The former New Day duo of Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods is weeks away from becoming free agents, and per WrestleVotes Radio on Fightful Select, the push to bring them into AEW is now coming from inside the AEW locker room.
WrestleVotes reported reaching out to one AEW source in the wake of the WWE exits who was upbeat at the idea that the duo would at least wrestle one match for the promotion. A number of AEW talents have privately expressed interest in working with the team. WrestleVotes also noted that the duo will need to operate under new names. Kingston will be able to keep “Kofi” as his ring name, with Xavier Woods expected to go by “Austin Creed,” the indie and gaming-platform name he used before signing with WWE and has continued to use for his UpUpDownDown ventures.
The internal AEW push has been described as unusually unanimous. Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reported that close to a dozen AEW sources spoken to about Kingston and Creed have backed the idea of bringing them in, with no dissenting voice surfacing in the weeks since the WWE exit. That is unusual, with at least one objection on a signing typically surfacing in any given conversation pool.
Several big-name AEW wrestlers have actively pushed for the duo internally. Both are described as universally respected within the industry, with everyone Fightful spoke to expecting AEW as the landing spot.
Kingston and Creed are subject to 90-day non-compete clauses tied to their May 2 WWE departures, which puts their first available date in late July or early August. Their first post-WWE public appearance is set for GalaxyCon Oklahoma City on May 23 and 24, where they are being advertised under their new names for meet and greets rather than a match.
Bobby Lashley has been the most vocal AEW name pushing for the signing publicly. Speaking on The Danny Ocean Show, the Hurt Syndicate leader floated bringing both wrestlers into the faction.
“Man, I tell you what, I think the problem that we have right now is that the Hurt Syndicate is too strong. If we bring those guys on there, we’d be just unstoppable. I don’t think there’s any guess game in what’s going to happen next. I think Kofi and Woods, I think they’re just amazing talent, and I think that anybody and everybody is going to throw in their money to try to pick those guys up. Hopefully they come to AEW, and if they do, we’ll try to get them if we can because I would love to be able to work with those guys.”
The Young Bucks, FTR, Swerve Strickland, Will Ospreay, and MJF have all reacted positively to the WWE departure as well. The Young Bucks have separately revealed they pitched an Elite vs. New Day match as far back as 2018.
Kingston and Creed left WWE on May 2 after being asked to take pay cuts on the new five-year deals both signed in 2025 to stay through 2030. Both wrestlers asked for their releases rather than accept the restructured terms. Kingston had been with WWE for 20 years, Creed for 16.
This is just a snippet of the story. For complete details, please visit Fightful Select at Patreon.com/Fightful.
