RAW had one of the most jaw-dropping moments of 2024.
Going in, the direction for The New Day seemed clear: Xavier Woods was turning heel. I expected some huge beatdown angle with Kofi Kingston and Big E lying in a pool of blood. I definitely didn’t see Kofi and Xavier turning on Big E. WWE did a masterful job of building the New Day saga.
Admittedly, I like the subversion of expectations. But you can’t simply pull a M. Night Shaymalan twist without it making sense. The segment itself was really good and did it’s job as Xavier and Kofi came across as giant douchebags that deserved to be punched in the mouth. But, it doesn’t answer several questions:
How did this bring the New Day together?
Kingston outright told Xaiver that him and Big E. thought that the King of the Ring winner (Woods) was the weakest link of the group. In fact, Kofi came across as very heelish saying that. Kofi and Xavier blaming Big E doesn’t negate the feelings that the former Intercontinental Champion had for Xavier. He still thinks he’s the weak link. There’s no way Xavier can just breeze over that.
Another issue: Kofi blaming Big E felt forced. There should’ve been a segment with Big E prior to his return on RAW. The tension should’ve been teased better, that way, his dialogue wouldn't have felt so forced.
But, I’m not going to nitpick every problem with this story. It was a compelling arc for the past month or two; however, I’m not sure I care enough to see heel New Day. Don’t get me wrong, these guys were great heels in the beginning. The issue is that the group has done everything that there is to do in the tag team division.
They’ve won those belts seven times!
I was hoping to see Xavier Woods get a nice singles push for the Intercontinental Championship. And Kingston could've had a redemption arc back into the World Heavyweight title picture. There’s value in these guys being singles stars, but I’m not ready to dismiss the decision to keep them together just yet.
Let’s be honest: The main event is stacked and Kingston’s time at the top likely won’t happen again. Even the IC title picture has a crowded roster.
Maybe keeping them as tag team wrestlers was the best idea.
Look, I love tag team wrestling. I grew up with The Hardys, The Dudleys, Edge & Christian, LAX, America’s Most Wanted, and plenty of other great tag teams in the early 2000’s. Tag Team wrestling is special, and there’s a unique component in developing a story and match with teams.
Unfortunately that’s been missing in WWE for quite some time. Until now. The Smackdown Tag Team scene has an intriguing story going with DIY, The Street Profits, and The Motor City Machine Guns. And now, there’s an interesting story to tell with The New Day as heels.
Though I think that The Judgment Day holding onto those belts is actually hindering the division (that’s on booking, not Finn and JD), I hope the New Day doesn’t get the belts too soon. WWE should build their new characters in secondary tag team feuds before they get another title shot.
Great storytelling is all Kofi and Xavier need at this point. They both can go in the ring. And Kofi and Xavier have enough charisma and mic skills to pull off their new heel characters. They desperately needed a character change.
The attention the tag team division has been getting over the past month or two gives me hope that more stories are going to be told within it. As great as the matches have been, I would like the division to have more depth beyond just the titles. I know Triple H can do this because the Black and Gold era was filled with fantastic tag team wrestling that had strong storyline support.
Turning them heel was a good idea. At least on paper. It's way too early to know whether this was the right call because the follow-up has yet to happen. Hopefully six months from now, we’ll continue to talk about just how great The New Day is.