The New Day are an American
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
stable consisting of
Big E Big E may refer to:
* Capital letter "E"
People
* Big E (wrestler) (born 1986), American professional wrestler, born Ettore Ewen, formerly known as "Big E Langston"
* Elvin Hayes (born 1945; nicknamed "Big E"), American basketball player and r ...
,
Kofi Kingston
Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah (born August 14, 1981) is a Ghanaian-born American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Kofi Kingston. He appeared on WWE's NXT brand as one- ...
, and
Xavier Woods
Austin Watson (born September 4, 1986) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Xavier Woods. He appeared on WWE's NXT brand as one-half of the current NXT Tag ...
. The stable is currently performing in
WWE on the
SmackDown brand
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create a ...
, but also appears on the
NXT brand where Kingston and Woods are the current
NXT Tag Team Champions
The NXT Tag Team Championship is a men's professional wrestling tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. Introduced on January 2 ...
in their first reign. Big E is currently inactive after suffering an injury in March 2022.
One of the most popular and decorated teams in WWE history, The New Day holds several records, including the
most reigns as
SmackDown Tag Team Champions at seven, and the longest-reigning
Raw Tag Team Champions at 483 days. As a team, they also hold the record for most WWE-branded tag team championship reigns at 12 (seven SmackDown, four Raw, and one NXT)—the only team WWE recognizes with more is
The Dudley Boyz at 18, but this includes their
eight
8 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
8 or eight may also refer to:
Years
* AD 8, the eighth year of the AD era
* 8 BC, the eighth year before the AD era
Art
*The Eight (Ashcan School), a group of twentieth century painters associated with the As ...
Extreme Championship Wrestling
HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrest ...
and
one
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Natio ...
tag team title reigns. While performing as a trio, The New Day defend their tag team titles under the
Freebird rule, with all three members being recognized as champions.
The
stable was prominently formed by Xavier Woods with Big E and Kofi Kingston on the July 21, 2014, episode of ''
Raw'', but made their debut as The New Day on the November 28, 2014, episode of ''
SmackDown''. In April 2015 at
Extreme Rules, they won their first
WWE Tag Team Championship. Their second reign, which began at that year's
SummerSlam in August, became the longest in the title's history, the first to last more than a year, and the last with the title being the sole tag team championship on WWE's main roster, as it was renamed Raw Tag Team Championship in September 2016 following the creation of the SmackDown Tag Team Championship. In December 2016, they set the record for the longest male tag team championship reign in WWE history at 483 days (surpassing
Demolition
Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a ...
's 28-year-old record of 478 days with
WWE's original World Tag Team Championship) and at that time, the longest reigning champions for any WWE championship over the prior two decades; since then, both accomplishments have been surpassed.
After being
drafted to the SmackDown
brand
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create a ...
in April 2017, the stable went on to capture the SmackDown Tag Team Championship a record seven times; while part of the brand, Kingston also won the
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two world titles on WWE's main roster, alongside SmackDo ...
in 2019. In October 2020, Kingston and Woods were
drafted to the
Raw brand as The New Day, while Big E remained on SmackDown, separating him from the group. The stable briefly reunited on September 13, 2021, after Big E cashed in his
Money in the Bank contract on ''Raw'' to win the WWE Championship, thus transferring to Raw alongside Kingston and Woods. However, they separated again a month later after Kingston and Woods were drafted to SmackDown during the
2021 WWE Draft while Big E remained on Raw. Also in October 2021, Woods won the
King of the Ring tournament
The King of the Ring tournament is a men's professional wrestling single-elimination tournament held periodically by WWE, a Connecticut-based professional wrestling promotion. Established in 1985, the winner of the inaugural tournament was Don ...
. In January 2022, Big E would be moved to SmackDown, thus becoming a trio again with Woods and Kingston; however, an injury incurred in March has kept Big E out of action indefinitely. In December 2022, Kingston and Woods also began appearing on WWE's
developmental brand NXT and won their first NXT Tag Team Championship, becoming the third
WWE Tag Team Triple Crown Champions.
The early months of the stable as stereotypical
black gospel
Black gospel music, often called gospel music or gospel, is a genre of African-American Christian music. It is rooted in the conversion of enslaved Africans to Christianity, both during and after the trans-atlantic slave trade, starting with ...
babyface characters were marked by largely negative reactions from fans and critics alike, but after transitioning their characters into
heels
The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg.
Structure
To distribute the compressive forces exerte ...
fanatically obsessed with the "power of positivity" in April 2015, they began to receive acclaim for their entertainment value, as well as for their in-ring performances.
In 2015, the trio were collectively named "WWE Wrestler of the Year" by ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...
'', while also being recognized as the "
Best Gimmick" of the year by the ''
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts.
Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four W ...
''.
Additionally, they became the first trio to win the
''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' award for "
Tag Team of the Year", doing so in 2015 and 2016 (the first two wins in a row in this category for two decades). Their new-found popularity resulted in the trio reverting to babyfaces in early 2016, which they have remained since. The three, who are close friends in real life, also appear or work together outside of wrestling, notably writing the 2016 book ''The Book of Booty: Shake It. Love It. Never Be It'', and hosting a weekly podcast, ''Feel the Power'' (named after one of their catchphrases), since 2019. In 2021, The New Day topped WWE's list of the "50 Greatest Tag Teams" in the promotion's history.
Background
After wrestling in WWE's
developmental territories
In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...
Deep South Wrestling
Deep South Wrestling (DSW) is a professional wrestling promotion in the state of Georgia. Deep South worked in tandem with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as a developmental territory from September 1, 2005, until April 18, 2007. Deep South w ...
(DSW),
Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) and
Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) since September 2006, Kofi Kingston made his WWE debut on ''
ECW'' in January 2008. He subsequently came to have an extensive singles career, becoming a four-time
Intercontinental Champion and a three-time
United States Champion; he had also been part of several tag teams, including with
CM Punk
Phillip Jack Brooks (born October 26, 1978), better known by the ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler, sports commentator, actor, and retired mixed martial artist currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Best known ...
,
Evan Bourne and
R-Truth
Ronnie Aaron Killings (born January 19, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and rapper. He is currently signed to WWE, performing on the Raw brand under the ring name R-Truth.
Killings worked for World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now ...
, all of whom he won tag team championships with. Big E began his career in FCW and then in
NXT, where he became
NXT Champion. On the December 17, 2012 episode of ''Raw'', he made his main roster debut
aligning himself with
Dolph Ziggler
Nicholas Theodore Nemeth (born July 27, 1980) is an American professional wrestler and stand-up comedian. He is currently signed to WWE under the ring name Dolph Ziggler, where he performs on the Raw brand.
After a prolific career in amateu ...
and
AJ Lee
April Jeanette Mendez (born March 19, 1987) is an American author and retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in WWE under the ring name AJ Lee. She is currently an executive producer and color commentator for WOW – Wo ...
and later winning the Intercontinental Championship. Xavier Woods, who previously wrestled in
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment.
Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promot ...
as Consequences Creed, signed to WWE in 2010 and worked in FCW and NXT until the November 18, 2013 episode of ''Raw'', when he made his main roster debut.
Woods, then in college, had first met Kingston in 2006 or 2007 when he had entered the DSW building to apply for a wrestling job, and Kingston was working in the ring at the exact same moment. Woods got the job, but DSW closed soon after; when Woods came to FCW two years later to similarly apply for another wrestling job, Kingston was, coincidentally, once again present and working in the ring.
