More details have surfaced regarding the WWE departures of Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, with veteran wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer reporting that the duo were essentially informed they would be released unless they agreed to significantly restructured contracts.
In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Meltzer detailed the situation surrounding The New Day and their exit from WWE.
“The New Day, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, left the company this past week just one year into a five year contract that was to run from 2025 to 2030 after being told that essentially WWE was going to cut them, but that they could get a new deal at a lower rate. They made the decision to leave since the company wasn’t doing anything with them. Immediately, a lot of AEW talent, notably The Young Bucks and FTR, started with tweets teasing the idea of wanting them in the company.”
According to the report, Kingston and Woods ultimately chose to walk away rather than accept reduced deals and diminished creative roles within WWE.
The report also noted that WWE reportedly had no major plans in place for the duo moving forward, which played a major role in their decision to leave despite still being only one year into contracts originally set to run through 2030.
Reaction throughout the wrestling industry was immediate, particularly from talent within AEW. The Young Bucks and FTR were among the names who publicly teased interest in seeing Kingston and Woods join All Elite Wrestling.
Those reactions have further fueled speculation that AEW could become the eventual landing spot for The New Day once any applicable 90-day non-compete clauses expire.
