Subhojeet Mukherjee on May 8, 2026
Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods weren’t just asked to take less money by WWE — they were also being positioned toward the final stage of their in-ring careers before deciding to leave the company instead.
After reports initially revealed that The New Day turned down restructured TKO-era contracts, new details from Dave Meltzer in the May 8, 2026 edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter now paint a much clearer picture of what WWE was actually offering behind the scenes. According to Meltzer, Kingston and Woods were already viewed internally as talents without major long-term creative plans moving forward.
“The New Day, Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods, who were on the list of those without significant future plans…”
Meltzer then explained that WWE effectively gave them two options — take reduced money and transition into smaller roles, or leave.
“Were essentially put in the position where they were going to be cut, but were offered less money to stay with WWE.”
According to the report, WWE’s vision reportedly involved Kingston and Woods slowly winding down their wrestling careers while shifting partially into promotional roles for the company.
“Wind down their in-ring careers and finish their current contract doing some in-ring and working in a promotional capacity. “They both decided to leave the promotion.”
The report also revealed why the situation became such a major sticking point internally. Kingston and Woods had only signed brand-new five-year WWE deals in 2025, meaning the company was attempting to restructure those contracts only one year later.
“They had signed a five year-contract in 2025 at a certain number and one year in were being asked to have that money cut back while maintaining the rest of the contract.”
That directly lines up with earlier reporting from Bryan Alvarez, who previously stated that The New Day’s contracts were not expiring naturally and that WWE specifically approached them about restructuring under the TKO system.
“They were asked to restructure to TKO deals, they didn’t like the deals, so they were then granted their release.”
Meanwhile, AEW speculation surrounding Kingston and Woods has only continued growing since news of their WWE exit broke publicly. PWInsider previously reported there is already substantial excitement internally within AEW about the possibility of bringing The New Day into the company.
“There is a lot of excitement in AEW circles about the potential of The New Day coming into the company.”
One matchup creating the most discussion internally is the long-teased showdown between The New Day and The Young Bucks — a match fans have wanted for years but never got due to WWE and AEW existing separately.
“The Young Bucks and New Day have teased the idea of wrestling each other going many years back.”
At this point, the story surrounding Kingston and Woods leaving WWE is becoming much bigger than a normal roster departure. Instead, it’s starting to look like one of the clearest examples yet of how dramatically TKO is reshaping WWE’s roster philosophy, talent value system, and long-term financial structure. And for The New Day specifically, it appears the group chose betting on themselves over quietly transitioning into reduced roles inside WWE.
Do you think WWE made the right call trying to move The New Day into reduced roles, or should Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods have remained featured stars in the company? Drop your thoughts and feedback in the comments below.
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