The stable originated from an idea backstage by Woods, who, pitched it to WWE Writer Michael Notarile, after not being given storylines or much time on-screen, worked on creating a "snarky, intelligent, running his mouth, just like total punk"
heel character for himself. As his friend Big E was in a similar situation career-wise, Woods and Notarile decided to work together with Big E to form a team instead, spending several weeks taping promos and pitching ideas in order to create their new characters. The three men felt that something was still missing from the team, and they had the idea of including Kingston, who was also at a low point of his career; however, they had doubts that WWE would let Kingston, who had been a babyface his entire career, turn heel, and changed the characters so they would be babyfaces who, according to Woods, were "three guys, who came from kind of the same background, that just want more from life, more from their jobs, more from their friends, more from everything around them."
In October 2020, the trio stated that they had considered adding a woman to the group, with
Sasha Banks being their top pick.
Big E also revealed that
Alicia Fox and
Damien Sandow were considered to be additions to the faction.
History
Original run and gospel era (2014–2015)
On the July 21, 2014 episode of ''Raw'', after Big E and Kingston, who had started pairing up in tag team matches earlier the same month, suffered another loss in what had been ongoing losing streaks for both, Woods came down to address the two and he declared that they could not "get ahead by kissing babies and shaking hands", and that it would be "their time to shine".
The duo then joined Woods and on the following day on ''
Main Event
In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...
'', Woods managed Big E and Kingston to a decisive victory over Slater-Gator (
Heath Slater and
Titus O'Neil). However, the group disappeared from television soon after due to WWE creative being unconvinced by their gimmick; they continued to make appearances together at
house show
A house show or live event is a professional wrestling event produced by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their wrestlers receive d ...
s in two-on-two tag team matches, regularly switching the two competing members while the third one acted as manager.
From the November 3 episode of ''Raw'', WWE began airing vignettes for Big E, Kingston and Woods, with the stable now being billed as The New Day, displaying a
heroic black gospel
Black gospel music, often called gospel music or gospel, is a genre of African-American Christian music. It is rooted in the conversion of enslaved Africans to Christianity, both during and after the trans-atlantic slave trade, starting with ...
gimmick
A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand ou ...
. The New Day made their in-ring debut on the November 28 episode of ''
SmackDown'' in a winning effort against
Curtis Axel, Heath Slater and Titus O'Neil. On the December 1 episode of ''Raw'', Kingston and Woods competed in a
tag team turmoil match
Much like the singles match, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace. Tag team ladder m ...
to determine the number one contenders for the
WWE Tag Team Championship, eliminating
Gold and Stardust, before being eliminated by
Tyson Kidd and Cesaro. At the
TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pre-show on December 14, Big E and Kingston defeated Gold and Stardust.
On the January 5, 2015 episode of ''Raw'', while Big E was on his way to a victory against
Adam Rose, the team of Kidd and Cesaro, masquerading as Rosebuds, interfered by laying out Woods on the outside and performing their
finisher on Big E in the ring. At the
Royal Rumble
The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after the Royal Rumble match, a modified battle r ...
, The New Day's winning streak came to an end when Tyson Kidd and Cesaro defeated Big E and Kingston. A
fatal four-way match for the WWE Tag Team Championship took place on the
WrestleMania 31 pre-show on March 29, including The New Day, but they failed to win the championship.
Longest-reigning Tag Team Champions (2015–2016)
On the March 30 episode of ''Raw'', they were involved in an
eight-man tag team match alongside
The Lucha Dragons (
Kalisto and
Sin Cara) against Kidd, Cesaro and
The Ascension
Ascension or ascending may refer to:
Religion
* "Ascension", "Assumption", or "Translation", the belief in some religions that some individuals have ascended into Heaven without dying first
* Ascension of Jesus
* Feast of the Ascension (Asce ...
.
During the match, the live audience responded negatively to The New Day with loud "New Day sucks!" chants which carried over into the following weeks.
When asked about the crowd's disapproval of them in a backstage interview on the April 6 episode of ''Raw'', The New Day claimed that they were hurt and responded in a more aggressive tone, yet maintained their upbeat nature. During their following match against The Lucha Dragons, Kingston attempted a cheap shot from the outside, even though he was not actually involved in the bout, turning all three men into
heels
The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg.
Structure
To distribute the compressive forces exerte ...
in the process.
On the April 20 episode of ''Raw'', The New Day defeated The Lucha Dragons via
countout to become the number one contenders for the WWE Tag Team Championship after Woods held onto Sin Cara's feet to prevent him from re-entering the ring.
At
Extreme Rules on April 26, The New Day defeated Kidd and Cesaro to capture the WWE Tag Team Championship; Big E and Kingston were the participants in the match, but WWE also recognized Woods as champion under the
Freebird Rule, in which any two members of a stable can compete for the titles. At
Payback on May 17, Big E and Kingston defeated Kidd and Cesaro in a
two-out-of-three falls match to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship after Woods pinned Cesaro, despite not being a legal participant in the match. At
Elimination Chamber
The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE. The match was founded by Chris Jericho , created and introduced by Eric Bischoff in November 2002. It features a large chain-linked circular steel ...
on May 31, all three New Day members competed in the first-ever tag team
Elimination Chamber match
The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE. The match was founded by Chris Jericho , created and introduced by Eric Bischoff in November 2002. It features a large chain-linked circular stee ...
for the WWE Tag Team Championship, where they lastly eliminated
The Prime Time Players (
Darren Young and Titus O'Neil) to retain their titles. However, at
Money in the Bank on June 14, Big E and Woods lost the championships to The Prime Time Players. Big E and Kingston then lost their rematch at
Battleground
A battlefield, battleground, or field of battle is the location of a present or historic battle involving ground warfare. It is commonly understood to be limited to the point of contact between opposing forces, though battles may involve troops ...
on July 19. The New Day would regain the championship after they defeated
Los Matadores (
Diego and
Fernando
Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...
), The Lucha Dragons and The Prime Time Players in a fatal four-way match at
SummerSlam on August 23. Despite being heels, the trio received heavy positive reactions from audiences who began to chant "New Day rocks!". The following night on ''Raw'', they were attacked by the returning
Dudley Boyz, with Woods being put through a table. This started a
feud
A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one pa ...
between the two teams, setting up a title match at
Night of Champions on September 20, where Big E and Kingston lost by
disqualification, though, by rule, they retained their titles. They lost via disqualification to retain their championships again in a rematch against The Dudley Boyz at
WWE Live from Madison Square Garden, but defeated them via
pinfall at
Hell in a Cell
Hell in a Cell is a professional wrestling steel cage-based match which originated in 1997 in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It features a large cell structure, a five-sided cuboid made from open-weave steel mesh chain-link fe ...
on October 25 to retain the titles, thus ending their feud. The New Day led their own team at
Survivor Series including
Sheamus
Stephen Farrelly (born 28 January 1978) is an Irish professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sheamus.
Prior to joining WWE, he wrestled on the European in ...
and
King Barrett, but left the match prematurely to tend to Big E after his elimination, leading to their team's eventual loss. At
TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 13, they retained the WWE Tag Team Championship against The Lucha Dragons and
The Usos
The Usos (born August 22, 1985) are an American professional wrestling tag team composed of twin brothers Joshua Samuel Fatu and Jonathan Solofa Fatu, who are known professionally by their respective ring names Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso. They ar ...
