the industry terms, we were babyfaces, and we thought we should be bad guys, heels, and after a while, some things happened and people were chanting, ‘New Day sucks,’ and it’s like, ‘Ok, yes, cool. They’ll let us turn a corner and we can be bad guys now,’ and they thought that since Kofi had been a babyface for so long that they wouldn’t boo him, and so, to me, I was like, ‘No, we’re in control of that. I guarantee you…’”

He continued, “I went to Vince McMahon and I was like, ‘If you give us — if you give me a microphone four weeks in a row, I guarantee you that they’ll boo Kofi Kingston, and he was like, ‘You really believe in this that much?’ I said, ‘Yes, I believe that I can do it’, and he goes, ‘Four weeks? And if you don’t do it in four weeks then what happens?’”

Woods’ response?

“I said if I don’t do it in four weeks, you’ve got 60 dudes in developmental that deserve this spot more than I do. [Vince responded with], ‘I can send you home? Get ready,’ and I said, ‘You should if I can’t do it. If I can’t make good on this, then I don’t deserve to be here,’ and he’s like, ‘Alright.’”

Thankfully, his gamble paid off as The New Day would eventually turn heel before establishing themselves as one of the top babyface groups in the company.

During Sunday’s Royal Rumble matchup, New Day members, Xavier Woods and Big E, paid homage to their stablemate, Kofi Kingston. Each member wore gear that showcased Kofi Kingston’s amazing Rumble moments from over the years, captured in comic book form.

Kingston has made a name for himself within the Rumble match, saving himself from elimination in different, unique ways to the point that the WWE Universe anticipate witnessing his next close escape each year.

Turns out, however, that another man inspired Kingston to begin his accidental tradition. Speaking with ‘The Sun,’ Kofi shared that he never intended for these near eliminations to become what he’s known for in the Rumble. He also directly credited former WWE Superstar, John Morrison, as his initial inspiration.

“Let Me Try To Fill This Void”

“I didn’t expect to become the guy who people look to do something cool in the Rumble in terms of avoiding elimination,” he admitted. “Actually, it was all started by John Morrison for me when he got knocked off the apron and jumped all the way to the barrier and parkoured his way back into the ring. Then the next year when it came to the Rumble he was not around so I was like, ‘Hey, let me try to fill this void’.”

“It became something cool and I tried to figure out something to do it again the next year and then all of a sudden everyone is like, ‘What’s Kofi gonna do now?’ Fast-forward a few years later and here we are,” he said.

“It’s cool and I couldn’t say exactly which one was my favorite, I just put them all out there and let the people rank and pick their best. It’s just cool to be in that spot,” he confessed. “The Royal Rumble is really about being the guy who survives 30-plus people and goes on to WrestleMania, then people are also looking at me. So it’s really great to be in that position.”

Despite rumors circling them regarding a potential breakup, WWE superstar and New Day member, Xavier Woods, believes that separating the trio wouldn’t benefit anybody.

Suffering an initial rocky start when the group first debuted, the New Day has since transitioned away from the initial gimmick that mired the members, embracing the pancake tossing, bright attire wearing, fun loving attitudes that they have proudly maintained for the past few years.

Speaking with The Post and Courier, Xavier Woods addressed why he believes it benefits the New Day to stay together “forever.”

“[…] it’s the best career move for all three of us [to stay together]. New Day’s staying together forever,” Woods proclaimed. “In the easiest terms, it’s the most fun option for us. Obviously, Kofi was killing it already. E was doing well. I wasn’t really doing much. The group has helped me become more recognized and things like that. But you also think about the things that Kofi and me were doing. [We’ve] gotten way more opportunities as well because of being part of the group.”

Woods reflected that, as a group, they’ve managed to stay relevant and on people’s screens, microphones in hand in order to entertain the WWE Universe, referring to promo time as “possibly the most important thing in the company.”

“[Being in New Day has] helped us with opportunities to have amazing matches with other teams that are just as amazing. So when you get to have a Hell in a Cell match, none of us had ever been in that position before. By having this group effort and being able to attack this as a group, we’ve been able to do a lot more than if we were just doing this alone.”

What do you think? Should New Day stay together forever?

Xavier Woods has no time for fans who complain about wrestling they don’t like. He made his comments during a recent WWE press conference in Manila.

“When people talk about the difference between the organizations – not even organizations – between like NXT and the main roster. So when they say like, ‘Oh man! Takeover killed it. SummerSlam, this is gonna suck!’” Woods said. “It’s on the same company. What is there to complain about?”

“And then like, you can watch New Japan. You can watch Triple A. You can watch so much wrestling from all corners of the world. And it’s all awesome and it’s all good. It’s all different guys and girls portraying their form of art that they love – that they wanna give to you,” he continued.

Woods said that as a performer it can be frustrating to give maximum effort and then receive criticism from a subset of the audience.

“So anytime anyone complains about wrestling it’s so annoying to me because people come off as these entitled infants,” Woods said.

