Austin Creed didn’t just start thinking about AEW after leaving WWE. The former Xavier Woods has confirmed that he was already interested in joining Tony Khan’s company while he was still working for WWE, and his reasoning had a lot to do with wanting to wrestle a different style.
During an interview with Fightful at PAX Australia, Creed was asked whether he had ever considered jumping to AEW while watching his friends and former colleagues compete there. He didn’t hesitate to confirm that the idea had crossed his mind.
“Yeah, definitely. Just to experience another style. There’s definitely a very specific WWE style and very specific AEW style.”
The interviewer pointed out that Creed and Kofi Kingston looked noticeably different during their first match on AEW Dynamite. The two former New Day members were moving at a much faster pace than fans had become accustomed to seeing during their WWE run.
Creed agreed with that observation and explained that the faster style wasn’t something new to him. In fact, he reminded fans that he originally made a name for himself working in TNA’s X Division, where athleticism and high-speed wrestling were major parts of his presentation.
“Just a different style and I think that for a long time being seen in that way people forget. So like if you’ve been watching wrestling a long time, you know, I came up in the X Division. So like this is what I was born to do.”
He also pointed out that Kingston had a similar background. Long before The New Day became one of WWE’s most successful factions, Kingston was known for his high-flying offense and fast-paced matches. Creed said AEW has given both men the chance to revisit that side of their wrestling careers.
“And Kofi was always that fast moving high flyer. And so it’s just refreshing to be able to have the chance to move around like that again.”
Creed wasn’t interested in turning the conversation into an attack on WWE. Instead, he explained that having two major wrestling companies with different approaches is a good thing for both performers and fans. For him, the biggest benefit of joining AEW has been the opportunity to do something different after spending so many years working in WWE’s system.
“I think it’s great that there’s two different styles. I think it’s great that people have options of what they want to watch and what they’re interested in. And for me as a performer, it’s nice to be able to do something different than what I’ve been doing for a while. It’s a different kind of fulfillment, you know what I mean?”
Creed also explained that joining AEW has allowed him to face wrestlers he has never worked with before, including younger talent who actually grew up watching him and Kingston compete in WWE.
“And so to be able to be at AEW and have these matches with people that yes, we have history with some people, some people we have no history with. We’re meeting them for the first time. And there are some people who watched us when they were growing up and wanting to be wrestlers.”
That realization has also made Creed appreciate just how much his career has changed since his early days in the business.
“That’s crazy to think like I was always the young guy in the locker room and now I’m definitely not. So it’s been a really cool shift in just how I’m able to look at wrestling now, and I’m really enjoying it.”
Creed and Kingston left WWE in May 2026 before making their surprise AEW debut at All In on August 30. They immediately joined Swerve Strickland and captured the AEW World Trios Championships. The pair later revealed that AEW was the only wrestling company they negotiated with after leaving WWE.
Creed’s latest comments make it clear that his interest in AEW didn’t suddenly appear once his WWE career ended. He had already been thinking about what it would be like to work in a different environment, and now that he’s finally made the jump, he’s enjoying the opportunity to show fans a side of his wrestling ability they haven’t seen as much of in recent years.
Do you think Austin Creed and Kofi Kingston will be able to show more of their in-ring abilities in AEW than they did during their final years in WWE? Let us know what you think and leave your feedback in the comments.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
