Tag: xavier woods

Big E addresses ‘very real criticism’ of New Day WWE betrayal angle

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Big E understands why fans were so critical of how things played out following his split from The New Day.

In December 2024, an angle took place where Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods betrayed Big E and kicked him out of New Day. Fans were hoping the angle would lead to something more, but there wasn’t much follow-up since Big E is unable to compete after breaking his neck in 2022.

Big E, speaking with The Takedown on SI, said he took part in the angle despite knowing that there would likely never be a big payoff with him returning to the ring. His hope was that he would align with other babyfaces or get payback on Kingston & Woods in a different way. But there ended up not being any subsequent angle with Big E getting his retribution.

“I think that is a very real criticism,” Big E said about not being able to deliver an appropriate payoff to the angle. “Creative, as you know, is a give and take. And I’m only one component of it. There are a lot of other people involved. The creative team kind of just talked to me about the general idea and I initially thought at least being able to kind of, not pass the baton, but if Kofi and Woods were going to work with another team, and I was able to kind of give them my blessing, or I had an idea I wanted to do around Rumble to kind of foil Kofi and Woods.

“Because I’m with you in that, us continuing to build this angle or to build heat with someone who’s not coming back, I think doesn’t make sense. It leads fans astray. But I thought if anything, ‘Okay, if we’re going to do this, there’s a way for me to kind of pass the torch to someone else or give them my blessing, or say, I’m aligned with you, or say, whatever it is.'”

Big E noted that there are a lot of people involved with the creative process and sometimes things can fall through the cracks even though everyone is trying to do their best.

“There are a lot of cooks in the creative kitchen, and we felt like this was us making the best of what we were given, and yeah, that’s kind of how that went down,” he said.

“But no, I agree with you and a lot of people who felt the same, and I saw a lot of that feedback after it was clear that I wasn’t coming back in a timely fashion, that it was, ‘Okay, why are we putting so much stock into an angle where one person is never coming back? There’s no retribution?’ So I think that’s a very real criticism. And I heard it, and I think people have a right to feel that way.”

Big E announced earlier this month that he officially considers himself retired from the ring after breaking his neck in March 2022. He is able to live a normal, pain-free life despite the injury and still contributes to WWE in a broadcasting role.

Xavier Woods talks shoulder injury, return timeline

Posted on by Vincent Verhei

WWE fans have not seen Xavier Woods for weeks as he has been sidelined with a shoulder injury since January. Woods is hopeful, however, that he’ll be back in action in the not-too-distant future. 

Woods updated his condition in a discussion with Bill Pritchard of WrestleZone at WWE 2K26 Creator Fest. 

“I feel ok. Lifting things with my shoulder doesn’t feel ok,” Woods said. “I kind of put it through like a meat grinder, so we’ll see how it is. Hopefully, it’s a few weeks of physical therapy, and then we’ll be back at it,” Woods said. “But if not, I will let everybody know. But yeah, it’s alright. We’re just staying positive.”

Woods’ last televised contest was a four-way tag team match in which he and Kofi Kingston—along with American Made and Los Americanos—lost to the Alpha Academy on the January 26 episode of Monday Night Raw. He also appeared at the Royal Rumble on January 31, teaming with Kingston and Grayson Waller in a losing effort against Shinsuke Nakamura & the Motor City Machine Guns in a dark match. 

On February 16, Kingston and Waller appeared on Raw and broke the news that Woods had been dealing with a shoulder injury for several months and would be taking time off to recover. He also appeared on tonight’s Raw complaining that they were paying tribute to AJ Styles instead of him.

Xavier Woods on his behind-the-scenes involvement in WWE 2K series

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Xavier Woods is a huge video game fan — and he even has some behind-the-scenes involvement in the WWE 2K series.

The next installment of the series, WWE 2K26, is set to be released on March 13. During a press event to promote the game, Woods appeared on Busted Open Radio and was asked if 2K has ever reached out to him seeking his input on how to make the game better. Woods noted that he and Tyler Breeze coordinate with 2K every year on how to improve the MyGM mode, which Woods and Breeze have long been fans of.

