| The New Day | |
|---|---|
 The New Day'sKofi Kingston (left) andXavier Woods in 2016 | |
| Tag team | |
| Members | Kofi Kingston Xavier Woods |
| Name | The New Day |
| Billed heights | Kingston: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Woods: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Combined billed weight | 417 lb (189 kg) |
| Former member | Big E |
| Debut | July 21, 2014 |
| Years active | 2014–present |
The New Day is aprofessional wrestlingtag team consisting ofKofi Kingston andXavier Woods. They are signed toWWE, where they perform on theRawbrand.
One of the most popular and decorated teams in WWE history, The New Day holds several records, including themost reigns asSmackDown Tag Team Champions at seven, and the longest-reigningRaw Tag Team Champions at 483 days. As a team, they also hold the record for most WWE-branded tag team championship reigns at 13 (seven WWE, five World, and one NXT)—the only team WWE recognizes with more isDudley Boyz at 18, but this includes theireightExtreme Championship Wrestling andoneWorld Championship Wrestling tag team title reigns. While performing as a trio, The New Day defended their tag team titles under theFreebird rule, with all three members being recognized as champions.
Thestable was prominently formed by Xavier Woods withBig E and Kofi Kingston on the July 21, 2014, show ofRaw, but made their debut as The New Day on the November 28, 2014, episode ofSmackDown. In April 2015 atExtreme Rules, they won their firstWWE Tag Team Championship. Their second reign, which began at that year'sSummerSlam in August, became the longest male tag team championship reign in WWE history until it was surpassed byThe Usos (Jimmy Uso andJey Uso) in 2022.
The team also won the SmackDown Tag Team Championship a record seven times and after winningNXT Tag Team Championship, they became the thirdWWE Tag Team Triple Crown Champions. As singles wrestlers, both Kingston and Big E won theWWE Championship, while Xavier Woods won theKing of the Ring tournament. In January 2022, Big E would be moved to SmackDown, thus becoming a trio again with Kingston and Woods; however, an injury incurred in March has kept Big E out of action indefinitely. In December 2024, after being away from the stable since his injury, Big E was removed by Kingston and Woods in the stable's 10-year anniversary celebration.
The early months of the stable as stereotypicalblack gospelbabyface characters were marked by largely negative reactions from fans and critics alike, but after transitioning their characters intoheels fanatically obsessed with the nostalgia-style "power of positivity" in April 2015, they began to receive acclaim for their entertainment value, as well as for their in-ring performances.[1][2][3][4] In 2015, the trio were collectively named "WWE Wrestler of the Year" byRolling Stone, while also being recognized as the "Best Gimmick" of the year by theWrestling Observer Newsletter.[5][6] Additionally, they became the first trio to win thePro Wrestling Illustrated award for "Tag Team of the Year", doing so in 2015 and 2016 (the first two wins in a row in this category for two decades). Their new-found popularity resulted in the trio reverting to babyfaces in early 2016, which they remained as until December 2024, when Kingston and Woods reverted back to being heels after Big E’s removal from the group.
The three, who are close friends in real life, also appear or work together outside of wrestling, notably writing the 2016 bookThe Book of Booty: Shake It. Love It. Never Be It, and hosting a weekly podcast,Feel the Power (named after one of their catchphrases), from 2019 to 2023. In 2021, The New Day topped WWE's list of the "50 Greatest Tag Teams" in the promotion's history.[7]
After wrestling in WWE'sdevelopmental territoriesDeep South Wrestling (DSW),Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) andFlorida Championship Wrestling (FCW) since September 2006, Kofi Kingston made his WWE debut onECW in January 2008. He subsequently came to have an extensive singles career, becoming a four-timeIntercontinental Champion and a three-timeUnited States Champion; he had also been part of several tag teams, including withCM Punk,Evan Bourne andR-Truth, all of whom he won tag team championships with.[8] Big E began his career in FCW and then inNXT, where he becameNXT Champion.[9] On the December 17, 2012 episode ofRaw, he made his main roster debutaligning himself withDolph Ziggler andAJ Lee and later winning the Intercontinental Championship.[10][11] Xavier Woods, who previously wrestled inTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling as Consequences Creed, signed to WWE in 2010 and worked in FCW and NXT until the November 18, 2013 episode ofRaw, when he made his main roster debut.[12]
Woods, then in college, had first met Kingston in 2006 or 2007 when he had entered the DSW building to apply for a wrestling job, and Kingston was working in the ring at the exact same moment. Woods got the job, but DSW closed soon after; when Woods came to FCW two years later to similarly apply for another wrestling job, Kingston was, coincidentally, once again present and working in the ring.[13][14]
The stable originated from an idea backstage by Woods, who, pitched it to WWE Writer Michael Notarile,[15] after not being given storylines or much time on-screen, worked on creating a "snarky, intelligent, running his mouth, just like total punk"heel character for himself. As his friend Big E was in a similar situation career-wise,[16] Woods and Notarile[17] decided to work together with Big E to form a team instead, spending several weeks taping promos and pitching ideas in order to create their new characters.[18] The three men felt that something was still missing from the team, and they had the idea of including Kingston, who was also at a low point of his career; however, they had doubts that WWE would let Kingston, who had been a babyface his entire career, turn heel, and changed the characters so they would be babyfaces who, according to Woods, were "three guys, who came from kind of the same background, that just want more from life, more from their jobs, more from their friends, more from everything around them."[19][20] In October 2020, the trio stated that they had considered adding a woman to the group, withSasha Banks being their top pick.[21] Big E also revealed thatAlicia Fox andDamien Sandow were considered to be additions to the faction.[22]
