Kofi Kingston has revealed that WWE proposed a pay cut of more than 50% before he and Xavier Woods ultimately decided to leave the company and join AEW.
Kofi and Woods made their AEW debuts at All In: London 2026, adopting the names Kofi and “Awesome” Austin Creed as The New Level.
Following their arrival in AEW, the longtime tag team partners sat down with Ariel Helwani and discussed the circumstances surrounding their WWE departures.
Helwani specifically asked Kofi about reports that WWE had proposed cutting their compensation by 50% while transitioning them toward community work and occasional appearances.
Helwani: “It was reported that you were asked to take a 50% pay cut and that they kind of wanted to wind things down and you would do community stuff in addition to some appearances. Is that all accurate?”
Kofi: “I don’t know exactly what’s out there. I will say it was more than 50%. It was more. The compensation is a big part of it [why they left] for sure. The bigger part of it is being able to like go out and live your dream in the way that you want to live it out and be appreciated for it. We took it all into consideration, and we knew that this was the only path to take. And it was scary at times with the uncertainty and everything. But sometimes you just gotta go through, you know what I’m saying? You gotta face the fear, and you have to keep on going and believe in yourself. And no matter what— we feel like we did it on our own terms, right?”
While compensation played a significant role in the decision, Kofi indicated that having the freedom to continue pursuing their wrestling careers on their own terms was ultimately even more important.
Despite choosing to leave WWE, Kofi stressed that he does not harbor bitterness toward his former employer and remains grateful for the opportunities the company provided throughout his career. “Sometimes when people do these interviews, there’s all this, like, angst and, like, bitterness. I don’t want to come across as that… I just want to say, like, I’m super grateful for the time that we had there. You know what I mean? Like, living out my childhood dream. It would have never been possible if it wasn’t for WWE. We had so many great moments as a team, myself individually.”
Kofi and Creed spent years together in WWE as members of The New Day before beginning the next chapter of their careers at All In.
Their AEW debut immediately placed them in a prominent position, with The New Level joining forces with Swerve Strickland and capturing the AEW World Trios Championships on their first night with the company.
Kofi reveals that WWE wanted him to take more than a 50 percent pay cut 🤯
“It was more than 50 percent a lot of people don’t know” pic.twitter.com/Oe3owmiWPk
— FADE (@FadeAwayMedia) September 1, 2026
