Austin Creed may be enjoying his new life in AEW, but the former Xavier Woods has admitted that his final years in WWE came with some serious exhaustion. After spending more than two decades constantly wrestling, traveling, creating gaming content and making appearances, Creed says he was completely burned out and needed time to figure out what he actually wanted from life.
During an interview with Fightful at PAX Australia, Creed opened up about the three-month break he took following his WWE departure. For the first time in his 23-year wrestling career, he was able to spend an entire summer at home with his children instead of constantly being on the road.
“I’ve never been home for the summer. I’ve been wrestling 23 years. And I’ve been wrestling 23 summers.”
Creed explained that finally having that time with his family made him realize just how much he had been missing. More importantly, it gave him a chance to establish a healthier balance between his career and personal life.
“For me this was the first time that I got to be home for the summer with my kids so I got to actually, you know, be there and be dad, which was really cool and so it also helped me to figure out how to build a foundation to have a better work life balance than I had previously.”
The former New Day member didn’t sugarcoat how exhausted he had become. Between wrestling, running his YouTube channel and making appearances, Creed admitted that his packed schedule had taken a toll. He also explained why he kept pushing himself despite feeling that way.
“I was very burnt out. Yeah. Very burnt out. You know, wrestling constantly doing the YouTube channel constantly, doing appearances constantly everywhere, which is important to me because I want to be able to hustle.”
Creed said his motivation was always to make the most of his career while his body could still handle the demands of professional wrestling. He knows that eventually there will come a point when he can’t perform at the same level, and he doesn’t want to be financially forced to continue.
“I want to be able to build what I can while I can because once my body doesn’t want to do it anymore, I don’t want to have to feel like I have to keep doing it, you know? So, sure there’s sacrifice.”
However, the time away from wrestling also helped Creed understand that he doesn’t need to accept every opportunity that comes his way. He said having an entire summer to himself allowed him to reconsider his priorities and become more selective about his commitments.
“Being able to have that summer really allowed me to figure out what I want my life to look like and what I will say yes to, what I will say no to, what I’m comfortable doing, what I’m not comfortable doing, what I will get out of bed for and leave my house for, and what I will not.”
Creed explained that establishing those boundaries has completely changed how he approaches his career and personal life.
“And so having that mindset now has really, really given me a new center. And it feels really good to be able to have that balance.”
The comments add more context to Creed’s departure from WWE in May 2026. At the time, Tyler Breeze explained that Creed was taking time for himself after years of nonstop work. Creed eventually returned to wrestling alongside Kofi Kingston at AEW All In on August 30, where they joined Swerve Strickland and captured the AEW World Trios Championships.
Creed is now back inside the ring, but it sounds like he has no intention of returning to the exhausting routine that dominated his WWE career. After 23 summers spent working, the former Xavier Woods finally got to enjoy one with his family, and that experience appears to have changed what he’s willing to sacrifice for professional wrestling.
Do you think WWE’s demanding schedule makes it difficult for wrestlers to maintain a healthy work-life balance, or does that come with being a top superstar? Let us know your thoughts and feedback in the comments.
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