On the July 21, 2014 episode ofRaw, after Big E and Kingston, who had started pairing up in tag team matches earlier the same month, suffered another loss in what had been ongoing losing streaks for both men. Woods came down to address the two and declared that they could not "move ahead by kissing babies, shaking hands, and singing and dancing like a puppet", and that it would be their time to "find purpose", and that they "do not ask any longer", but "take".[23] The duo then joined Woods and on the following day onMain Event, where he managed Big E and Kingston to a decisive victory over Slater-Gator (Heath Slater andTitus O'Neil).[24] However, the group disappeared from television soon after due to WWE creative being unconvinced by their gimmick; they continued to make appearances together athouse shows in two-on-two tag team matches, regularly switching the two competing members while the third one acted as manager.[25][26][27][28][29]
From the November 3 episode ofRaw, WWE began airing vignettes for Big E, Kingston and Woods, with the stable now being billed as The New Day, displaying aheroicblack gospelgimmick.[30] The New Day made their in-ring debut on the November 28 episode ofSmackDown in a winning effort againstCurtis Axel, Heath Slater and Titus O'Neil.[31] On the December 1 episode ofRaw, Kingston and Woods competed in atag team turmoil match to determine the number one contenders for theWWE Tag Team Championship, eliminatingGold and Stardust, before being eliminated byTyson KiddandCesaro.[32] At theTLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pre-show on December 14, Big E and Kingston defeated Gold and Stardust.[33]
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On the January 5, 2015 episode ofRaw, while Big E was on his way to a victory againstAdam Rose, the team of Kidd and Cesaro, masquerading as Rosebuds, interfered by laying out Woods on the outside and performing theirfinisher on Big E in the ring.[34] At theRoyal Rumble, The New Day's winning streak came to an end when Tyson Kidd and Cesaro defeated Big E and Kingston.[35] Afatal four-way match for the WWE Tag Team Championship took place on theWrestleMania 31 pre-show on March 29, including The New Day, but they failed to win the championship.[36]
On the March 30 episode ofRaw, they were involved in aneight-man tag team match alongsideThe Lucha Dragons (Kalisto andSin Cara) against Kidd, Cesaro andThe Ascension.[37] During the match, the live audience responded negatively to The New Day with loud "New Day sucks!" chants which carried over into the following weeks.[38] When asked about the crowd's disapproval of them in a backstage interview on the April 6 episode ofRaw, The New Day claimed that they were hurt and responded in a more aggressive tone, yet maintained their upbeat nature. During their following match against The Lucha Dragons, Kingston attempted a cheap shot from the outside, even though he was not actually involved in the bout, turning all three men intoheels in the process.[39] On the April 20 episode ofRaw, The New Day defeated The Lucha Dragons viacountout to become the number one contenders for the WWE Tag Team Championship after Woods held onto Sin Cara's feet to prevent him from re-entering the ring.[40]
AtExtreme Rules on April 26, The New Day defeated Kidd and Cesaro to capture the WWE Tag Team Championship; Big E and Kingston were the participants in the match, but WWE also recognized Woods as champion under theFreebird Rule, in which any two members of a stable can compete for the titles.[41] AtPayback on May 17, Big E and Kingston defeated Kidd and Cesaro in atwo-out-of-three falls match to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship after Woods pinned Cesaro, despite not being a legal participant in the match.[42] AtElimination Chamber on May 31, all three New Day members competed in the first-ever tag teamElimination Chamber match for the WWE Tag Team Championship, where they lastly eliminatedThe Prime Time Players (Darren Young and Titus O'Neil) to retain their titles.[43] However, atMoney in the Bank on June 14, Big E and Woods lost the championships to The Prime Time Players. Big E and Kingston then lost their rematch atBattleground on July 19.[44] The New Day would regain the championship after they defeatedLos Matadores (Diego andFernando), The Lucha Dragons and The Prime Time Players in a fatal four-way match atSummerSlam on August 23. Despite being heels, the trio received heavy positive reactions from audiences who began to chant "New Day rocks!". The following night onRaw, they were attacked by the returningDudley Boyz, with Woods being put through a table.[45] This started afeud between the two teams, setting up a title match atNight of Champions on September 20, where Big E and Kingston lost bydisqualification, though, by rule, they retained their titles. They lost via disqualification to retain their championships again in a rematch against The Dudley Boyz atWWE Live from Madison Square Garden,[46] but defeated them viapinfall atHell in a Cell on October 25 to retain the titles, thus ending their feud.[47] The New Day led their own team atSurvivor Series includingSheamus andKing Barrett, but left the match prematurely to tend to Big E after his elimination, leading to their team's eventual loss.[48] AtTLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 13, they retained the WWE Tag Team Championship against The Lucha Dragons andThe Usos (Jimmy and Jey Uso) in atriple threatladder match.[49] The New Day then successfully defended their titles against The Lucha Dragons on the special December 22 episode ofSuper SmackDown Live![50] and against The Usos on January 24, 2016, at theRoyal Rumbleevent.[51]
