MJF says Kofi Kingston and Austin Creed would be “incredible additions” to the AEW roster and made clear he wants to see them in the promotion as soon as they are legally able to appear.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani ahead of AEW Double Or Nothing, MJF was asked directly about the possibility of New Day coming to AEW.
“Yeah, absolutely. I don’t know what their contract situation is, but whenever they are legally allowed to come over, I think those are guys that would be incredible additions to the AEW roster. They are both crazy talented, massive stars, and guys who know their worth, which to me is the most impressive thing.”
MJF was the first AEW name to publicly react when New Day’s WWE departure was announced on May 2, with several others in the company also making reference to the duo leaving. Kingston and Creed confirmed their WWE exit on May 4 and will be going by Kofi and Austin Creed going forward.
Fightful Select has reported that every AEW source it spoke to about the duo is pushing the company to sign them, including some notable names within the promotion.
There has been interest from AEW in signing the New Day members. A report emerged claiming close to a dozen sources within AEW expressed a desire to sign Kingston and Woods following an alleged WWE departure.
As per Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select, almost no dissent has emerged among those spoken to within AEW about potentially signing the New Day duo to AEW.
At least one person within an organization usually raises concerns about a potential signing, but that has not been the case here. The outlet noted that both Kingston and Woods are universally respected within AEW and that several big names in the promotion have been actively making an internal push for the two to end up there.
Bobby Lashley Wants The New Day In AEW
Lashley has been one of several AEW names wanting them in the company. He said:
“Man, I tell you what, I think the problem that we have right now is that the Hurt Syndicate is too strong. If we bring those guys on there, we’d be just unstoppable. I don’t think there’s any guess game in what’s going to happen next.
I think Kofi and Woods, I think they’re just amazing talent, and I think that anybody and everybody is going to throw in their money to try to pick those guys up. Hopefully they come to AEW, and if they do, we’ll try to get them if we can because I would love to be able to work with those guys.”
Kingston and Woods are both subject to 90-day non-compete clauses and would make them available in late July or early August.
The duo is set to appear at GalaxyCon Oklahoma City on the weekend of May 22-24 at the Oklahoma City Convention Center, followed by GalaxyCon Nashville on May 29-31 at The Fairgrounds Nashville.
Recent reports alleged that TKO attempted to restructure the duo’s contracts through pay cuts, leading to their exit.
During a recent episode of his Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, Hardy discussed his reaction to hearing the departure claims. The veteran stated the news would be shocking if true, given The New Day’s prominence in WWE.
“Shock. It was definitely shocking. The New Day has been such a staple of WWE, and you think they’re going to be WWE lifers, no doubt about it. And the last thing you expect is, as popular and as prominent as they still are right now, they’re going to be gone from WWE. It was very, very shocking to hear.”
Hardy continued:
“They were such big stars on a high level. It was shocking. I’m surprised they didn’t really try to figure out some way to make it work.”
Woods and Kingston formed The New Day alongside Big E in 2014. The faction has become one of the most successful tag teams in WWE history, capturing multiple tag team championships across various combinations.
Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods Set For Appearance Outside WWE
The former New Day members have been advertised for GalaxyCon Oklahoma City under the names “Kofi” and “Austin Creed.”
The pair is set to appear at GalaxyCon Oklahoma City on the weekend of May 22-24 at the Oklahoma City Convention Center, followed by GalaxyCon Nashville on May 29-31 at The Fairgrounds Nashville.
Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods have booked their first public appearances since departing WWE, and they’re already moving away from their WWE identities.
The former New Day members are advertised for GalaxyCon Oklahoma City under the names “Kofi” and “Austin Creed.”
The pair are set to appear at GalaxyCon Oklahoma City on the weekend of May 22-24 at the Oklahoma City Convention Center, followed by GalaxyCon Nashville on May 29-31 at The Fairgrounds Nashville.
The use of “Austin Creed” for Woods is particularly notable. It is the name he used in his emotional farewell statement, where he signed off by saying he was walking away as Austin Creed rather than Xavier Woods.
Kingston being listed simply as “Kofi” suggests he is also separating from WWE’s intellectual property while retaining the first name fans associate with him.
What’s Next for the Former New Day?
