Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods haven’t officially walked through the AEW doors yet, but the waiting game may not last much longer. The former New Day members are expected to join the company soon, adding even more fuel to speculation surrounding their next move.
According to Fightful Select, sources stopped short of outright confirming that AEW has signed Kingston and Woods, who is now going by Austin Creed. However, the expectation is that both are on their way.
“While the sources wouldn’t outright confirm the acquisitions of Austin Creed and Kofi, it was noted that it is expected that they are joining the company soon as well.”
Exactly when they could show up remains unclear. There is currently no confirmation of a debut date, although that hasn’t stopped speculation about All In at Wembley Stadium on August 30.
The update comes at a pretty interesting time. Kingston and Woods are already free of their 90-day non-compete restrictions, and their first post-WWE moves have done very little to cool down the AEW talk.
Chris Jericho recently announced that Kofi and Austin Creed will make their debut aboard the next Chris Jericho’s Rock ‘N’ Wrestling Rager at Sea in November. Jericho even leaned heavily into their old New Day act while announcing them.
There may be bigger plans waiting beyond the nostalgia. Self Made Pro previously reported that Kingston and Woods want to reinvent themselves and explore ideas they never got the chance to use in WWE. He was also given the impression that they already have wrestlers in AEW they’d like to work with.
“But long term, I’ve been given the implication and impression that they want to try something that they haven’t been able to and basically reinvent themselves. I’ve been given the impression that they have a new presentation that they want to test in AEW. I also was given the impression that there’s some guys that they already have on their list of people that they want to work with.”
Nothing has been officially announced, and there’s no confirmation that Wembley will be where they appear. But this has moved beyond Kofi and Woods simply being two available former WWE stars fans think would fit in AEW.
The expectation now is that they’re joining the company soon. Whether AEW waits until after All In or decides Wembley is the place to make a massive first impression remains to be seen.
How would you debut Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods in AEW—and would you pull the trigger at All In? Let us know in the comments below.