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AtFastlane on February 21, The New Day began mockingThe League of Nations (Sheamus,Alberto Del Rio,Rusev and King Barrett), calling them the "League of Booty".[52] They then continued to mock The League of Nations in various segments and skits while simultaneously feuding with other teams andturning intofan favorites in the process.[53] The New Day then retained their titles atRoadblock against Sheamus and Barrett on March 12[54] and the following night onRaw against Del Rio and Rusev, but were attacked by the entire League of Nations afterwards.[55] This led to a non-titlesix-man tag team match between the two stables atWrestleMania 32 on April 3, where The New Day lost,[56] but Big E and Kingston retained their championships once again against Sheamus and Barrett the following night onRaw.[57] AtPayback on May 1, the final match of the tournament to determine the number one contenders for the WWE Tag Team Championship betweenEnzo Amore and Colin Cassady andThe Vaudevillains (Aiden English andSimon Gotch) ended in ano contest after Amore suffered alegitimateconcussion during the match.[58] As a result, The New Day faced The Vaudevillains for the WWE Tag Team Championship atExtreme Rules on May 22, where they retained their championship after Kingston interfered.[59] On the May 30 episode ofRaw, The New Day defeated The Vaudevillains in a non-title match via disqualification after they were attacked byLuke GallowsandKarl Anderson, sparking a feud between them.[60] AtMoney in the Bank on June 19, The New Day defeated Gallows and Anderson, The Vaudevillains and Enzo and Cass in a fatal-four-way match to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship and, as of that victory, they hold the record for the longest combined reign as a tag team.[61] On the June 20 episode ofRaw, The New Day confronted returningThe Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt,Erick Rowan andBraun Strowman) and interrupted Wyatt'spromo, thus starting a feud between the two teams[62] that would lead to a non-title six-man tag team match atBattleground on July 24, where they would lose.[63][64]
During the2016 WWE draft, The New Day weredrafted to theRawbrand, making the WWE Tag Team Championship exclusive to the brand.[65] In parallel to a lengthy feud with Gallows and Anderson over the titles, The New Day became the longest reigning WWE Tag Team Champions in the title's history, breaking the old record of 331 days previously set byPaul LondonandBrian Kendrick[66] and, after the creation of theSmackDown Tag Team Championship for the SmackDown brand,[67] became the last people to have held their championship as the sole tag team title in WWE and the first to hold it under its new name of Raw Tag Team Championship.[68] The New Day would continue to retain their championships against Gallows and Anderson in the following months, such asSummerSlam on August 21,[69]Clash of Champions on September 25[70] and the following night onRaw, ending their feud in the process.[71]
After their feud with Gallows and Anderson, The New Day began feuding with Cesaro and Sheamus and atHell in a Cell on October 30, The New Day were defeated by Cesaro and Sheamus via disqualification, but they retained the titles as a result.[72] On the October 31 episode ofRaw, The New Day revealed that they were made captain of Team Raw for the10-on-10 Survivor Series Tag Team Elimination match atSurvivor Series.[73] At the event on November 20, they made the first elimination, but were then eliminated themselves by The Usos.[74] However, Team Raw still won the match thanks to Cesaro and Sheamus.[75] On the two followingRaw episodes, The New Day retained their titles against Cesaro and Sheamus and then Gallows and Anderson, respectively.[73][76]
On the December 12 episode ofRaw, after successfully defending their titles in two successive triple threat tag team matches – first against Cesaro and Sheamus and Gallows and Anderson, and then against the team ofChris Jericho andWWE Universal ChampionKevin Owens, and the team ofSeth Rollins andUnited States ChampionRoman Reigns – The New Day brokeDemolition's 28-year-old record to have the longest single-run withany tag team championship in WWE history.[77] Demolition previously held the record with theWWF Tag Team Championship at 478 days.[78] AtRoadblock: End of the Line on December 18, The New Day's reign ended at 483 days after they lost the championships to Cesaro and Sheamus.[79] On the December 26 episode ofRaw, The New Day received a rematch, but failed to reclaim the championships.[80]
The New Day would go on to hostWrestleMania 33, and the following night onRaw, lost to the debuting teamThe Revival (Scott Dawson andDash Wilder). After the match, Kingston was attacked by The Revival, resulting in a legitimate ankle injury.[81][82] On April 11, 2017, The New Day were moved to theSmackDown brand as part ofSuperstar Shake-up; however, they did not appear for several weeks due to Kingston's ankle injury. When The New Day returned to action, they feuded withThe Usos around theSmackDown Tag Team Championship. In the two teams' first encounter atMoney in the Bank, Big E and Kingston won the match by countout, but not the title. In a rematch atBattleground, Kingston and Woods captured the titles. They lost the title back to The Usos on theSummerSlam 2017 pre-show, regained it on the September 12 episode ofSmackDown Live in aSin City Street Fight, and lost it again in aHell in a Cell match at thepay-per-view of the same name. New Day and The Usos had a triple threat match atWrestleMania 34, but were defeated by the third team,The Bludgeon Brothers.[83] After failing to win the title atSummerSlam, The New Day defeated The Bludgeon Brothers in a No Disqualification match two days later onSmackDown to capture the titles for a third time. They held the titles until October 16, 2018, when they were defeated byCesaro and Sheamus onSmackDown 1000.[84] At TLC, The New Day would again fail to win the championship from The Bar, in a triple-threat tag team match also involving The Usos.