The convention appearances will mark the first time fans can interact with the duo in person since their mutual parting from WWE on May 2. The departures came after TKO offered both men reduced contracts just one year into five-year extensions signed in 2025, per the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Both declined and chose to walk away.
Kingston and Woods are believed to still be under 90-day non-compete clauses following their exits, which would prevent them from appearing on rival wrestling programming until approximately August. Convention appearances like GalaxyCon are not restricted under those terms.
Their departure has already drawn significant interest from AEW talent. MJF, FTR’s Cash Wheeler, and Swerve Strickland have all publicly expressed interest in seeing the duo join All Elite Wrestling, while The Usos posted their own tribute to the team they feuded with for the better part of a decade.
Matt Jackson called Triple H in 2018 to pitch a New Day vs. The Elite dream match. The revelation, dropped on the latest episode of Being The Elite, re-contextualizes years of social media teasing into something that was nearly real, and lands at the exact moment Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods are weeks away from being able to sign with All Elite Wrestling.
“We truly were trying to get a New Day, Young Bucks, Kenny match to happen. An Elite vs. New Day match actively,” Matt Jackson said on the show. “They said they were trying on their side. We were definitely talking to our bosses.”
Jackson then disclosed the call itself.
“Even to the point in 2018 when we got on the phone with Triple H and we talked to him and said, ‘Hey, we would really like to do this match.’ I don’t know if he was necessarily interested in just doing that match. I think he was more interested in pursuing us to work for him, but we talked to him about it. We were serious about doing the match and we thought we’d probably be able to do it, and unfortunately we never did.”
The Episode Doubles As A Tease
The episode itself is a watchalong of Being The Elite episode 107, the 2018 “It’s a New Day” installment that documented The Elite facing off against The New Day in Street Fighter V at E3. Kenny Omega complemented the timing by posting throwback video footage of himself gaming with The New Day from that same event, making the back-to-back teases impossible to read as coincidence.
The footage and the 2018 phone call paint the same picture. The Elite have wanted this match for nearly a decade, and they are surfacing the evidence at the precise moment it might finally happen.
Why Now
Kingston and Woods mutually parted ways with WWE on May 2. Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that TKO offered the duo reduced deals just one year into a five-year contract set to run through 2030, and both men declined and walked, per the backstage update from Meltzer’s reporting.
Standard WWE deals include a 90-day non-compete clause. If Kingston and Woods are operating under that timeline, they would be eligible to sign with another promotion at the end of July, opening a runway to a potential AEW debut during the summer build to All In London.
The Young Bucks and FTR were among the first to tweet teases in the immediate aftermath of the news, per Meltzer. MJF and Cash Wheeler invoked The New Day’s signature catchphrase in their own posts. Swerve Strickland told TMZ’s Inside the Ring podcast that he texted Kingston after the release and considers him “one of the top five greatest ever to do it.” The New Day name remains WWE property, so any AEW arrival would likely see Kingston and Woods working under their individual names.
The wrestling world is still buzzing about the shocking WWE departure of The New Day after TKO officials asked the wrestling veterans to restructure their deals.
While the duo of Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods have not revealed their future plans just yet, there has already been heavy speculation about E potentially leaving the promotion to reunite with his long-term partners in their next endeavor.
Fightful Select recently provided an update on the matter and suggested that the officials are not expecting the former WWE Champion to be leaving anytime soon.
Big E is regularly featured on PPV pre and post-shows for the company. According to the site, the former NXT Champion is seen as a key reason for the success of the PPV kick-off shows, and the belief is that he will remain part of the pre-show panels as he has been over the last few years.
After not having wrestled since March 2022 due to his neck injury, E confirmed earlier this year that he has officially retired from active competition. Though the report did not reveal if the former champion is still on a performer contract with the company, or if his deal has been updated.
Xavier Woods took to X to share his farewell to WWE following news of his and Kofi Kingston’s mutual parting from the company on May 2, and he closed it in a way that felt like a full-circle moment for a man who spent 16 years building something genuinely his own.
Woods opened by reflecting on what WWE represented to him from the very beginning, framing the company less as an employer and more as the place where he became who he is.
“For the past 16 years, WWE has been my home. It’s where I grew up, found myself, failed, learned, and got to live out things the younger version of me could only dream about. When I first walked into FCW, I just wanted a chance to prove I belonged and to bring something different to professional wrestling. That chance became a life full of moments I’ll carry with me forever — WrestleMania, championships, King of the Ring, arenas around the world, and the gift of connecting with all of you by being myself.”