Woods would then say the following:

“Because in reality, wrestling hurts so bad. And then we’re hurting ourselves to entertain the masses. And sometimes the masses wanna tell us how much it sucks,” he concluded.

Xavier Woods is having an interesting trip to Malaysia. Upon arriving in the country, Woods says he had a rather interesting interaction with a customs agent. Woods described the encounter on his Twitter account:

Landed in Kuala Lumpur

Customs agent: You're with WWE

Me: Yea

CA: Kofi Kingston

Me: Nah I'm the other black guy

CA: hmm, so you're not Kofi Kingston

Me: ?No

CA: (Takes me to a shady side room) Guys, pretty sure this is Kofi Kingston and he just doesn't wanna tell me

— Austin Creed (@AustinCreedWins) December 1, 2018

“Landed in Kuala Lumpur Customs agent: You’re with WWE Me: Yea CA: Kofi Kingston Me: Nah I’m the other black guy CA: hmm, so you’re not Kofi Kingston Me:
No CA: (Takes me to a shady side room) Guys, pretty sure this is Kofi Kingston and he just doesn’t wanna tell me”

It does appear Woods was allowed into the country without incident, however.

Xavier Woods Left Up To His Own Devices

Woods is an adventuristic superstar. On Friday WWE was in Manila in the Philippines. Woods did not take long to become enamored with the country:

JUST GOT OFF THE PLANE IN MANILA AND I ALREADY HAVE A PET CHICKEN AND A BAG OF SODA – DO NOT LEAVE ME TO MY OWN DEVICES @WWE pic.twitter.com/yX8dgMB4b5

— Austin Creed (@AustinCreedWins) November 30, 2018

“JUST GOT OFF THE PLANE IN MANILA AND I ALREADY HAVE A PET CHICKEN AND A BAG OF SODA – DO NOT LEAVE ME TO MY OWN DEVICES @WWE”

Xavier Woods On Survivor Series Raw vs Smackdown Scoring

Woods was not happy following Survivor Series recently. While the Smackdown tag-team division defeated the Raw tag-team division on the pre-show, WWE neglected to mention this when touting Raw’s “clean sweep” over Smackdown on the main PPV.

Woods sent out the following in regards to the controversial brand vs brand scoring:

*Finishes watching #SurvivorSeries…*

My Brain:
Don't do it
Don't do it
Don't do it
Don't do it
Don't do it
Don't do it

Me: HEY @WWE! RESPECT THE TAG DIVISION OF BOTH SHOWS AND LET THE PEOPLE KNOW THAT SMACKDOWN GOT A WIN TONIGHT. THE SCORE WAS 6 – 1 #PreshowCounts pic.twitter.com/Uc5NbyVwtO

— Austin Creed (@AustinCreedWins) November 19, 2018

Team Smackdown defeated Team Raw in the tag-team Survivor Series match last night. The match took place on the pre-show, however, and so didn’t count towards the storyline of Raw sweeping Smackdown on the main PPV.

New Day’s Xavier Woods was not happy with the tag-team match not being included in the storyline Raw vs Smackdown score last night. He sent out the following on Twitter after the show ended:

*Finishes watching #SurvivorSeries…*

My Brain:
Don't do it
Don't do it
Don't do it
Don't do it
Don't do it
Don't do it

Me: HEY @WWE! RESPECT THE TAG DIVISION OF BOTH SHOWS AND LET THE PEOPLE KNOW THAT SMACKDOWN GOT A WIN TONIGHT. THE SCORE WAS 6 – 1 #PreshowCounts pic.twitter.com/Uc5NbyVwtO

— Austin Creed (@AustinCreedWins) November 19, 2018

The Usos, who were the sole survivors in the match, re-tweeted Woods’ comments.

WWE Tag Team Divisions

Only Heath Slater and Rhyno didn’t participate in the Survivor Series tag-team match last night. The Revival and the Usos were the two final teams remaining. The Usos are likely in line for a tag team title match after last night. They also defeated former champions the New Day to earn the team captaincy for Smackdown. Smackdown tag-team champions, the Bar, lost to the Raw Champions Authors of Pain on the main PPV.

Shane McMahon commented on Raw’s “clean sweep” over Smackdown last night. He is saying there will be changes to his brand as a result.

This wasn’t the night I had in mind for Team Blue.
Tomorrow is a new day, but something is going to have to change come Tuesday. #SurvivorSeries

— Shane McMahon (@shanemcmahon) November 19, 2018

“Tomorrow is a new day, but something is going to have to change come Tuesday.”

Sounds as though Shane McMahon will have some comments Tuesday night.

The Smackdown Tag Team Championship match opened WWE’s Super Show-Down event earlier tonight. Champions The New Day retained against Sheamus & Cesaro. Cesaro rolled Xavier Woods up for a two count as Kofi Kingston made the save from outside the ring. Kofi then hit Sheamus with a Trouble in Paradise out on the floor before tagging in. Woods hit a Backstabber on Sheamus before Kofi hit a double stomp off the top rope to secure the three count.