During the early months of 2019, Kingston became highly popular and was pushed to a title match at WrestleMania. After a praised participation in theElimination Chamber match at thenamesake pay-per-view, where he was defeated by the WWE ChampionDaniel Bryan. He would face Bryan atWrestleMania 35, where he won the match to become the WWE Champion for the first time in his career. In doing so, he became the first African-born WWE Champion.[85] Kingston would retain the title against Kevin Owens,[86]Samoa Joe until he lost it againstBrock Lesnar duringSmackDown's 20th Anniversary on October 4.[87] During his reigns, Big E and Woods won the SmackDown Tag Team Championship, making The New Day record-tying four-time SmackDown Tag Team Champions (technically also making Kingston a double champion during this time due to the Freebird Rule).[88][89] They lost the titles toThe Revival atClash of Champions,[90] but regained it two months later, becoming record five-time champions.[91] AtTLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, Big E and Kingston successfully defended the titles against The Revival in a ladder match.[92] AtSuper ShowDown on February 27, 2020, The New Day lost the titles toJohn Morrison and The Miz, ending their reign at 111 days.[93] AtWrestleMania 36, Kingston, who represented The New Day, failed to win the titles back from Morrison, who represented himself and Miz, in a triple threat ladder match, also involving Jimmy Uso, who represented The Usos.[94][95] A rematch took place on the April 17 episode ofSmackDown, where Big E, who represented The New Day, won the titles back from Miz, who represented himself and Morrison, in a triple threat match, also involving Jey Uso, who represented The Usos, and this makes The New Day six-time SmackDown Tag Team Champions.[96] AtThe Horror Show at Extreme Rules, The New Day would lose the championships toCesaro andShinsuke Nakamura in a Tables match. On the July 24 episode of SmackDown, Kingston revealed that he would be out of action for 6 weeks due to a back injury.[97][98] Big E would then embark on his singles run.[99]
On the October 9 episode ofSmackDown, both Kingston and Woods returned from injury and defeatedCesaro andShinsuke Nakamura, winning their seventh SmackDown Tag Team Championship; immediately after the match, the trio were given the announcement that Kingston and Woods were being drafted toRaw as part of the2020 Draft, while Big E remained on SmackDown, splitting the group across brands for the first time; it also marked the first time that members of The New Day would hold tag titles without all three members being champions, as Big E was not considered champion.[100][101] Although this originally led to reports in the media that Big E had split from the group, the three, in addition to continuing their New DayFeel the Power podcast, also claimed that Big E would continue to be part of The New Day, albeit separately from them on SmackDown, with WWE later stating on Twitter that there was "no break-up".[102]
Upon Kingston and Woods's Raw debut on the October 12 episode ofRaw, WWE officialAdam Pearce had them trade titles withRaw Tag Team ChampionsThe Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins andMontez Ford), who had just been drafted to SmackDown, in order to keep both championships on their respective brands. This made Kingston and Woods three-time Raw Tag Team Champions, marking their first time holding the title without Big E.[103] The New Day appeared one further time as a trio atSurvivor Series on November 22 to promote their appearance in the video gameGears 5. At the event, the trio made their entrance dressed as their respective characters in the game. After the entrance and a brief in-ring promo, Big E departed backstage while Kingston and Woods faced SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Street Profits in a non-title brand supremacy match. New Day lost the match but showed mutual respect to The Street Profits.[104] On December 20, atTLC, Kingston and Woods lost the Raw Tag Team Championship toThe Hurt Business (Cedric Alexander andShelton Benjamin).[105]
They regained the championship on the March 15, 2021 episode ofRaw, tying Cesaro and Sheamus for the most reigns as a team at four, while individually, Kingston tied Seth Rollins for the most reigns at six. They were then scheduled to defend the titles againstAJ Styles andOmos atWrestleMania 37,[106] in which they lost, ending their reign at 26 days.[107] On September 13, 2021, duringRaw, Big E cashed in hisMoney in the Bank contract (which he had won inJuly) onWWE ChampionBobby Lashley, who had just retained his title againstRandy Orton, to win the WWE Championship for the first time, resulting in Big E being transferred to Raw full time.[108] As a part of the2021 Draft, Big E was drafted to the Raw brand while Kingston and Woods were drafted to the SmackDown brand, thus splitting them again.[109] Woods also won theKing of the Ring tournament, his first individual accolade in WWE.[110] With that victory, his ring name was briefly changed to King Woods. During that time, The New Day began to feud withThe Bloodline (Roman Reigns andThe Usos) for much of late 2021 and concluded the feud atDay 1 when they unsuccessfully challenged The Usos for theWWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship.[111]
