More Details on The New Day Leaving WWE, Recent Releases

The pro wrestling world has been rocked with today’s news of The New Day (Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston) exiting WWE. It was reported earlier that Woods and Kingston mutually agreed with WWE on departing the company. Fightful Select has more details on the matter.

The report notes that the New Day had a mutually agreed-upon release from WWE. They will also have the standard 90-day waiting period until they become free agents.

Fightful notes that Woods and Kingston re-upped with WWE last year, and the multi-year deals were originally expected to take them “well into 2030. Woods and Kingston reportedly decided upon their WWE exits by last Monday. They reportedly had their release papers procured late in the week.

It’s said that their exits were met with shock by WWE wrestlers, with many believing that Woods and Kingston would be WWE lifers, especially Kingston, who is a former WWE Champion. However, that sentiment was quickly followed by many wrestlers voicing the belief that “nobody is a WWE lifer anymore.”

What’s Next for The New Day Following Their WWE Exits

Fightful also reports that Kingston will still be able to use the “Kofi” part of his name, as it is also his birth name (Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah). However, it’s said that he likely won’t be able to use “Kingston” in his future endeavors.

Meanwhile, Xavier Woods (nee Austin Watson) is a name and trademark owned by WWE. However, Woods has worked to establish “Austin Creed” as an alternate name outside of WWE programming. “New Day” is also owned by WWE and can’t be used elsewhere.

Fightful Select also notes that sources they spoke to claim that TKO tasked WWE with shedding millions of dollars in payroll, leading to the recent glut of talent releases over the last week. It’s said that Woods and Kingston both make well into the seven-figure range.

Additionally, Fightful reports that both wrestlers are expected to get immediate interest from other promotions. It’s also said that there are already major names pushing for them to join AEW. As noted, AEW star MJF already reacted to the duo’s WWE exits on social media.