He then acknowledged what New Day gave him beyond championships and crowd reactions, pointing to the bond with Kofi Kingston and Big E as something that transcends any professional achievement.
“The New Day gave me a bond with Kofi and Big E that I’ll cherish for life. You believed in us, even when our ideas were wild, and because of that, we got to show people that being unapologetically yourself is a strength.”
Woods also gave specific recognition to UpUpDownDown, the gaming YouTube channel he built within the WWE ecosystem that became a creative outlet for a different kind of connection with fans.
“UpUpDownDown became another piece of that same mission: a place for joy, friendship, and humanity. I’m so thankful to everyone, past and present, who helped build it brick by brick.”
Perhaps the most striking part of the statement was the depth of gratitude he directed toward the people who rarely receive public acknowledgment from performers.
“To the locker room, producers, trainers, crew, camera teams, ring crew, everyone behind the scenes, and the props department – thank you. WWE has the most special and hardest working props department that you’ll ever find. Love you guys and none of this happens without you.”
He closed the statement by signing off not as Xavier Woods, the character he portrayed for over a decade, but as the person underneath it.
“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.”
Big E has reacted to the surprising WWE exits of his New Day stablemates Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods. Fans discovered earlier today that both Kingston and Woods were removed from WWE’s official roster page, marking an unexpected end to their tenures with the company.
Big E’s Response to the Departures
Big E addressed the situation on social media following the news breaking, posting the following artwork on his Instagram stories by artist Jonathan Davenport, designer of ring gear worn by New Day, Cody Rhodes and more.
The former WWE Champion’s reaction comes as fans process the sudden nature of both departures happening simultaneously.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DX2ddiEAYe0
What’s Next for The New Day
The trio formed one of the most successful factions in modern WWE history, with The New Day becoming multi-time tag team champions and cultural icons within the wrestling industry. Big E has been sidelined from in-ring competition since suffering a broken neck in March 2022.
Kingston and Woods have been integral parts of WWE programming for over a decade each. Kingston is a former WWE Champion and multiple-time tag team champion, while Woods has held tag team gold on numerous occasions alongside his New Day brothers.
The future of The New Day as a faction remains uncertain with two-thirds of the group now departed from WWE. Big E continues his recovery from his career-threatening neck injury, though no timeline has been announced for a potential return to action.
Both Kingston and Woods’ contracts and the circumstances surrounding their exits have not been officially confirmed by WWE at this time.
The New Day members Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston were granted their WWE release. Now, WWE stars The Usos, AEW stars MJF and Cash Wheeler posted their reactions on social media.
As per Wrestling Observer’s Bryan Alvarez, Woods and Kingston parted ways with WWE after they asked to restructure their current deals with TKO. The pair had been with the company as part of the New Day faction since 2014.
MJF and Cash Wheeler React
Both AEW stars referenced New Day’s signature catchphrase following the departure.
MJF posted to his Instagram Stories: “It’s a new day…. yes it is.”
Cash Wheeler of FTR posted on X: “Cot damn. It’s a new day. Cot damn.”
Wheeler and tag team partner Dax Harwood have clashed with New Day multiple times while both teams were in WWE during 2019. The teams, then known as The Revival, faced off in several six-man tags alongside Randy Orton that year.
In 2019, Big E and Kofi Kingston defeated The Revival to win the SmackDown Tag Team titles. New Day retained the championships against The Revival at the TLC pay-per-view in Minneapolis on December 15, 2019.
Meanwhile, The Usos and The New Day have dominated WWE’s modern tag team division with classic title matches and rivalries.
Woods and Kingston’s departure from WWE marks the end of New Day’s 12-year run with the company.
One of WWE’s most beloved acts is coming to an end, with Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston departing the company.
Fightful Select and Bodyslam report that both members of New Day are leaving WWE. Fightful Select was told the split was mutual, with both parties agreeing to part ways.
More WWE Releases
Tanga Loa and JC Mateo are also leaving the company as part of the same wave of departures.
New Day, which also included Big E before his in-ring retirement following a broken neck suffered in 2022, became one of WWE’s most decorated tag teams and one of the most popular acts in the company’s recent history.