On the January 14, 2022 episode ofSmackDown, Kingston announced that Woods was injured and out of action. On January 28, Big E was traded to the SmackDown brand and reunited with Kingston. In March, The New Day feuded with the team ofSheamus andRidge Holland.[112] A match between the teams on the March 11 episode ofSmackDown saw Hollandbotching anoverhead belly-to-belly suplex on Big E at ringside, resulting in Big E landing on the top of his head and suffering abroken neck.[113] He also suffered fractures to hisC1 vertebrae andC6 vertebrae, but no ligament orspinal cord injury.[114] Woods would return from his own injury shortly after Big E's injury, and the trio had an onscreen reunion on May 20. However, Big E stated in an interview a month later that it was unclear if he would ever be able to wrestle again.[115] In the same interview, he revealed thatTriple H had asked him to be part of a WWE tryout for college athletes in the days leading up to that year'sSummerSlam.[115] In December, Kingston and Woods also began appearing on WWE'sdevelopmental brand,NXT, and challenged for theNXT Tag Team Championship. AtNXT Deadline on December 10, they defeatedPretty Deadly (Elton Prince andKit Wilson) to win the titles and became the thirdWWE Tag Team Triple Crown Champions.[116] AtNXT Vengeance Day on February 4, 2023, The New Day lost the championship toGallus (Mark Coffey andWolfgang) in a fatal four-way tag team match, also involving Pretty Deadly andChase University (Andre Chase andDuke Hudson), ending their reign at 56 days.[117]
In May 2024, Kingston and Woods began feuding withKarrion Kross and his stableThe Final Testament. Kross attempted to form a wedge between the pair, claiming that Kingston was holding Woods back from having a successful singles career, leading to several on-screen and backstage bouts between the two factions. The feud concluded on the August 19 episode ofRaw when The New Day andOdyssey Jones defeated The Final Testament in a six-man tag team match. Prior to this, Kingston had teased letting Jones join the stable while Woods took a stance to Jones "replacing Big E". However, Jones was suddenly released from the company on September 4 following domestic abuse allegations.[118] On the September 16 episode ofRaw, Kingston and Woods failed to win theWorld Tag Team Championship fromThe Judgment Day (Finn Bálor andJD McDonagh) after the referee was distracted with the remainder of The Judgment Day ("Dirty" Dominik Mysterio,Carlito andLiv Morgan) brawling withLatino World Order (LWO;Dragon Lee,Cruz Del Toro andJoaquin Wilde) at ringside. After the match, Woods was livid that Kingston had approached LWO without being consulted, driving a bigger wedge between the two.[119] On the November 25 episode ofRaw, after losing toAlpha Academy (Otis andAkira Tozawa) and many weeks of disagreements, the pair had an extremely heated argument, attacking each other's failures in WWE.[120]
On the December 2 episode ofRaw during the 10-year anniversary celebration of The New Day‘s formation, Big E made an in-ring reunion with Kingston and Woods for the first time since his injury and announced that he would return as their manager until he is medically cleared. However, Kingston and Woods kicked him out of the stable, turning both Kingston and Woods heel for the first time since 2016 and reconciling with one another in the process.[121] Kingston and Woods then set their sights on theWorld Tag Team Championship, held byThe War Raiders (Erik andIvar). On the April 7, 2025 episode ofRaw, during the title match, Woods attempted to hit Erik with a steel chair; however, the referee saw Erik inadvertently hit Woods with the chair instead, thus The New Day won via disqualification.[122] The rematch was confirmed forWrestleMania 41, and on Night 1 of WrestleMania 41, Kingston and Woods defeated The War Raiders to win the World Tag Team Championship.[123] On the June 30 episode ofRaw, Kingston and Woods lost their titles to The Judgment Day (Finn Bálor and JD McDonagh), ending their reign at 72 days.[124] On the July 21 episode ofRaw,Grayson Waller began to align with The New Day. Through August and September, The New Day with Waller would feud withPenta, in which all three were defeated in matches by Penta's signature move The Mexican Destroyer. This series of events lead to The New Day starting a petition to have the move banned on the basis of Woods selling areal life surgical removal oflymphoma as well as akayfabe neck injury as being the result of the move.