“Oh, definitely. There’s a mode in it called MyGM, and so that’s essentially like a text-based, you’re booking the show. And then the show simulates and it tells you how good it was,” Woods said. “You can fantasy book and then the computer figures out who wins and loses and then you book the show from there.

“Tyler Breeze and I loved this mode. It was in the 2006 version of the game until 2008, then it went away. So we would play this old version of the game for years. And then, eventually, 2K put it back in because people were loving that so much. And now me and him are like a staple for that. So they talk to us, we talk to them, we talk to the community that plays on how to increase the value of that aspect of the game every year.”

Woods and Breeze operate the UpUpDownDown YouTube channel for WWE, which is focused on gaming and has nearly 2.5 million subscribers.

CM Punk is the official cover star for WWE 2K26, with there also being alternative covers for the Attitude Era, Monday Night War, and Triple H “King of Kings” versions.

Xavier Woods taking time off due to shoulder injury

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Xavier Woods is taking time off.

During a commercial break on Raw, Kofi Kingston came out and explained that he had some devastating news: Woods has been battling a shoulder injury for the last three months and now medical staff were “forcing” him to take time off in order for the shoulder to recover. Grayson Waller proceeded to “read a message” from Woods where he insulted the Memphis crowd and called them ugly.

On social media, Woods reacted to the promo by writing “BRB.”

Woods last wrestled in a dark match that was held prior to the Royal Rumble late last month. He, Kingston, and Waller lost to Shinsuke Nakamura and The Motor City Machine Guns. On television, he was last seen teaming with Kingston losing a four-way number one contender’s match for the World Tag Team titles. Alpha Academy emerged as the winners and ultimately lost to The Usos.

Since turning heel at the end of 2024, The New Day have been a fixture on Raw’s tag team division, winning the titles at WrestleMania last year. Since losing them, they have often been seen complaining about the “death” of the brand’s tag team division.

Update on why Xavier Woods, Erik missed battle royal on WWE Raw

Posted on by Ian Carey

An update is available regarding why some WWE Raw wrestlers missed Monday’s show.

Neither Xavier Woods nor Erik were in the battle royal that headlined the show, despite their tag partners being entered in the match. Our own Bryan Alvarez is reporting that both Woods and Ivar are on previously scheduled vacations.

Alvarez wrote to his subscribers on X:

“Both Erik and Xavier Woods were on scheduled vacations this week, hence them not being in the battle royal.”

Erik hasn’t wrestled since The War Raiders defeated The Creed Brothers on the October 13 taping of Main Event.

Woods posted photos yesterday from his vacation in Italy. The last time he wrestled was a dark match at the October 3 SmackDown taping, where New Day lost to The War Raiders. He also posted a video reacting to Dragon Lee and AJ Styles beating Judgment Day for the tag team titles, captioning the post: “Yall somehow fell in love with moments over logic and made us out to be the bad guys. Insane… so glad im in Italy right now.”

Report: WWE star signs multi-year extension with company

Posted on by Ian Carey

According to a new report, Xavier Woods signed a multi-year extension with WWE last month.

Fightful reported the news on Tuesday, noting that his contract would have been up in September had a deal not been reached. Negotiations are said to have gone down to the wire.

Woods, Big E, and Kofi Kingston signed five-year deals with WWE in December 2019, although Woods may have had injury time added onto his, pushing its expiration to last month. He missed much of 2020 after suffering an Achilles tendon rupture.

Woods first signed with WWE in the summer of 2010 as a 24-year-old. Prior to that, he wrestled in TNA Wrestling as Consequences Creed from 2008 to 2010, once holding the promotion’s tag titles along with Jay Lethal. He also had one tour with New Japan Pro Wrestling in 2010, teaming with Kota Ibushi in the Super J Tag Tournament, where they lost in the opening round to Gedo and KUSHIDA.

Xavier Woods reveals nature of surgery that kept him off WWE x AAA Worlds Collide

Posted on by Ian Carey

Xavier Woods has revealed the nature of the surgery that kept him off WWE x AAA Worlds Collide.

Woods announced in a backstage segment on Friday’s show that he’d had “surgery on his head” and was not medically cleared for the event. He later revealed on social media that he had surgery on Friday morning to remove a lipoma from the back of his head.