(Jimmy and Jey Uso) in a
triple threat ladder match. The New Day then successfully defended their titles against The Lucha Dragons on the special December 22 episode of
''Super SmackDown Live!'' and against The Usos on January 24, 2016, at the
Royal Rumble
The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after the Royal Rumble match, a modified battle r ...
event.
At
Fastlane on February 21, The New Day began mocking
The League of Nations (Sheamus,
Alberto Del Rio,
Rusev and King Barrett), calling them the "League of Booty". They then continued to mock The League of Nations in various segments and skits while simultaneously feuding with other teams and
turning
Turning is a machining process in which a cutting tool, typically a non-rotary tool bit, describes a helix toolpath by moving more or less linearly while the workpiece rotates.
Usually the term "turning" is reserved for the generation ...
into
fan favorites in the process.
The New Day then retained their titles at
Roadblock
A roadblock is a temporary installation set up to control or block traffic along a road. The reasons for one could be:
* Roadworks
*Temporary road closure during special events
* Police chase
*Robbery
* Sobriety checkpoint
In peaceful circumstanc ...
against Sheamus and Barrett on March 12 and the following night on ''Raw'' against Del Rio and Rusev, but were attacked by the entire League of Nations afterwards. This led to a non-title
six-man tag team match
Much like the singles match, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace. Tag team ladder ...
between the two stables at
WrestleMania 32
WrestleMania 32 was the 32nd annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It took place on April 3, 2016, at the AT&T Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. This was the last Wre ...
on April 3, where The New Day lost,
but Big E and Kingston retained their championships once again against Sheamus and Barrett the following night on ''Raw''. At
Payback on May 1, the final match of the tournament to determine the number one contenders for the WWE Tag Team Championship between
Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady
FreeAgentZ (formerly known as Enzo and Cass) are an American professional wrestling tag team composed of nZo and CaZXL. The duo are best known for their tenure with WWE, from 2013 to 2017, under the respective ring names, Enzo Amore and Big C ...
and
The Vaudevillains (
Aiden English and
Simon Gotch) ended in a
no contest after Amore suffered a
legitimate concussion
A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentratio ...
during the match. As a result, The New Day faced The Vaudevillains for the WWE Tag Team Championship at
Extreme Rules on May 22, where they successfully retained their championship after Kingston interfered. On the May 30 episode of ''Raw'', The New Day defeated The Vaudevillains in a non-title match via disqualification after they were attacked by
Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson
Chad Allegra (born January 20, 1980), better known by the ring name Karl Anderson, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler currently signed to WWE where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand. He ...
, sparking a feud between them. At
Money in the Bank on June 19, The New Day defeated Gallows and Anderson, The Vaudevillains and Enzo and Cass in a fatal-four-way match to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship and, as of that victory, they hold the record for the longest combined reign as a tag team. On the June 20 episode of ''Raw'', The New Day confronted returning
The Wyatt Family (
Bray Wyatt,
Erick Rowan and
Braun Strowman) and interrupted Wyatt's
promo, thus starting a feud between the two teams that would lead to a non-title six-man tag team match at
Battleground
A battlefield, battleground, or field of battle is the location of a present or historic battle involving ground warfare. It is commonly understood to be limited to the point of contact between opposing forces, though battles may involve troops ...
on July 24, where they would lose.
During the
2016 WWE draft
Sixteen or 16 may refer to:
* 16 (number), the natural number following 15 and preceding 17
*one of the years 16 BC, AD 16, 1916, 2016
Films
* ''Pathinaaru'' or ''Sixteen'', a 2010 Tamil film
* ''Sixteen'' (1943 film), a 1943 Argentine film ...
, The New Day were
drafted to the
Raw brand
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create a ...
, making the WWE Tag Team Championship exclusive to the brand. In parallel to a lengthy feud with Gallows and Anderson over the titles, The New Day became the longest reigning WWE Tag Team Champions in the title's history, breaking the old record of 331 days previously set by
Paul London and Brian Kendrick and, after the creation of the
SmackDown Tag Team Championship for the SmackDown brand, became the last people to have held their championship as the sole tag team title in WWE and the first to hold it under its new name of Raw Tag Team Championship. The New Day would continue to successfully retain their championships against Gallows and Anderson in the following months, such as
SummerSlam on August 21,
Clash of Champions on September 25 and the following night on ''Raw'', ending their feud in the process.
After their feud with Gallows and Anderson, The New Day began feuding with Cesaro and Sheamus and at
Hell in a Cell
Hell in a Cell is a professional wrestling steel cage-based match which originated in 1997 in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It features a large cell structure, a five-sided cuboid made from open-weave steel mesh chain-link fe ...
on October 30, The New Day were defeated by Cesaro and Sheamus via disqualification, but they retained the titles as a result. On the October 31 episode of ''Raw'', The New Day revealed that they were made captain of Team Raw for the
10-on-10 Survivor Series Tag Team Elimination match at
Survivor Series.
At the event on November 20, they made the first elimination, but were then eliminated themselves by The Usos. However, Team Raw still won the match thanks to Cesaro and Sheamus. On the two following ''Raw'' episodes, The New Day successfully retained their titles against Cesaro and Sheamus and then Gallows and Anderson, respectively.
On the December 12 episode of ''Raw'', after successfully defending their titles in two successive triple threat tag team matches – first against Cesaro and Sheamus and Gallows and Anderson, and then against the team of
Chris Jericho
Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler and singer. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the leader of the Jeri ...
and
WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens
Kevin Steen (born May 7, 1984) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Kevin Owens.
Steen began his career in 2000, at the age of 16. Prior to joining WWE in l ...
, and the team of
Seth Rollins
Colby Daniel Lopez (born May 28, 1986) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Seth Rollins (often referred to as Seth "Freakin" Rollins).
Prior to signin ...
and
United States Champion Roman Reigns
Leati Joseph "Joe" Anoa'i (born May 25, 1985) is an American professional wrestler and former football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Roman Reigns. He is the leader of The ...
– The New Day broke
Demolition
Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a ...
's 28-year-old record to have the longest single-run with
any tag team championship in WWE history. Demolition held this record with
WWE's original World Tag Team Championship and still hold the specific record for that (defunct) version of the titles. At
Roadblock: End of the Line on December 18, The New Day's reign ended at 483 days after they lost the championships to Cesaro and Sheamus. On the December 26 episode of ''Raw'', The New Day received a rematch, but failed to reclaim the championships.
SmackDown Tag Team Champions (2017–2019)
The New Day would go on to host
WrestleMania 33, and the following night on ''Raw'', lost to the debuting team
The Revival (
Scott Dawson and
Dash Wilder). After the match, Kingston was attacked by The Revival, resulting in a legitimate ankle injury.
On April 11, 2017, The New Day were moved to the
SmackDown brand as part of
Superstar Shake-up; however, they did not appear for several weeks due to Kingston's ankle injury. After appearing on ''Talking Smack'' on May 23, the trio fully returned on May 30, setting their sights on
The Usos
The Usos (born August 22, 1985) are an American professional wrestling tag team composed of twin brothers Joshua Samuel Fatu and Jonathan Solofa Fatu, who are known professionally by their respective ring names Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso. They ar ...