The original gimmick of the three, before they took on the name The New Day, was born from Woods's promo in July 2014 in which he suggested creating the stable, and stated: "You cannot move ahead by shaking hands, kissing babies, singing and dancing like a puppet. You cannot move ahead by always doing what you're told. Now, it is our time to find purpose, because we do not ask any longer. Now, we take."[23][125] They were depicted as determined, strong-willed athletes with newfound motivation, describing themselves as "smart athletic friends" and establishing themselves as underrated underdogs, criticizing "the powers that be" for not giving them a fair chance; however, they were taken off television shortly after their debut.[125]
Woods described the trio's original characters as "Three guys, who come up from kind of the same background, that just want more from life, more from their jobs, more from their friends, more from everything around them. ... So we tried to take that mentality, and get it across on TV as best as we could."[19]
In late 2014, between their original gimmick and gospel eras, the trio, having been taken off television and having been told by WWE creative that they needed their characters to be more positive and uplifting, spent months meeting during their free time to work on new ideas, writing and filmingvignettes that they would try to getVince McMahon to watch while also communicating remotely to share more costume and gimmick ideas.[126][29] They came up with a "Problem Solvers" gimmick, which Kingston described in 2015 as "a funny version of theAPA, [people] would come to us with their problems and we'd solve them in, like, a comical way." According to the trio, "Everyone that saw it was like, blown away by it, they thought it was awesome, it was funny, it made sense, you could see where it would fit in on the show." However, McMahon was unenthusiastic, and the gimmick was discarded.[126] While The New Day recognize this period as frustrating, Woods also considered it instrumental in the three of them developing chemistry and a true friendship, with Woods stating: "I don't think that [without that period] the bond would be as strong, or that the [eventual "power of positivity"] gimmick would work as well."[127]
The trio debuted as The New Day in November 2014, now stereotypicalblack gospelpreacher-like characters. In an out-of-character interview in August 2015, The New Day called their gospel era "the complete opposite of what we wanted to do", and claimed that the gimmick had been created by then-WWE CEOVince McMahon himself, who summoned the trio to his office and announced that he had designed their new characters, stating: "It's taken me a long time to come up with this, but I think I got it: I want you guys to be preachers." The trio added: "We didn't want to sing and dance, because for African-American athletes, you're either singing and dancing, or you're the big strong black guy, or the foreign black guy. Those are the three archetypes. [We wanted] to push some sort of message for all kids, but more specifically for young, black kids watching wrestling: you can be whatever kind of character you want, you come with a blank slate and you can be anything, not just [black stereotypes.] We can't describe to you the tension [in the room when he gave us the characters]. We're all like, smiling and nodding and all of us were thinking the same thing: 'Oh my God, this man is crazy.'"[128]
The trio claim that they were given an "awful" list of team names to choose from, which included "Fresh Coat of Paint", HOPE (standing for "House Of Positive Energy"), "A House of Light", and "KBX" (for "Kingston, Big, Xavier").[29] Kingston called the entrance theme they were originally offered "the worst gospel [song]", with Big E stating "It felt very old-timey, it felt like it was recorded in the '40s." The three gave WWE officials modern gospel music to suggest something more modern, resulting in the theme song eventually used by the group.[29]
Those characters received negative reactions from fans and critics alike.Jim Ross noted that "today's wrestling fan may be a little hard on the talented trio" due to them "espousing such positivity".[129]ProWrestling.net wrote that The New Day "seem to be all about smiling and dancing; one of the three racial stereotypes WWE assigns to their African-American performers".[3] Entertainment websiteThe A.V. Club called thegimmick "racist" because "they figuratively pantomime shooting dice when they get into the ring".[130]Vice stated "Months after rejecting the stereotypical roles bestowed on black wrestlers [during Woods's original July 2014 promo], Woods, Kingston, and Big E found themselves saddled with a new one"; they pointed out that both Kingston and Woods had already been given stereotypical characters, with Kingston previously portraying "an all-smiles, erstwhileJamaican babyface" even though he was fromGhana, while Woods was given a "funk-dancing gimmick" character.[125]
While two members of The New Day would wrestle, the one acting as their manager would regularly clap into his hands or slam his hands into the mat following a three-clap pattern, inviting the audience to follow suit; the idea originated from Woods, who felt that they needed a unique clap to differentiate themselves.[29] Although fans were somewhat enthusiastic to the clapping during the first months, and on the March 30, 2015 episode ofRaw (the day afterWrestleMania 31), the audience, while clapping, loudly chanted "New Day sucks!" in rhythm with the clapping, and, when the three would chant "New Day!" loudly as part of their gimmick, the live audiences would scream "sucks!" in response, otherwise heavily booing the trio; similar reactions occurred during the following weeks, until the group turned heel.[127][37][38][39]