Lipomas are fatty lumps that can develop between the skin and muscle. They are typically harmless but can be removed if painful.

Woods wrote:

“For those of you doubting that I had surgery yesterday morning. Here is a before and after pic. Plus the (Lipoma) that was carved out of the back of my head. This was the result of @ScrapDaddyAP instructing @PENTAELZEROM to injure me. Thanks Penta”

Woods initially wrote that he’d had “lymphoma” removed but corrected this in a follow-up post, clarifying that it was a lipoma.

In storyline, Woods blamed the surgery on Penta.

“That mass mercenary Penta continuously hits me with these Mexican Destroyers in an attempt to injure my neck. And guess what? He finally did it,” he said in the segment.

Woods was replaced by Grayson Waller, who teamed with Kofi Kingston in a loss to AAA Tag Team Champions Pagano and Psycho Clown at Worlds Collide.

WWE x AAA Worlds Collide notes: Xavier Woods, Reina de Reinas contender, Wyatt Sicks

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Notes from Friday night’s World’s Collide event in Las Vegas.

In a backstage interview, it was revealed that Grayson Waller would be teaming with Kofi Kingston in the advertised New Day/Psycho Clown & Vikingo match for the AAA Tag Team titles. Xavier Woods revealed that he had surgery earlier in the week and as a result, was unable to wrestle.

Later, Woods wrote in character that the surgery was to remove a lipoma from the back of his head as a result of Penta giving him a Mexican destroyer. A recent storyline on Raw is The New Day attempting to ban the destroyer, which is a signature move of Penta’s.

After Psycho Clown and Pagano retained the titles, they were set to be interviewed when the lights went out. The Wyatt Sicks then made their surprise entrance, where they went to the ring and laid out both men in a 5 on 2 assault, attacking them with stairs and putting them through tables. The segment ended with the group holding the AAA Tag Team titles, indicating they wanted the next shot.

A new number one contender was also crowned for the AAA Reina de Reinas title. Natalya proved victorious, pinning Faby Apache as they were trading pin attempts. Natalya came to the ring portraying her “low-key legend’ character that has been seen in places like the NWA and Bloodspoort.

After the match, the two continued to fight with the announcers saying their feud is far from over. Natalya has now earned a future match against champion Flammer.

WWE Raw lineup: Two new matches added

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Two new matches have been added to the card for today’s WWE Raw in Paris, France.

Following Clash in Paris, WWE is back at Paris La Defense Arena this afternoon for the final stop on its European tour. It was already known that an Intercontinental Championship bout between Dominik Mysterio and AJ Styles would be taking place on the episode. Now, two more matches have been confirmed.

The Kabuki Warriors will team up against Judgment Day’s Roxanne Perez & Raquel Rodriguez. Plus, there will be a six-man tag match pitting New Day and their new ally Grayson Waller against The War Raiders & Penta.

Today’s show has a special start time of 2 p.m. Eastern, streaming live on Netflix worldwide. Here is everything that has been announced:

WWE Raw (Monday, September 1) —

  • Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio defends against AJ Styles
  • The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka & Kairi Sane) vs. Judgment Day (Roxanne Perez & Raquel Rodriguez)
  • The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) & Grayson Waller vs. War Raiders (Erik & Ivar) & Penta
  • We’ll get an update on Roman Reigns following the stretcher angle at Clash in Paris
  • There will be an update on the vacant Women’s World Championship

Grudge match set for next WWE Raw

Posted on by Ethan Renner

A grudge involving a $12,000 hat will be settled on next week’s WWE Raw.

WWE revealed during this week’s episode that Penta and Xavier Woods will go one-on-one on the Monday, August 18 episode, a match stemming from a memorable hat theft on the August 4 show.

Penta took on the New Day-adjacent Grayson Waller on the August 4 Raw, while Kofi Kingston and Woods looked on. Woods was wearing a gigantic hat. The hat came off in a post-match brawl between Penta and Woods, with Penta then hitting his Smooth Operator taunt while wearing the hat in question.

On this week’s show, Woods said that the hat was valued at $12,000 and that Penta had made a mockery of it. Raw GM Adam Pearce then made Woods vs. Penta official for next week’s show.

