More details have emerged regarding the reported WWE departures of The New Day members Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods earlier this month.
On May 2, 2026, reports surfaced stating that Kingston and Woods had mutually agreed to part ways with WWE after being approached about restructuring their contracts. According to F4WOnline’s Bryan Alvarez, the duo were offered revised deals but were unhappy with the terms, ultimately leading to their exits from the company.
During a recent episode of Wrestling Observer Live, Alvarez provided additional insight into the mindset of WWE’s parent company, TKO Group Holdings, and why certain talent have reportedly been asked to renegotiate existing agreements.
“These people who have been asked to restructure their deals are people who are upper midcard-ish, maybe even higher than that. And the ones I’ve heard, you know, they’ve been around for a long time, and they were making a lot of money.
And we’re not talking a guy like Roman Reigns or a guy like Seth Rollins. You know, those guys—the very tippy-top main eventers—they’re not going to be asking those tippy-top main eventers to restructure their deals.
If you are low on the card, you’re probably not making enough that they’re going to bother. So the reason that there’s a specific window, it appears, of people that are being asked to restructure is because, you know, these people signed pretty big money deals quite a while ago, and they’ve been making that money for quite a while. And, you know, now they’re not where they were.”
Alvarez also explained the company’s reported justification for attempting to lower some talent salaries under the current WWE touring structure.
“Their justification is, things are very different now than when you signed this deal. Like, yes, we are asking you to take less money, but their argument is, you are doing significantly less now. You’re not doing four house shows a week. You’re not on the road four days a week paying for your transportation and your hotel and your this and your that. You’re on the road one day a week. You’re wrestling maybe twice a month. And, you know, this is—we want to pay you less because you’re doing less now. That is their mindset.”
The reported departures of Kingston and Woods sparked significant reaction throughout the wrestling world, given The New Day’s legacy as one of WWE’s most decorated and influential tag teams of the modern era.