The New Day claimed that they immediately knew that the gimmick would never goover, and that a heel-turn was needed, with Woods stating: "When we were given the gimmick and saw what it was, we figured, if we throw everything that we can—smiling, clapping, happiness, everything—into this babyface gimmick, it will not take long to turn heel. And it's pretty much what happened."[125][131] The three asked to be turned heel for months, but it was only approved after fans reactions got more hostile in the wake of WrestleMania 31 that WWE agreed; according to the trio, McMahon had remained convinced up until that point that the gimmick would be very popular with the fans.[131]
After the largely negative reception to the gospel version of The New Day, the characters becameheels in the wake ofWrestleMania 31. The characters first transitioned into an "oblivious bad guys"satire version of their previous gimmick, overly joyous and seemingly unaware of the booing from the fans; they would also start cheating during their matches, but claim that they were justified in doing so.[39] Additionally, the trio became fanatically obsessed with the "power of positivity", which they would try to preach to their audiences. They would occasionally tease self-awareness, with Woods claiming during a promo: "We gotta smile, we gotta keep positive, because if not, the rage comes out. And if the rage comes out, everybody on the roster goes to the hospital", and Big E adding "We clap, or we snap."[125]
In the months following their heel turn, The New Day transitioned away from the gospel aspect, developing their own unique identity and focusing on their new "Power of positivity" gimmick.[132][133][134][125] They also began using New Day props, such as Woods'strombone, which he brought to the ring and played during the group's entrance and matches, later naming the trombone Francesca; after "she" was destroyed byChris Jericho, Woods replaced her with her "sister" Francesca II in January 2016; he also introduced her "Scottish cousin" Agnes (bagpipes) at a show in Scotland in November 2016.[125][135] Following Francesca II's destruction, she was replaced by Francesca II: Turbo, a nod toStreet Fighter II: Turbo. Also in late 2015, a unicorn pony was incorporated into The New Day's newest shirt,[136] and the trio began making unicorn gestures, using their fingers as horns and even having interviewers claiming to perceive them having "unicorn magic".[137] The group eventually began wearing plastic unicorn horns during their ring entrance, and using a team signature move namedUnicorn Stampede;[125][138] this was based on Woods being afan ofMy Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.[139] Also in 2015, The New Day began using the word "booty" as their catchphrase and began occasionally using it to tease other wrestlers and the host city where WWE events would take place, such as callingBirmingham "Bootyham". The trio became heavilypromo-oriented, and would usually cut promos while on their way to the ring (instead of a regular entrance where their theme would play instead).[14]
In stark contrast to the gospel-based version of The New Day, their "Power of positivity" version received an overwhelmingly positive reception from fans and critics and had a series of strong in-ring performances andpromos. Although they were heels, the crowds would now start chanting "New Day rocks!" as the group had encouraged them to do as babyfaces, instead of "New Day sucks!"[125] Kenny Herzog ofRolling Stone named the group WWE's "Wrestlers of the Year" for 2015, describing them as "a hat-trick of pro-wrestling awesomeness", having "transformed from preachy dreck to a source of constant entertainment".[1] In early 2016, Aaron Oster ofThe Baltimore Sun described them as "the most entertaining wrestling act of the past few years".[140] FormerWWE ChampionCM Punk praised The New Day for getting over on their own, and claimed that although he no longer watched WWE-based product, and had also lost his passion for wrestling overall, he would still watch The New Day's segments.[141] At the end of 2015, the group wonPro Wrestling Illustratedsaward forTag Team of the Year, and theWrestling Observer Newsletter'saward forBest Gimmick.[142][143][144]Rolling Stone named The New Day collectively as the WWE Wrestler of the Year, stating that "what New Day's three talents accomplished together in 2015 represented – appropriately enough – a hat-trick of pro-wrestling awesomeness: pulling themselves out from creative quicksand, standing alone as the elite among their peers and daring us not to tune in no matter what the win–loss implications."[145]
Some commentators believed that the group's popularity was detrimental to their efficiency as heels, with both Jim Ross and Jason Powell fromProWrestling.net suggesting that The New Day should be trying to gain "heelheat" as opposed to being comedic, and in January 2016, following theRoyal Rumble, James Caldwell ofPWtorch noted that the group'sbabyface opponents came out "mainly to boos since New Day was too entertaining", adding that the group "don't act overly-heelish to get heat. So, their opponents continue to suffer opposite New Day".[146]
The trio's popularity led to them reverting to babyfaces in early 2016 when they began feuding with theLeague of Nations.[53] Unlike the stable's previous babyface run, this version, which retained the gimmick of their heel version without the cheating and aggressive attitude, proved successful and popular with fans, and similarly wonPro Wrestling Illustrated'saward forTag Team of the Year for 2016.[143] In September 2017,Bleacher Report claimed that "there should not be any doubt that New Day has earned its spot among WWE's all-time greatest tag teams ... They won over the audience with their eccentric antics and became one of the most entertaining acts WWE had seen in years. Not only have they brought tag team wrestling into the mainstream with their immense popularity, they have had their fair share of exceptional matches as well."[147] The same year,GQ stated: "In three short years, the New Day has become the bridge between two formerly isolated worlds. They are the purveyors of positivity in a year that sorely needs it. They are perhaps the most enlightened entertainers to ever step foot [sic] in a wrestling ring."[14]