Kingston and Woods held the WWE Tag Team Championships on multiple occasions and were fixtures on both Raw and SmackDown for over a decade.
No further details about the circumstances of the departures or the future plans of either Kingston or Woods have been provided at this time.
Multi-time WWE Tag-Team Champion Xavier Woods is currently recovering from a shoulder injury that has kept him out of action for the past three months. Kofi Kingston announced on the February 16th, 2026, episode of WWE Raw that Woods would be taking time off to recover.
Woods\’ last match was a dark match before the 2026 Royal Rumble. The 13-time WWE Tag Team Champion is undergoing physical therapy with hopes of returning in a few weeks.
Xavier Woods\’ Recovery Status
In an interview with Wrestlezone, Woods described the current state of his shoulder and his outlook on recovery. He said:
\”I feel ok. Lifting things with my shoulder doesn’t feel ok. I kind of put it through like a meat grinder, so we’ll see how it is. Hopefully, it’s a few weeks of physical therapy, and then we’ll be back at it. But if not, I will let everybody know. But yeah, it’s alright. We’re just staying positive.\”
Woods is staying positive during his physical therapy. However, there is no confirmed return date at this time. He also made an appearance on February 23rd edition of WWE Raw where another superstar sustained an injury.
While the New Day were not featured on the broadcast of this week\’s Raw from Memphis, Tennessee, they did make an appearance during a commercial break on the show.
Kofi Kingston, accompanied by Grayson Waller, cut a promo for the crowd. The former WWE Champion revealed that their other partner, Woods has been dealing with a shoulder injury for a while and doctors have now pulled him off the road for better recovery:
“We have some devastating news to report here tonight to you idiots. Xavier Woods has been injured. He’s been battling a shoulder injury quietly and bravely for the better part of three months now and the medical team and the doctors are now forcing him to take time off in order for the shoulder to recover.”
Waller then read a message from Xavier Woods for the people in attendance where the injured star mentioned how poor and ugly the residents of Memphis were.
The UpUpDownDown star last wrestled in a dark match during the Royal Rumble PPV from Saudi Arabia. He had taken part in the road to Royal Rumble and Christmas Live Event tours before that so it seems likely that he aggravated the injury more recently.
Xavier Woods has opened up about the psychology behind The New Day\’s heel turn, revealing what he calls the \”orange juice philosophy\” that explains why the team needed to embrace their darker side.
Speaking with Peter Rosenberg for Cheap Heat during Royal Rumble weekend in Riyadh, Woods broke down the metaphor that drives their current character work.
\”I heard this thing and it was if you squeeze an orange, what comes out? Orange juice. Because that\’s what\’s inside it,\” Woods explained. \”Somebody says something cross to you, something mean, there it\’s essentially squeezing you. And what comes out? That anger, that rage. But when you\’re bouncing around in bright colors and unicorns and all this stuff, even if they say something across to you, here comes something that\’s not actually in you coming out.\”
Woods emphasized that the heel turn allows him to express genuine emotions that were suppressed during their babyface run.
\”Now I get to let out years, decades of all that that\’s been inside,\” he said. \”And it feels amazing.\”
Woods believes their current persona resonates because it reflects something real rather than manufactured positivity.
\”The more authentic I am, the higher level I\’m vibrating at and that\’s going to bring things to me and that\’s going to repel things from me,\” Woods stated. \”What is it going to repel? People that are not authentic. So you don\’t like this because you know that this is real.\”
Kofi Kingston echoed his partner\’s sentiment, describing this run as one of his favorite periods in The New Day\’s history.
\”I\’ve been on both sides, you know, winning a title at Mania when everyone wanted you to win and winning a title at Mania when no one wanted you to win,\” Kingston said. \”When no one wants you to do it and you just.. and you do it, and you look at everyone\’s face, and they\’re just pissed off… It\’s lovely.\”
Xavier Woods has made a bold claim about his place in wrestling history, declaring himself the first success story to transition from TNA to WWE.
Speaking with Peter Rosenberg during Royal Rumble weekend, Woods reflected on his pioneering journey from TNA to becoming a multi-time champion in WWE.
\”I\’m so not to be pompous, but I\’m the first success story from TNA to WWE,\” Woods stated confidently. \”I\’m the first one to find like long-term success from TNA. You\’re pre Samoa Joe. Yeah. You\’re pre AJ, pre Bobby.\”
Woods elaborated on what his early success meant for TNA\’s reputation within WWE circles.
