Summary

A new report has added more detail to Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods leaving WWE, just days after it emerged that the two sides had mutually agreed to part ways.

According to the update, Kingston and Woods were asked to restructure the five-year deals they signed in 2025. When they turned down the revised offers, they were granted their releases instead.

The report added that the proposed new terms would have reduced their pay while shifting them toward winding down their in-ring careers and taking on some promotional work.

Quote from Dave Meltzer

Dave Meltzer said Kingston and Woods "were on the list of those without significant future plans" and were "essentially put in the position where they were going to be cut, but were offered less money to stay, wind down their in-ring careers and finish their current contract doing some in-ring and working in a promotional capacity."

"The New Day, Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods, who were on the list of those without significant future plans, were essentially put in the position where they were going to be cut, but were offered less money to stay, wind down their in-ring careers and finish their current contract doing some in-ring and working in a promotional capacity."

Meltzer later went on to say:

"They both decided to leave the promotion, given they had signed a five year-contract in 2025 at a certain number and one year in were being asked to have that money cut back while maintaining the rest of the contract."

The update also stated that even if Kingston and Woods had accepted the restructured deals, the new terms would not have included any protection against being released later.

What this means for Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods

Kingston and Woods now look less like a team that simply reached the end of a contract cycle and more like veterans who decided WWE's revised vision was not worth accepting. If the report is accurate, WWE was prepared to keep The New Day around on lower money and in a reduced in-ring role, which is a major change for one of the company's defining tag teams of the modern era.

It also gives the split more context. Once the proposed deals asked Kingston and Woods to take less money without any no-cut protection, staying would have meant giving up leverage without gaining much security in return.

Sources

As reported by NoDQ, citing Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez of F4WOnline.