'
SmackDown Tag Team Championship. In the two teams' first encounter at
Money in the Bank, Big E and Kingston won the match by countout, but not the title. In a rematch at
Battleground
A battlefield, battleground, or field of battle is the location of a present or historic battle involving ground warfare. It is commonly understood to be limited to the point of contact between opposing forces, though battles may involve troops ...
, Kingston and Woods captured the titles; this marked the first time that Woods took an active part in winning a championship and his first championship-winning pinfall in WWE. They lost the title back to The Usos on the
SummerSlam 2017 pre-show, regained it on the September 12 episode of ''SmackDown Live'' in a
Sin City Street Fight, and lost it again in a highly acclaimed
Hell in a Cell
Hell in a Cell is a professional wrestling steel cage-based match which originated in 1997 in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It features a large cell structure, a five-sided cuboid made from open-weave steel mesh chain-link fe ...
match at the
pay-per-view of the same name.
In the build-up to
Survivor Series, The New Day helped the rest of the SmackDown roster attack the Raw roster. They also engaged in a rivalry with
The Shield (
Dean Ambrose
Jonathan David Good (born December 7, 1985) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Jon Moxley. He also makes appearances for New Japan Pro-Wres ...
,
Roman Reigns
Leati Joseph "Joe" Anoa'i (born May 25, 1985) is an American professional wrestler and former football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Roman Reigns. He is the leader of The ...
and
Seth Rollins
Colby Daniel Lopez (born May 28, 1986) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Seth Rollins (often referred to as Seth "Freakin" Rollins).
Prior to signin ...
) of the ''Raw'' brand, and on the November 6 episode of ''Raw'', The New Day alone invaded ''Raw'' for the second time, ultimately costing Rollins and Ambrose the Raw Tag Team Championship to Cesaro and Sheamus. At Survivor Series, however, The New Day lost to The Shield in an interbrand six-man tag team match. At
Fastlane, The New Day faced The Usos for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship, but the match ended in a no contest after interference from
The Bludgeon Brothers
Luke Harper and Erick Rowan, later known as the Bludgeon Brothers, were a professional wrestling tag team in WWE. They were also known as being members of the cult faction The Wyatt Family, led by Bray Wyatt.
After work at house shows from June ...
(
Harper and
Rowan
The rowans ( or ) or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus ''Sorbus'' of the rose family, Rosaceae. They are native throughout the cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with the highest species diversity in the Himalaya ...
). At
WrestleMania 34
WrestleMania 34 was the 34th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on April 8, 2 ...
, all three teams competed in a triple threat tag team match for the titles, which The Bludgeon Brothers won.
After failing to win the title at
SummerSlam, when they defeated the champions by disqualification, The New Day defeated The Bludgeon Brothers in a No Disqualification match two days later on ''SmackDown'' to capture the titles for a third time. They held the titles until October 16, 2018, when they were defeated by
Cesaro and Sheamus on ''
SmackDown 1000
This is a list of special episodes of the professional wrestling television series '' WWE SmackDown''. Throughout its broadcast history, the show has aired editions that have different themes. Some of them are yearly events such as the WWE draft ...
'' after Big Show attacked Kingston outside the ring. They would fail to regain the titles at Crown Jewel event. Two weeks later, they made up part of Team SmackDown in a 5-on-5 tag-team elimination match at Survivor Series, in which they defeated Team Raw. At TLC, The New Day would again fail to win the championship from The Bar, in a triple-threat tag team match also involving The Usos. On the January 1, 2019 episode of SmackDown Live, the entire New Day announced their entry into the Men's Royal Rumble match at the
Royal Rumble
The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after the Royal Rumble match, a modified battle r ...
event on January 27; all three were unsuccessful.
Kingston's WWE Championship reign and separation (2019–2020)
On the February 12 episode of ''SmackDown Live'', one member of The New Day was scheduled to replace
Mustafa Ali in the
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two world titles on WWE's main roster, alongside SmackDo ...
Elimination Chamber
The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE. The match was founded by Chris Jericho , created and introduced by Eric Bischoff in November 2002. It features a large chain-linked circular steel ...
match at the
namesake pay-per-view after Ali suffered an injury, and Kingston was selected as his replacement. Kingston then participated in a Gauntlet match to determine the last entrant in the Chamber match, where he started off with WWE Champion
Daniel Bryan Daniel Bryan may refer to:
* Bryan Danielson (born 1981), American professional wrestler who formerly used the ring name "Daniel Bryan"
* Dan Bryan (1900–1985), Irish soldier
* Daniel Bryan (Big Brother), contestant on the British reality televi ...
. Kingston lasted over an hour all while eliminating Bryan,
Jeff Hardy
Jeffrey Nero Hardy (born August 31, 1977) is an American professional wrestler and musician. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Hardy is widely considered one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all-time and is regard ...
and
Samoa Joe, before being eliminated by
A.J. Styles. At the pay-per-view, Kingston was the third entrant in the match, and went on to eliminate
Randy Orton and make it to the final two, before being eliminated by Daniel Bryan. After pinning Daniel Bryan in a six-man tag team match, Kingston was granted a WWE Championship match at
Fastlane, but was replaced during his contract signing by a returning
Kevin Owens
Kevin Steen (born May 7, 1984) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Kevin Owens.
Steen began his career in 2000, at the age of 16. Prior to joining WWE in l ...
per the order of
Mr. McMahon. On March 10 at Fastlane, Kingston was apparently added into the title match by McMahon, but after entering the ring, it was instead announced that he would face The Bar in a handicap match, which Kingston subsequently lost. On the ''SmackDown Live'' following Fastlane, Kingston was faced with yet another challenge set forth by McMahon. This time, to face Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship at
WrestleMania 35, Kingston would have to defeat
Sheamus
Stephen Farrelly (born 28 January 1978) is an Irish professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sheamus.
Prior to joining WWE, he wrestled on the European in ...
,
Cesaro,
Rowan
The rowans ( or ) or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus ''Sorbus'' of the rose family, Rosaceae. They are native throughout the cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with the highest species diversity in the Himalaya ...
, Samoa Joe, and Randy Orton one after the other in a gauntlet match the following week. Kingston would succeed in the gauntlet match before McMahon told him that he had one more opponent in Daniel Bryan, to whom he would ultimately lose. On the March 26 episode of ''SmackDown'', McMahon announced that Big E and Xavier Woods of The New Day would compete in a tag team gauntlet match, and if they defeated every team, Kingston would go on to WrestleMania to face Bryan for the WWE Championship. Big E and Woods would go on to defeat
Gallows and Anderson
The Good Brothers are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. They are currently signed to WWE and perform on the Raw brand, where they are former two time WWE RAW Tag Team Champions. They als ...
,
Shinsuke Nakamura
is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown WWE brand extension, brand.
Nakamura is known for his time in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where ...
and
Rusev, The Bar,
The Usos
The Usos (born August 22, 1985) are an American professional wrestling tag team composed of twin brothers Joshua Samuel Fatu and Jonathan Solofa Fatu, who are known professionally by their respective ring names Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso. They ar ...
(who forfeited), and the team of Daniel Bryan and Rowan. Mr. McMahon would confirm at the end of the show that Kingston would indeed face Bryan at WrestleMania for the title.
At WrestleMania, Kingston won the match to become the WWE Champion for the first time in his career. In doing so, he became the first African-born WWE Champion. On the April 16 episode of SmackDown,
Kevin Owens
Kevin Steen (born May 7, 1984) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Kevin Owens.
