Prior to his retirement in July amidst an investigation into alleged sexual misconduct and hush money payments, Vince McMahon had the final say as head of WWE creative, but even he couldn’t get a top faction to separate despite multiple attempts.
Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods have been together as The New Day for the better part of a decade, first forming in the summer of 2014. One of the most successful tag teams in WWE history, the trio are multi-time tag team champions, having most recently won the NXT Tag Team Championship back in December. They are the third team in the company’s history to become Triple Crown Tag Team Champions and were the longest-reigning WWE Tag Team Champions until their record was broken by The Usos.
It’s rare for any wrestling faction to last so long without having one or more members turn on each other, but all three men have remained steadfast in the idea that they not be split up on-screen, wanting to provide positive representation. However, if Vince McMahon had his way, they would have been split by now.
The New Day Rejected Vince McMahon’s Pitches For An On-Screen Split
According to a new report from Fightful Select, sources close to the situation confirm that the three New Day members don’t want to split up on-screen. However, the report states that Vince McMahon pitched “multiple times” to split the faction.
Continuing, the report notes that one of McMahon’s pitches came after an edict that Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods not be referred to as “The New Day” while Big E was out of action. This edict only lasted a few weeks.
McMahon also pitched a split when Xavier Woods won King of the Ring in 2021. According to Fightful, McMahon told Woods to turn on Kofi Kingston “because that’s what a King would do,” but Woods himself fought the idea.
The faction won’t be seen at full strength for quite some time as Big E has been out of action for a year after breaking his neck on a March 2022 episode of SmackDown. While it’s unclear if he’ll ever be able to return to the ring, the star maintains a positive attitude in his recovery and says he’s at peace with whatever happens.