You can follow our full ongoing results for the Super Show-Down here

Check out the SEScoop staff predictions for Super Show-Down here

Check out the latest betting odds for Super Show-Down here

Here’s the full card for the event:

• WWE Title Match: No Count Outs, No Disqualifications
  Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles
• SmackDown Women’s Title Match
  Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch
• WWE Cruiserweight Title Match
  Buddy Murphy vs. Cedric Alexander
• SmackDown Tag Team Title Match
  The Bar vs. The New Day
• #1 Contenders Match for a Future WWE Title Shot
  The Miz vs. Daniel Bryan
• Triple H with WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker with Kane
• John Cena and Bobby Lashley vs. Elias and Kevin Owens
• The Shield (Dean Ambrose, WWE Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins, WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns) vs. Braun Strowman, RAW Tag Team Champions Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre
• The Bella Twins and RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey vs. The Riott Squad (Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, Sarah Logan)
• Asuka and Naomi vs. Billie Kay and Peyton Royce

Check out the SEScoop staff predictions for Super Show-Down here

Check out the latest betting odds for Super Show-Down here

Nobody has held a WWE tag-team championship title for more combined days than Kofi Kingston. The 954 combined days Kingston has spent as a member of a WWE Tag-Team Championship team just surpassed the 953 days that Billy Gunn spent as tag champ throughout his career.

The number 3 ranked wrestler in this category is the WWE Hall of Famer, Mr. Fuji. Between reigns with Pat Tanaka and Mr. Saito, Fuji held a tag title for a combined 932 days.

Kofi Kingston – Most Days Spent As Tag Champion In WWE History

Kofi is one of the most decorated Superstars in WWE history to never win a world championship. He’s a 4x former Intercontinental Champion, 3x United States Champion, and an 8x WWE Tag-Team Champion. He also won a Slammy in 2012 for his Royal Rumble spot that year. Kingston received the award in the prestigious “Tell Me I Didn’t Just See That” category.

In addition to holding the tag titles with Xavier Woods and Big E of New Day, Kingston has had several other partners during his WWE tenure. CM Punk, Evan Bourne, and R-Truth have all won tag-team gold along with Kingston in the past.

Coming up at Super Show-Down in Australia, Kingston, and his New Day teammates will defend their titles against the Bar. Big E is scheduled to face Sheamus tonight on Smackdown.

#NewProfilePic pic.twitter.com/djUKJZc9G7

— Kofi Kingston (@TrueKofi) September 18, 2018

With more than 1.6 million subscribers worldwide, Xavier Woods (real name: Austin Watson) has been presented with a certificate recognising his popular YouTube channel, UpUpDownDown, as the most subscribed to celebrity video games channel on YouTube by Guinness World Records.

He received the honour at the Insomnia Gaming Festival in Birmingham, United Kingdom.

What is life?!? ? WE GOT A WOLRD RECORD FOR @UpUpDwnDwn ! @GWR! @IGFestUK #i63? ? pic.twitter.com/cWLrq3cndZ

— Austin Creed (@AustinCreedWins) August 25, 2018

Woods started his YouTube endeavour in 2015, attempting to use the platform as a way to cross boundaries and connect with his fanbase.

Originally showcasing himself playing video games with different superstars, it allowed fans to see superstars out of character, and enjoy a peek behind the curtain of their lives.

UpUpDownDown has since expanded, allowing other superstars an opportunity to engage with their love of video games, providing a now established platform to share their passion, such as AJ Styles’ new series, Retro Styles.

Last night on Smackdown, the New Day defeated the Bludgeon Brothers to win the tag-team championships. Rowan entered the match with a torn biceps but competed hard anyway. He will have surgery next week and is expected to be out for 2-4 months.

Following the match, both Harper and Smackdown creative head, Road Dogg, offered praise for the man who worked the main event match while injured.

Thanks Rowan.

— Brodie Lee (@ThisBrodieLee) August 22, 2018

Amen thanks Rowan! Viking Warrior second only to Ragnor Lothbrook! (Sp) #OUDK

— Brian G. James (@BrianRDJames) August 22, 2018

Smackdown Tag Team Division

Rowan’s injury means the tag-team division on Smackdown is opened up quite a bit moving forward. Now all the teams the Bludgeon Brothers defeated while champions are back in the mix.

During a backstage segment last night, the Bar and the Club scheduled a match for next week which could determine the New Day’s first title challengers.

Bludgeon Brothers Smackdown Tag Team Championship Reign

Harper and Rowan held the Smackdown Tag Team Championships for 135 days. They won the titles at WrestleMania 34 in a triple threat tag match against the Usos and New Day. The Usos were the champions going into the match.

BB then defeated the Usos at the Greatest Royal Rumble. They defeated the Club at Money in the Bank and then again on Smackdown just two days later. Harper and Rowan also defeated Team Hell No at Extreme Rules before dropping the Summerslam match to the New Day via DQ.