Next Monday’s Raw will also continue the build to the Clash in Paris PLE set for August 31.

WWE Raw, Monday, August 18 —

  • Penta vs. Xavier Woods

Tag Team title match official for WWE WrestleMania 41

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Another new match is officially on the books for WrestleMania 41.

WWE confirmed this afternoon that The War Raiders (Ivar & Erik) will defend their World Tag Team titles against New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) at WrestleMania in Las Vegas. The match was expected to be added to the Mania card after their title bout on Raw earlier this week ended with New Day winning by disqualification. It was made official via a social media announcement from Raw general manager Adam Pearce.

During their match on Raw, Woods introduced a chair into the ring but had it wrestled away from him by Ivar. The referee then called for a DQ after Ivar struck Woods with the chair. New Day launched a post-match steel chair attack on The War Raiders until officials broke things up.

A stipulation for War Raiders vs. New Day has not been announced, but Dave Meltzer reported earlier today that it’s possible one could be added. Meltzer wrote that the bout is expected to be part of the card for night one of WrestleMania.

Ivar & Erik have been World Tag Team Champions since winning the belts from Judgment Day’s Finn Balor & JD McDonagh in December.

As things stand, the matches set for WrestleMania are expected to happen on the following nights:

Night one (Saturday, April 19) —

  • Main event: Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk (w/ Paul Heyman) vs. Seth Rollins
  • WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton defends against Charlotte Flair
  • Rey Mysterio vs. El Grande Americano (Chad Gable)
  • United States Champion LA Knight defends against Jacob Fatu
  • Jade Cargill vs. Naomi
  • World Tag Team Champions The War Raiders (Ivar & Erik) defend against New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods)
  • World Heavyweight Champion Gunther defends against Jey Uso

Night two (Sunday, April 20) —

  • Main event: Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes defends against John Cena
  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez defend against TBD (challengers will be decided in a gauntlet match on SmackDown this Friday)
  • AJ Styles vs. Logan Paul
  • Randy Orton vs. ?
  • Damian Priest vs. Drew McIntyre
  • Intercontinental Champion Bron Breakker defends against Penta, Finn Balor, and Dominik Mysterio in a four-way match
  • Women’s World Champion IYO SKY defends against Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley in a triple threat match

The New Day turn against Big E on WWE Raw

Posted on by Bryan Rose

The New Day have turned on one of their own.

During The New Day ten-year celebration on Raw, Big E made a surprise return, offering to manage Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods and help fix their problems until he’s medically cleared to return. In a shocking turn of events, however, both Woods & Kingston rejected the offer and accused Big E of choosing himself over the team.

The segment started with Kingston & Woods, who had shown animosity towards one another in recent weeks, saying they were ready to make an announcement. That was when Big E came out, catching both by surprise. He said he was troubled to see the two argue and offered to manage them. That was when Woods accused Big E of not being there for him, saying he chose things like a desk job and his girlfriend over them. After Big E reminded them that he broke his neck, Kingston said people like Steve Austin and Kurt Angle broke their necks, but they came back while Big E didn’t even need surgery for his injury.

Woods told Big E to stop teasing people and admit that he’ll never be cleared from his neck injury, then told him to leave the ring and get back to the desk where he belongs, saying they’d call him if they needed him. Big E refused, saying he wanted to work things out and offered a hug. Kingston rejected the hug and Woods looked the other way. Big E, stunned, eventually left the ring to end the segment.

Kingston & Woods had been teasing a split despite their ten-year anniversary as a team coming up. On last week’s Raw, the two tore into each other verbally over past grievances, further hinting at a breakup.

Kofi Kingston hopes Big E is part of New Day’s 10th anniversary celebration

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Kofi Kingston hopes Big E will be able to make an appearance during The New Day’s 10-year anniversary celebration.

While there are not many details yet, WWE announced earlier this month that there will be a celebration for New Day’s 10th anniversary on an upcoming episode of Raw. The group debuted in 2014 but is currently going through a breakup angle with Woods on the verge of turning against Kingston.

Big E has not been able to wrestle since suffering a broken neck in 2022. His in-ring future remains in doubt, but he has worked for WWE in other roles including as a panelist for PLE pre-shows and post-shows. Kingston told the New York Post that he hopes Big E will be available to make an appearance when their anniversary celebration happens.