Steen began his career in 2000, at the age of 16. Prior to joining WWE in l ...
became an "honorary member" of the stable in the absence of an injured Big E, and fought alongside Kingston and Woods to defeat Cesaro, Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura. However, the following week, Owens attacked both Kingston and Woods after the former's match with Shinsuke Nakamura. On April 30, Kingston then challenged Owens to a match at
Money in the Bank with his title on the line where Kofi emerged as victorious.
At
Extreme Rules, Kingston retained the WWE Championship against
Samoa Joe, while Big E and Woods won the SmackDown Tag Team Championship by defeating former champions
Daniel Bryan Daniel Bryan may refer to:
* Bryan Danielson (born 1981), American professional wrestler who formerly used the ring name "Daniel Bryan"
* Dan Bryan (1900–1985), Irish soldier
* Daniel Bryan (Big Brother), contestant on the British reality televi ...
and
Rowan
The rowans ( or ) or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus ''Sorbus'' of the rose family, Rosaceae. They are native throughout the cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with the highest species diversity in the Himalaya ...
, and Heavy Machinery (
Otis and
Tucker
Tucker may refer to:
Places United States
* Tucker, Arkansas
* Tucker, Georgia
* Tucker, Mississippi
* Tucker, Missouri
* Tucker, Utah, ghost town
* Tucker County, West Virginia
Outer space
* Tucker (crater), a small lunar impact crater in ...
), making The New Day record-tying four-time SmackDown Tag Team Champions (technically also making Kingston a double champion during this time due to the Freebird Rule).
They lost the titles to
The Revival at
Clash of Champions, and Kingston lost the WWE Championship to
Brock Lesnar during ''
SmackDown's 20th Anniversary
SmackDown's 20th Anniversary, or the 20th Anniversary of SmackDown, was a special episode of WWE's weekly television program '' SmackDown'' that took place on October 4, 2019, and commemorated the program's 20th anniversary. It was broadcast live ...
'' on October 4.
On the November 8 episode of ''SmackDown'', The New Day (represented by Big E and Kingston, as Woods was inactive due to injury) regained the SmackDown Tag Team Championship from The Revival, becoming record five-time champions. At
TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, Big E and Kingston successfully defended the titles against The Revival in a ladder match. At
Super ShowDown on February 27, 2020, The New Day lost the titles to
John Morrison and The Miz, ending their reign at 111 days. At
WrestleMania 36, Kingston, who represented The New Day, failed to win the titles back from Morrison, who represented himself and Miz, in a triple threat ladder match, also involving Jimmy Uso, who represented The Usos. A rematch took place on the April 17 episode of ''SmackDown'', where Big E, who represented The New Day, won the titles back from Miz, who represented himself and Morrison, in a triple threat match, also involving Jey Uso, who represented The Usos, and this makes The New Day six-time SmackDown Tag Team Champions. At
The Horror Show at Extreme Rules, The New Day would lose the championships to
Cesaro and
Shinsuke Nakamura
is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown WWE brand extension, brand.
Nakamura is known for his time in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where ...
in a Tables match after Cesaro and Nakamura put Kingston through two tables. On the July 24 episode of SmackDown, Kingston revealed that he would be out of action for 6 weeks due to a back injury and gave Big E the blessing to go on a solo run. Big E would then embark on his singles run as he entered a feud with
Sheamus
Stephen Farrelly (born 28 January 1978) is an Irish professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sheamus.
Prior to joining WWE, he wrestled on the European in ...
defeating him at
Payback and on the October 9 episode of SmackDown in a Falls Count Anywhere match.
On the October 9 episode of ''SmackDown'', both Kingston and Woods returned from injury and defeated
Cesaro and
Shinsuke Nakamura
is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown WWE brand extension, brand.
Nakamura is known for his time in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where ...
, winning their seventh SmackDown Tag Team Championship; immediately after the match, the trio were given the announcement that Kingston and Woods were being drafted to
Raw as part of the
2020 Draft, while Big E remained on SmackDown, splitting the group across brands for the first time; it also marked the first time that members of The New Day would hold tag titles without all three members being champions, as Big E was not considered champion. Although this originally led to reports in the media that Big E had split from the group, the three, in addition to continuing their New Day ''Feel the Power'' podcast, also claimed that Big E would continue to be part of The New Day, albeit separately from them on SmackDown, with WWE later stating on Twitter that there was "no break-up".
Continuing as a duo (2020–2022)
Upon Kingston and Woods's Raw debut on the October 12 episode of ''Raw'', WWE official
Adam Pearce had them trade titles with
Raw Tag Team Champions The Street Profits (
Angelo Dawkins and
Montez Ford), who had just been drafted to SmackDown, in order to keep both championships on their respective brands. This made Kingston and Woods three-time Raw Tag Team Champions, marking their first time holding the title without Big E, and their first time winning it since their record 483-day reign in 2015–2016. The New Day had their final match as a trio on the October 16 episode of ''SmackDown'', defeating Cesaro, Nakamura, and
Sheamus
Stephen Farrelly (born 28 January 1978) is an Irish professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sheamus.
Prior to joining WWE, he wrestled on the European in ...
. The New Day appeared one further time as a trio at
Survivor Series on November 22 to promote their appearance in the video game ''
Gears 5''. At the event, the trio made their entrance dressed as their respective characters in the game. After the entrance and a brief in-ring promo, Big E departed backstage while Kingston and Woods faced SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Street Profits in a non-title brand supremacy match. New Day lost the match but showed mutual respect to The Street Profits.
On December 20, at
TLC, Kingston and Woods lost the Raw Tag Team Championship to
The Hurt Business (
Cedric Alexander and
Shelton Benjamin
Shelton James Benjamin (born July 9, 1975) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under his real name.
He is also known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Pro Wr ...
).
They regained the championship on the March 15, 2021 episode of ''Raw'', tying Cesaro and Sheamus for the most reigns as a team at four, while individually, Kingston tied Seth Rollins for the most reigns at six. They were then scheduled to defend the titles against
AJ Styles and
Omos at
WrestleMania 37,
in which they lost, ending their reign at 26 days. On September 13, 2021, during ''Raw'', Big E cashed in his
Money in the Bank contract (which he had won in
July
July is the seventh month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the fourth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. It was named by the Roman Senate in honour of Roman general Julius Caesar in 44 B.C., it being the mont ...
) on
WWE Champion Bobby Lashley
Franklin Roberto Lashley (born July 16, 1976) is an American professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and bodybuilder. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. He is an eight-time world champion, having been a two-t ...
, who had just successfully retained his title against
Randy Orton, to win the WWE Championship for the first time, resulting in Big E being transferred to Raw full time and reuniting New Day as a trio for the first time since 2020. At
Extreme Rules, The New Day would defeat the team of Bobby Lashley, AJ Styles and Omos.
As a part of the
2021 Draft, Big E was drafted to the Raw brand while Kingston and Woods were drafted to the SmackDown brand, thus splitting them again.
In October, Woods and Kingston both entered the
King of the Ring tournament, though Kingston was eliminated in the first round. At
Crown Jewel, Woods defeated
Finn Bálor
Fergal Devitt (born 25 July 1981) is an Irish professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Finn Bálor (), and is a member of The Judgment Day.
Devitt is widely known for his ...
in the final to win the tournament; his first individual accolade in WWE.
With that victory, his ring name was changed to King Woods.
Various feuds and injuries (2022–present)
On the January 14, 2022 edition of ''SmackDown'', Kingston announced that Woods was injured and out of action. On January 28, Big E was traded to the SmackDown brand and reunited with Kingston. In March, the New Day feuded with the team of
Sheamus
Stephen Farrelly (born 28 January 1978) is an Irish professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sheamus.
Prior to joining WWE, he wrestled on the European in ...
and
Ridge Holland
Luke Menzies (born 29 May 1988) is an English professional wrestler and former professional rugby league footballer. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Ridge Holland.
He spent the major ...
. A match between the teams on the March 11 episode of ''SmackDown'' saw Holland botching an
overhead belly-to-belly suplex on Big E at ringside, resulting in Big E landing on the top of his head and suffering a
broken neck. He also suffered fractures to his
C1 vertebrae and
C6 vertebrae, but no ligament or
spinal cord injury
A spinal cord injury (SCI) is damage to the spinal cord that causes temporary or permanent changes in its function. Symptoms may include loss of muscle function, sensation, or autonomic function in the parts of the body served by the spinal co ...
.
Big E had an onscreen reunion with Kingston and Woods on May 20, but stated in an interview a month later that it is unclear if he will ever be able to wrestle again.
In the same interview, he revealed that
Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27, 1969), better known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive, actor, and retired professional wrestler currently serving as the chief content officer for WWE. He is widely regarded as ...
had asked him to be part of a WWE tryout for college athletes in the days leading up to that year's
SummerSlam.
At
NXT Deadline on December 10, Kingston and Woods defeated
Pretty Deadly to win the
NXT Tag Team Championship
The NXT Tag Team Championship is a men's professional wrestling tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. Introduced on Januar ...
and became the third
WWE Tag Team Triple Crown Champions.
Characters and reception
Original gimmick
The original gimmick of the three, before they took on the name The New Day, was born from Woods's promo in July 2014 in which he suggested to create the stable, and stated: "You cannot move ahead by shaking hands, kissing babies, singing and dancing like a puppet. You cannot move ahead by always doing what you're told. It is our time to find purpose, because we do not ask any longer. Now, we take."
They were depicted as determined, strong-willed athletes with newfound motivation, describing themselves as "smart athletic friends" and establishing themselves as underrated underdogs, criticizing "the powers that be" for not giving them a fair chance; however, they were taken off-television shortly after their debut.
Woods described the trio's original characters as "Three guys, who come up from kind of the same background, that just want more from life, more from their jobs, more from their friends, more from everything around them. ... So we tried to take that mentality, and get it across on TV as best as we could."
[
In late 2014 between their original gimmick and gospel eras, the trio, having been taken off-television and having been told by WWE creative that they needed their characters to be more positive and uplifting, spent months meeting during their free time to work on new ideas, writing and filming vignettes that they would try to get ]Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the ...
to watch while also communicating remotely to share more costume and gimmick ideas.[ They came up with a "Problem Solvers" gimmick, which Kingston described in 2015 as "a funny version of the APA, eoplewould come to us with their problems and we'd solve them in like, a comical way." According to the trio, "Everyone that saw it was like, blown away by it, they thought it was awesome, it was funny, it made sense, you could see where it would fit in on the show." However, McMahon was
unenthusiastic, and the gimmick was discarded.][ While The New Day recognize this period as frustrating, Woods also considered it instrumental in the three of them developing chemistry and a true friendship, with Woods stating: I don't think that ithout that periodthe bond would be as strong, or that the ventual "power of positivity"gimmick would work as well."]
Gospel era
The trio debuted as The New Day in November 2014, now stereotypical black gospel
Black gospel music, often called gospel music or gospel, is a genre of African-American Christian music. It is rooted in the conversion of enslaved Africans to Christianity, both during and after the trans-atlantic slave trade, starting with ...
preacher
A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as a ...
-like characters. In an off-character interview in August 2015, The New Day called their gospel era "the complete opposite of what we wanted to do", and claimed that the gimmick had been created by WWE CEO Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the ...
, who summoned the trio to his office and announced that he had designed their new characters, stating: "It's taken me a long time to come up with this, but I think I got it: I want you guys to be preachers." The trio added: "We didn't want to sing and dance, because for African-American athletes, you're either singing and dancing, or you're the big strong black guy, or the foreign black guy. Those are the three archetypes. e wantedto push some sort of message for all kids, but more specifically for young, black kids watching wrestling: you can be whatever kind of character you want, you come with a blank slate and you can be anything, not just lack stereotypes.
Lack may refer to:
Places
* Lack, County Fermanagh, a townland in Northern Ireland
* Lack, Poland
* Łąck, Poland
* Lack Township, Juniata County, Pennsylvania, US
Other uses
* Lack (surname)
* Lack (manque), a term in Lacan's psychoanalyti ...
We can't describe to you the tension n the room when he gave us the characters
N, or n, is the fourteenth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphabet# ...
We're all like, smiling and nodding and all of us were thinking the same thing: 'Oh my God, this man is crazy.'"
The trio claim that they were given an "awful" list of team names to choose from, which included "Fresh Coat of Paint", HOPE (standing for "House Of Positive Energy"), "A House of Light", and "KBX" (for "Kingston, Big, Xavier").[ Kingston called the entrance theme they were originally offered "the worst gospel ong, with Big E stating "It felt very old-timey, it felt like it was recorded in the 40s." The three gave WWE officials modern gospel music to suggest something more modern, resulting in the theme song eventually used by the group.][
Those characters received negative reactions from fans and critics alike. ]Jim Ross
James William Ross (born January 3, 1952) is an American professional wrestling commentator currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a commentator, analyst, and senior advisor. Ross is best known for a long and distinguished career a ...
noted that "today's wrestling fan may be a little hard on the talented trio" due to them "espousing such positivity". ''ProWrestling.net'' wrote that The New Day "seem to be all about smiling and dancing; one of the three racial stereotypes WWE assigns to their African-American performers". Entertainment website '' The A.V. Club'' called the gimmick
A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand ou ...
"racist" because "they figuratively pantomime shooting dice when they get into the ring". ''Vice
A vice is a practice, behaviour, or Habit (psychology), habit generally considered immorality, immoral, sinful, crime, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refe ...
'' stated "Months after rejecting the stereotypical roles bestowed on black wrestlers uring Woods's original July 2014 promo Woods, Kingston, and Big E found themselves saddled with a new one"; they pointed out that both Kingston and Woods had already been given stereotypical characters, with Kingston previously portraying "an all-smiles, erstwhile Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispan ...
n babyface" even though he was from Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...
, while Woods was given a "funk-dancing gimmick" character.
While two members of The New Day would wrestle, the one acting as their manager would regularly clap into his hands or slam his hands into the mat following a three-clap pattern, inviting the audience to follow suit; the idea originated from Woods, who felt that they needed a unique clap to differentiate themselves.[ Although fans were somewhat enthusiastic to the clapping during the first months, and on the March 30, 2015 episode of ''Raw'' (the day after WrestleMania 31), the audience, while clapping, loudly chanted "New Day sucks!" in rhythm with the clapping, and, when the three would chant "New Day!" loudly as part of their gimmick, the live audiences would scream "sucks!" in response, otherwise heavily booing the trio; similar reactions occurred during the following weeks, until the group turned heel.][
The New Day claimed that they immediately knew that the gimmick would never go ]over
Over may refer to:
Places
*Over, Cambridgeshire, England
*Over, Cheshire, England
*Over, South Gloucestershire, England
*Over, Tewkesbury, near Gloucester, England
**Over Bridge
*Over, Seevetal, Germany
Music
Albums
* ''Over'' (album), by Pete ...
, and that a heel-turn was needed, with Woods stating: "When we were given the gimmick and saw what it was, we figured, if we throw everything that we can—smiling, clapping, happiness, everything—into this babyface gimmick, it will not take long to turn heel. And it's pretty much what happened." The three asked to be turned heel for months, but it was only approved after fans reactions got more hostile in the wake of WrestleMania 31 that WWE agreed; according to the trio, McMahon had remained convinced up until that point that the gimmick would be very popular with the fans.[
]
"Power of positivity"
After the largely negative reception to the gospel version of The New Day, the characters became heels in the wake of WrestleMania 31. The characters first transitioned into an "oblivious bad guys" satire
Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...
version of their previous gimmick, overly joyous and seemingly unaware of the booing from the fans; they would also start cheating during their matches, but claim that they were justified in doing so.[ Additionally, the trio became fanatically obsessed with the "power of positivity", which they would try to preach to their audiences. They would occasionally tease self-awareness, with Woods claiming during a promo: "We gotta smile, we gotta keep positive, because if not, the rage comes out. And if the rage comes out, everybody on the roster goes to the hospital", and Big E adding "We clap, or we snap."]
In the months following their heel-turn, The New Day transitioned away from the gospel aspect, developing their own unique identity and focusing on their new "Power of positivity" gimmick. They also begun using New Day props, such as Woods's trombone
The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrat ...
, which he brought to the ring and played during the group's entrance and matches, later naming the trombone Francesca; after "she" was destroyed by Chris Jericho
Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler and singer. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the leader of the Jeri ...
, Woods replaced her with her "sister" Francesca II in January 2016; he also introduced her "Scottish cousin" Agnes (bagpipes
Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, ...
) at a Scotland show in November 2016. Following Francesca II's destruction, she was replaced by Francesca II: Turbo, a nod to '' Street Fighter II: Turbo''. Also in late 2015, a unicorn pony was incorporated into The New Day's newest shirt, and the trio began making unicorn gestures, using their fingers as horns and even having interviewers claiming to perceive them having "unicorn magic". The group eventually began wearing plastic unicorn horns during their ring entrance, and using a team signature move named ''Unicorn Stampede''; this was based on Woods being a fan of ''My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'' is an animated children's television series based on the fourth incarnation of Hasbro's ''My Little Pony'' franchise. The series follows a studious unicorn (later an alicorn) pony named Twilight Spark ...
''. Also in 2015, The New Day began using the word "booty" as their catchphrase and began occasionally using it to tease other wrestlers and the host city where WWE events would take place, such as calling Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
"Bootyham". The trio became heavily promo-oriented, and would usually cut promos while on their way to the ring (instead of a regular entrance where their theme would play instead).
In stark contrast to the gospel-based version of The New Day, their "Power of positivity" version received an overwhelmingly positive reception from fans and critics and had a series of strong in-ring performances and promos. Although they were heels, the crowds would now start chanting "New Day rocks!" as the group had encouraged them to do as babyfaces, instead of "New Day sucks!" Kenny Herzog of ''Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...
'' named the group as WWE's "Wrestlers of the Year" for 2015, describing them as "a hat-trick of pro-wrestling awesomeness" having "transformed from preachy dreck to a source of constant entertainment". In early 2016, Aaron Oster of ''The Baltimore Sun
''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries.
Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...
'' described them as "the most entertaining wrestling act of the past few years". Former WWE Champion CM Punk
Phillip Jack Brooks (born October 26, 1978), better known by the ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler, sports commentator, actor, and retired mixed martial artist currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Best known ...
praised The New Day for getting over on their own, and claimed that although he no longer watched WWE-based product, and had also lost his passion for wrestling overall, he would only watch The New Day's segments. At the end of 2015, the group won ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated
''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...
''s award
An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration.
An awar ...
for Tag Team of the Year, and the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter
The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts.
Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four W ...
s award
An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration.
An awar ...
for Best Gimmick.[ '']Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...
'' named The New Day collectively as the WWE Wrestler of the Year, stating that "what New Day's three talents accomplished together in 2015 represented – appropriately enough – a hat-trick of pro-wrestling awesomeness: pulling themselves out from creative quicksand, standing alone as the elite among their peers and daring us not to tune in no matter what the win–loss implications."
Some commentators believed that the group's popularity was detrimental to their efficiency as heels, with both Jim Ross and Jason Powell from ''ProWrestling.net'' suggesting that The New Day should be trying to gain "heel heat
In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is ...
" as opposed to being comedic, and in January 2016, following the Royal Rumble
The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after the Royal Rumble match, a modified battle r ...
, James Caldwell of ''PWtorch'' noted that the group's babyface opponents came out "mainly to boos since New Day was too entertaining", adding that the group "don't act overly-heelish to get heat. So, their opponents continue to suffer opposite New Day".
Fan favorites
The trio's popularity led to them reverting to babyfaces in early 2016 when they began feuding with the League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide Intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by ...
.[ Unlike the stable's previous babyface run, this version, which retained the gimmick of their heel version without the cheating and aggressive attitude, proved successful and popular with fans, and similarly won '']Pro Wrestling Illustrated
''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...
s award
An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration.
An awar ...
for Tag Team of the Year for 2016. In September 2017, ''Bleacher Report
Bleacher Report (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sport and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London.
Bleacher Report was acquired by Turner Broadcasting System in Au ...
'' claimed that "there should not be any doubt that New Day has earned its spot among WWE's all-time greatest tag teams ... They won over the audience with their eccentric antics and became one of the most entertaining acts WWE had seen in years. Not only have they brought tag team wrestling into the mainstream with their immense popularity, they have had their fair share of exceptional matches as well." The same year, '' GQ'' stated: "In three short years, the New Day has become the bridge between two formerly isolated worlds. They are the purveyors of positivity in a year that sorely needs it. They are perhaps the most enlightened entertainers to ever step foot in a wrestling ring."
The New Day's promos would often contain a number of references to pop culture
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Pop music, a musical genre Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop!, a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
Albums
* ''Pop'' ...
or recent events in the world; Woods stated that "Nine times out of ten, the stuff we're saying in our promos is just stuff that we say in the car to each other. Whatever is popping us in the car that weekend, we reference that. ... Rather than trying to hit the masses with what we were saying, we were hitting a little pocket every week because we’re very into the grassroots
A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...
type of thing." Those would sometimes tackle controversial subjects, such as the Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections
The Russian government interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election with the goals of harming the campaign of Hillary Clinton, boosting the candidacy of Donald Trump, and increasing political and social discord in the United States. Acc ...
, or the longstanding race issues within WWE.
The New Day's 2017-2018 feud with The Usos
The Usos (born August 22, 1985) are an American professional wrestling tag team composed of twin brothers Joshua Samuel Fatu and Jonathan Solofa Fatu, who are known professionally by their respective ring names Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso. They ar ...
over the SmackDown Tag Team Championship was acclaimed by both critics and fans, with ''Bleacher Report'' crediting it for " elpingelevate tag team wrestling in WWE to heights that hadn't been reached in years through its stellar series of matches on pay-per-view and on ''SmackDown Live''." Despite praising "the Match of the Year-quality encounters the tandems were having at every pay-per-view on which they appeared", they also worried that the SmackDown creative team had also become overly reliant on the two and was dismissing all other teams.
In 2016, The New Day introduced their "Booty-O's" cereal, claiming that "They make sure you ain't booty". At WrestleMania 32
WrestleMania 32 was the 32nd annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It took place on April 3, 2016, at the AT&T Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. This was the last Wre ...
, the team emerged from a giant "Booty-O's" box wearing ''Dragon Ball Z
''Dragon Ball Z'' is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. Part of the ''Dragon Ball'' media franchise, it is the sequel to the 1986 '' Dragon Ball'' anime series and adapts the latter 325 chapters of the original ...
''-inspired armor (inherited from Woods's earlier gimmick). Later "Booty-O's" shirts became a successful article of merchandise. In early 2018, they replaced "Booty-O's" cereals with pancake
A pancake (or hotcake, griddlecake, or flapjack) is a flat cake, often thin and round, prepared from a starch-based batter that may contain eggs, milk and butter and cooked on a hot surface such as a griddle or frying pan, often frying wit ...
s, passing it to members of the audience, throwing it to their enemies or eating it. Woods claimed the idea came from discussing the idea of a lumberjack match: "I said, 'Well, if I'm a lumberjack, what do they eat? They eat flapjacks.' It was hilarious. So, we said the next week, 'Are we going to do pancakes? Yeah, sure. Why not?' And that's where the pancakes came from." They were also the official hosts of WrestleMania 33.
Black Lives Matter support
On June 12, 2020, episode of ''SmackDown'', Big E and Kingston (acting as a duo because Woods was injured), then SmackDown Tag Team Champions, both took a knee and raised a fist in the air, in homage to George Floyd
George Perry Floyd Jr. (October 14, 1973 – May 25, 2020) was an African-American man who was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest made after a store clerk suspected Floyd may have used a counterfeit twe ...
, whose death the previous month had raised worldwide protests against racial injustice; they also wore armbands not usually part of their wrestling attires, on which were written names of other individuals whose deaths were due to racial injustice: Shukri Abdi on Big E's, and Tamla Horsford and Breonna Taylor on Kingston's. The gesture was praised within the wrestling community and by media outlets, with ''Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twice ...
'' calling it "a pivotal moment", ''Essentially Sports'' calling it "a huge statement" and ''Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'' stated: "With WWE the only live event promotion that has remained intact throughout the pandemic
A pandemic () is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. A widespread endemic disease with a stable number of i ...
, the powerful message by Kofi Kingston and Big E figure to be part of a new normal once American sports are reopened as the current climate now demands more action to be taken in the still-harrowing fight against racial injustice." Big E stated the following August that the moment "was important to us", stating: "It was something that really weighed on us, and we felt like we really needed to make a statement. ..We want to work toward a better world, a better society, and it's been really heartwarming to see the amount of support for that. We want to continue to have a positive impact on our world and be worthy of people's fandom." Just three days prior to Big E and Kingston's kneeling on ''SmackDown'', the two and Woods opened up about their personal experiences with racism and their thoughts on Floyd's killing on The New Day's podcast ''Feel the Power''.
Film
Other media
The New Day wrote their first book titled ''The Book of Booty: Shake It. Love It. Never Be It''. The New Day also had a cameo role in the 2016 WWE Studios film '' Countdown''.
Although all three of them had previously been featured in official WWE video games, the members of The New Day were featured as squadmates for the first time in the video game '' WWE 2K16'', and have further appeared as a team in '' WWE 2K17'', '' WWE 2K18'', '' WWE 2K19'' '' WWE 2K20'' and WWE 2K22.
In 2017, The New Day also made an appearance on the TruTV
TruTV (stylized as truTV) is an American basic cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel primarily broadcasts comedy, docusoaps and reality shows.
The channel was originally launched in 1991 as Court TV, a network that f ...
comedy series '' Adam Ruins Everything.''
Corey Graves announced on his podcast
A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...
''WWE After the Bell'' that The New Day would launch their own new podcast (produced by WWE and Endeavor Audio) titled ''The New Day: Feel the Power'', which premiered on December 2, 2019.
In November 2020, all three members of The New Day were added as playable DLC characters in the video game '' Gears 5'', sporting custom armor in the colors of The New Day's ring attires; the three recorded dialogue specifically for the game. As promotion for this DLC at WWE's Survivor Series pay-per-view that same month, the trio appeared in their ''Gears 5'' armor.
Championships and accomplishments
* CBS Sports
CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street (Manhattan), 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS ...
** Best Moment/Angle of the Year (2019) – Kingston (winning the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 35)
* ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated
''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...
''
** Tag Team of the Year (2015, 2016)
** Ranked Kofi Kingston No. 4 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the '' PWI 500'' in 2019
** Ranked Big E No. 9 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the ''PWI 500'' in 2022
** Ranked Xavier Woods No. 58 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the ''PWI 500'' in 2016
** Ranked No. 8 of the top 50 Tag Teams in the ''PWI Tag Team 50
''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishi ...
'' in 2020
* ''Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...
''
** WWE Wrestlers of the Year (2015)
* ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter
The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts.
Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four W ...
''
** Best Gimmick (2015)
* WWE
** WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two world titles on WWE's main roster, alongside SmackDo ...
(2 times
"2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outsid ...
) – Kingston (1), and Big E (1)
** WWE (Raw) Tag Team Championship (4 times
"4 Times" (stylized as "4 TIMES") is the 50th single by pop/ R&B singer Koda Kumi. It was released on August 17, 2011 and debuted at No. 6, remaining on the Oricon charts for nine consecutive weeks. In commemoration of it being the fiftieth singl ...
) – Big E, Kingston, and Woods (2), and Kingston and Woods (2)
** WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship
The WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, representing the SmackDown brand division. It is one of two male tag team championships for ...
( 7 times) Big E, Kingston, and Woods (6), and Kingston and Woods (1)
**NXT Tag Team Championship
The NXT Tag Team Championship is a men's professional wrestling tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. Introduced on Januar ...
( 1 time, current) – Kingston and Woods
** King of the Ring (2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...
) – Woods
** WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship Tournament (2018)
** 13th Grand Slam Champion (under current format; 20th overall) – Kingston
** Third WWE Tag Team Triple Crown winners – Kingston and Woods
** Triple Crown Champion – Kingston (30th), Big E (33rd)
** Match of the Year (2019) – Kingston (vs. Daniel Bryan Daniel Bryan may refer to:
* Bryan Danielson (born 1981), American professional wrestler who formerly used the ring name "Daniel Bryan"
* Dan Bryan (1900–1985), Irish soldier
* Daniel Bryan (Big Brother), contestant on the British reality televi ...
at WrestleMania 35)
** WWE Year-End Award
The WWE Year-End Awards is a concept used by WWE, where awards, similar to the Academy and Grammy Awards, are given to professional wrestlers at the end of the year who have performed on Raw and SmackDown. Introduced in 2018, there have been two e ...
s (2 times)
*** Men's Tag Team of the Year (2019)
*** Moment of the Year (2019) – Kingston (winning the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 35)
** Slammy Award ( 1 time)
*** Ring Gear of the Year (2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...
)
** Ranked No. 1 of the top 50 Greatest WWE Tag Teams
Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...
of all time (2021)
Notes
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:New Day, The
WWE teams and stables
WWE NXT teams and stables
WWE World Tag Team Champions