The New Day's promos would often contain a number of references topop culture or recent events in the world; Woods stated that "Nine times out of ten, the stuff we're saying in our promos is just stuff that we say in the car to each other. Whatever is popping us in the car that weekend, we reference that. ... Rather than trying to hit the masses with what we were saying, we were hitting a little pocket every week because we're very into thegrassroots type of thing."[14] Those would sometimes tackle controversial subjects, such as theRussian interference in the 2016 United States elections, or the longstanding race issues within WWE.[14][148]
The New Day's 2017-2018 feud withThe Usos over the SmackDown Tag Team Championship was acclaimed by both critics and fans, withBleacher Report crediting it for "[helping] elevate tag team wrestling in WWE to heights that hadn't been reached in years through its stellar series of matches on pay-per-view and onSmackDown Live."[149][150][151][152] Despite praising "the Match of the Year-quality encounters the tandems were having at every pay-per-view on which they appeared", they also worried that the SmackDown creative team had also become overly reliant on the two and was dismissing all other teams.[153][147]
In 2016, The New Day introduced their "Booty-O's" cereal, claiming that "They make sure you ain't booty".[125] AtWrestleMania 32, the team emerged from a giant "Booty-O's" box wearingDragon Ball Z-inspired armor (inherited from Woods's earlier gimmick). Later "Booty-O's" shirts became a successful article of merchandise. In early 2018, they replaced "Booty-O's" cereals withpancakes, passing it to members of the audience, throwing it to their enemies or eating it. Woods claimed the idea came from discussing the idea of alumberjack match: "I said, 'Well, if I'm a lumberjack, what do they eat? They eat flapjacks.' It was hilarious. So, we said the next week, 'Are we going to do pancakes? Yeah, sure. Why not?' And that's where the pancakes came from."[154] They were also the official hosts ofWrestleMania 33.[155][156]
On the 12 June 2020 episode ofFriday Night SmackDown, Big E and Kingston (acting as a duo because Woods was injured), then SmackDown Tag Team Champions, bothtook a knee and raised a fist in the air, in homage toGeorge Floyd, whosemurder the previous month had raisedworldwide protests against racial injustice; they also wore armbands not usually part of their wrestling attires, on which were written names of other individuals whose deaths were due to racial injustice:Shukri Abdi on Big E's, andTamla Horsford andBreonna Taylor on Kingston's.[20][157] The gesture was praised within the wrestling community and by media outlets, withSports Illustrated calling it "a pivotal moment",Essentially Sports calling it "a huge statement" andForbes stated: "With WWE the only live event promotion that has remained intact throughout thepandemic, the powerful message by Kofi Kingston and Big E figure to be part of a new normal once American sports are reopened as the current climate now demands more action to be taken in the still-harrowing fight against racial injustice."[157][158][20] Big E stated the following August that the moment "was important to us", stating: "It was something that really weighed on us, and we felt like we really needed to make a statement. [...] We want to work toward a better world, a better society, and it's been really heartwarming to see the amount of support for that. We want to continue to have a positive impact on our world and be worthy of people's fandom."[20] Just three days prior to Big E and Kingston's kneeling onSmackDown, the two and Woods opened up about their personal experiences with racism and their thoughts on Floyd's murder on The New Day's podcastFeel the Power.[159][157][158]
The New Day wrote their first book titledThe Book of Booty: Shake It. Love It. Never Be It. The New Day also had a cameo role in the 2016 WWE Studios filmCountdown.
Although all three of them had previously been featured in official WWE video games, the members of The New Day were featured as squadmates for the first time in the video gameWWE 2K16, and have further appeared as a team inWWE 2K17,WWE 2K18,WWE 2K19,WWE 2K20,WWE 2K22,WWE 2K23,WWE 2K24, andWWE 2K25.
In 2017, The New Day also made an appearance on theTruTV comedy seriesAdam Ruins Everything.[160]
Corey Graves announced on hispodcastWWE After the Bell that The New Day would launch their own new podcast (produced by WWE and Endeavor Audio) titledThe New Day: Feel the Power, which premiered on December 2, 2019 and ceased in late 2023.
In November 2020, all three members of The New Day were added as playableDLC characters in the video gameGears 5, sporting custom armor in the colors of The New Day's ring attires; the three recorded dialogue specifically for the game. As promotion for this DLC at WWE'sSurvivor Series pay-per-view that same month, the trio appeared in theirGears 5 armor.[161]
In October 2021, Netflix released the interactive titleEscape The Undertaker featuringThe Undertaker and The New Day. The viewer chooses which path Kingston, Woods, and Big E go on and ultimately decides whether or not they leave with their souls intact.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Escape the Undertaker | Themselves | [162] |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)[wearing a "BRONY" shirt] Xavier Woods here, reigning and defending 2K champion. This year at WrestleMania, people are gonna come and try to take my title, take my championship. That cannot be done, you ban't neat me! Brony: don't care, what up? Step up, and get bought!
PRODUCT NO: W10497
Woods disappeared in a puff of unicorn magic and the booming note of a trombone.
This is the Unicorn Stampede, is what this is.
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| National | |