\”I\’m the one who came over and washed the stink off. I\’m the one who came over and said TNA is a viable place. We have great talent,\” he explained.
The New Day member spoke highly of TNA\’s roster during his tenure, making a bold statement about its talent level.
\”I would put that roster against any roster in the history of wrestling,\” Woods declared. \”Some of the best matches, some of the best wrestlers on the planet. So many legends were there. So many. It was crazy.\”
Woods shared a fascinating detail about wrestling international talent during his TNA days, including a series of matches with future NJPW legend Hiroshi Tanahashi.
\”At one point like Tanahashi came through and he was just part of the exhibition. So I was just wrestling Tanahashi for months and like what having these awesome matches building this great friendship,\” he recalled.
His TNA debut was equally unusual. Woods debuted at Bound for Glory as part of the Consequences Creed team, winning the TNA Tag Team Championships in his first televised match—then returned to his college classes the next day.
\”That was my first televised match. I\’m in college… Then the next day I was at my 8 a.m. biopsychology class senior college at that point,\” Woods laughed.
The path from TNA to WWE success paved the way for future stars like AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, and Bobby Lashley to make similar transitions.
Xavier Woods has revealed The New Day\’s ultimate goal as heels: making children cry and bringing back \”old school\” wrestling chaos reminiscent of ECW and WCW.
In an interview with Peter Rosenberg for Cheap Heat during Royal Rumble weekend in Saudi Arabia, Woods delivered some of the most controversial comments of his career while explaining what success looks like as a villain.
\”When we\’re overseas and there\’s a little four-year-old girl who\’s being held by her mother because she can\’t see over the barricade. And she\’s weeping, face blushed, red, crying, tears of anguish and sadness because of us,\” Woods said with a grin.
\”There\’s no better feeling on the planet than a child that upset that they are weeping because of your work. That means you did your job better than anyone could ever do it.\”
Restoring Wrestling to What It Should Be
Woods outlined The New Day\’s mission to restore what he believes wrestling should be.
\”We are going to do everything that we can to bring back what wrestling is supposed to be,\” he declared. \”There are supposed to be guard rails broken. There are supposed to be riots happening. There are supposed to be trash being thrown in the ring old school WCW style. That\’s what we\’re going for.\”
Inspired by the Greats
The heel inspiration, according to Woods, comes from The Dudley Boys during their ECW days. Hall of Famers Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley would come close to inciting riots with their antagonizing of ECW audiences.
\”Probably the Dudley Boys. Old school ECW civic center type arena,\” Woods explained. \”Back then it wasn\’t about sponsorships. It wasn\’t about shareholders. It wasn\’t about anything except for wrestling and that true passion. Bubba and D-Von would come out there and they would grab you by the neck with their words and make you want them dead in the streets. That is the energy that I need from these crowds.\”
Woods also shared a recent moment that exemplified their heel work—ripping up a supportive fan\’s sign in Toronto.
\”Someone had a big \’Thank God for the New Day\’ sign. Kofi got to the sign before I did. He\’s already there. He\’s grabbed the sign out of the guy\’s hand. Now he\’s in the hard cam and ripping it up,\” Woods recalled. \”The guy\’s like, \’Why would you do that? I\’m supporting you guys.\’\”
For the better part of a decade, The New Day stood as one of WWE\’s most beloved acts, spreading positivity, pancakes, and unicorn magic to audiences around the world. Now, Woods and Kofi Kingston have proven they can be just as effective on the dark side—perhaps even more so.
Hoping New Day Sees the Light
By channeling the raw, unapologetic energy of wrestling\’s past, from the Dudley Boys\’ ECW reign of terror to the chaotic WCW crowds hurling debris into the ring, The New Day has tapped into something primal. They\’re not just playing villains; they\’re crafting moments that fans will remember for years, even if those memories come with tears.
The decorated tag team appears to be genuinely relishing this chapter, finding new creative fuel in the boos and broken signs. But for fans who grew up clapping along to \”New Day Rocks,\” there remains a flicker of hope that Woods and Kingston will eventually see the light before their storied careers reach the finish line—and that we\’ll get one more run of joy, laughter, and yes, maybe even some pancakes.