“I don’t think that we can have a New Day celebration without Big E there. It wouldn’t feel right. It wouldn’t taste right, you know? So I’m hoping he’s available,” Kingston said. “But like I said, man, he’s busy doing a lot of things out there. I don’t know what his schedule is gonna look like, but hopefully he will be there. It would feel incomplete if he was not involved in The New Day 10-year anniversary in some way. 

“He had so much to do with the foundations of The New Day and what people think of when they think of The New Day. There’s still people to this day that when they see us, you know, like, ‘Hey, New Day.’ They put their hand on their head. They put their hand on their hip as they twirl their hips, just like he did, you know? So, yeah, yeah, I would be willing to bet he’s going to be a part of it in some way, shape or form.”

Kingston said the key to New Day’s longevity has been the real-life connection they share. When one member of New Day succeeds, they all succeed.

“All of us, we really strive to push our brothers, to lift our brothers up,” he told the New York Post. “That’s what The New Day is all about. It’s all about brotherhood. And we really believe that to our core.”

The three New Day members recently reunited for an episode of the WWE digital series Break It Down, looking back at some of their past gear.

Kingston & Woods will team up against Otis & Akira Tozawa on Raw next Monday (November 25).

WWE to celebrate New Day’s 10th anniversary with special Raw episode

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Amid the group’s ongoing breakup, WWE is planning to celebrate 10 years of The New Day.

WWE will be celebrating New Day’s 10th anniversary with a special episode of Raw. The announcement was made in a post-Raw video last night, but details on when the episode will be taking place were not provided.

“Ten years as New Day, it’s time to celebrate, man. You guys are one of the most decorated tag teams in WWE history. Because of that, if it’s cool with you guys, I actually wanted to dedicate a special episode of Raw to celebrating you,” Raw general manager Adam Pearce told Kofi Kingston.

Kingston agreed that it was a good idea and said he thought this celebration could help fix the “rough patch” that he and Xavier Woods are going through. Pearce said he would start making arrangements for the episode.

Woods was not present for the segment with Pearce and Kingston. Pearce said he had wanted to talk to both of them and didn’t want to assume anything, but Kingston thought Woods would be fine with the celebration.

A split within New Day has been brewing on WWE television with Woods growing insecure about his place in the team and his lack of success as a singles wrestler.

On Raw last night, New Day lost to The War Raiders after Woods tagged himself into the match while Kingston was closing in on a victory.

New Day debuted as a faction in November 2014. Whether Big E will be involved in their anniversary celebration has not been announced. After suffering a broken neck in 2022, Big E is currently a broadcaster for WWE PLE pre-shows and post-shows. He said this September that he would be getting new scans on his neck in the next 3-6 months.

CM Punk return, Judgment Day tag title defense set for next WWE Raw

Posted on by Joseph Currier

After not appearing tonight, CM Punk will be back on WWE Raw next week.

Punk was off tonight’s Raw selling the effects of the beatdown he took from Drew McIntyre last week. WWE has announced that Punk will return to the show next Monday, appearing for the first time since it was confirmed that Punk vs. McIntyre in a Hell in a Cell match will take place at Bad Blood 2024.

Their Hell in a Cell match was announced tonight by Raw General Manager Adam Pearce, who told McIntyre that the feud between him and Punk needs to end. Upset over losing to Punk in a strap match at Bash in Berlin, McIntyre attacked Punk in an angle on Raw last week — causing Punk to get taken out in an ambulance. McIntyre also destroyed Punk’s bracelet that had the names of his wife and dog on it.

Bad Blood is taking place on Saturday, October 5. Punk and McIntyre have a 1-1 record against each other heading into the PLE.

The Moda Center in Portland, Oregon is the venue for next Monday’s Raw. A World Tag Team title match between Finn Balor & JD McDonagh and The New Day is also set. It will be the first televised title defense Balor & McDonagh have made since becoming champions in June.

WWE Raw (Monday, September 16) —

  • CM Punk returns
  • World Tag Team Champions The Judgment Day (Finn Balor & JD McDonagh) defend against New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods)