Earlier this month, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods of the New Day were shockingly released from WWE as part of the company’s final round of talent cuts after WrestleMania 42. With Kingston and Woods having been some of the most seasoned talent in the industry, their departure was met with frustration from wrestlers and fans alike, including AEW star Bobby Lashley, who stated in an interview with “Good Karma Wrestling” that it was a mistake for the Connecticut-based promotion to let go of two of its most respected workers.
“That was a fumble. Bro, you retire those guys. You take those guys to the end and give them whatever they want because they’ve given the business everything. I don’t think there’s a person in the in the business that says, ‘Hey man, I don’t like those guys or those guys treated me wrong or those guys weren’t good to me.’ There’s no one. And we saw that one time before when somebody else got released, right? When somebody else got released, they had to bring em’ back because they were like, ‘Oh, this is a bad move.’ Well, this is a horrible move also, but it could be a great move for someone else.”
After the New Day’s release was made public, it was reported that WWE asked Kingston and Woods to take a pay cut, but the twelve-time tag team champions declined the offer and chose to leave the company instead. In addition to the New Day, others on the roster were also asked to accept a reduced salary, though Dave Meltzer has claimed that WWE only approached stars who the creative team had little to no interest in utilizing going forward.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Good Karma Wrestling” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
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