New details have emerged about Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods' decision to leave WWE. According to Fightful Select, The New Day duo signed multi-year contract extensions in October 2025, with Kingston under contract until 2030.
The expectation was that the former WWE Champion would finish his career with WWE. However, when both he and Woods were asked to restructure their deals less than a year after signing them, they chose to walk away from the company rather than agree to TKO's new terms.
We don't have specifics on the mooted changes. Still, the 13-time WWE Tag Team Champions were likely presented with an updated contract for significantly less money (both were previously on seven-figure deals), and they decided to walk away from the table last Monday.
Kingston and Woods differ from other recent releases in that this was a contract negotiation breakdown rather than an expiration of their current deals or a full-blown firing.
As Bryan Alvarez explains, "We can also confirm that in the case of New Day, it was their decision to leave based on what TKO was offering for a new deal. To be specific, New Day’s deals were not up. They were asked to restructure to TKO deals, they didn’t like the deals, so they were then granted their release."
Apparently, they're both under WWE's standard 90-day non-compete clauses, meaning it would be late July before they can appear in another major promotion.
Backstage, the reaction has been one of shock among other WWE Superstars. Both Kingston and Woods were viewed as WWE lifers, but in the TKO era, that no longer means as much as it once did.
In terms of how they'll be billed moving forward, Kingston could use "Kofi," as it's part of his real name. The Xavier Woods name is owned by WWE, but he's spent years building his brand as "Austin Creed," so chances are he'll go by that. The New Day name is obviously also part of the WWE IP. Big E, meanwhile, remains under contract as an analyst for post-show events.
Several AEW stars have reacted to the news that Kingston and Woods are free agents, leading to speculation that they could be heading to the rival promotion later this year.
Kingston has been with WWE since 2006 and is a former WWE Champion, four-time Intercontinental Champion, and multi-time Tag Team Champion. Woods joined WWE in 2010 after competing in TNA and is a King of the Ring winner.