With reports coming out left and right, including a report by Wrestling Observer Live’s Bryan Alvarez that the New Day members Big E and Xavier Woods may turn on Kofi Kingston, comes a great deal of disappointment. With the momentum of this 11-year superstar at an all time high, why would WWE do such a thing? Yes, it would be shocking, yes it would be somewhat unexpected, but it would also be a tremendous letdown, especially if Kofi Kingston is denied his rightful chance to call himself WWE World Champion.
Yes, breaking a team up when one member of the faction becomes a World Championship contender is an angle that has proven successful many times. Whether it be one member outgrowing the others, or other members of the team becoming jealous, several examples come to mind. In 2004 Evolution turned on newly crowned World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton and Batista left the group not long after in pursuit of his own world title.
That being said, that doesn’t mean a team can’t stay together with one guy being ‘THE GUY’. In 2018, when Dean Ambrose returned from injury, everyone assumed he would turn heel immediately, but that did not happen. In fact, before the unfortunate situation that caused Roman Reigns to take a leave of absence (GET WELL SOON ROMAN), Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose were influential in keeping the Universal championship around the waste of the leader of the Roman Empire. Once again, yes Dean did turn on Seth, but if Roman didn’t have to leave, perhaps the decision would not have been made for Ambrose to make the turn and maybe the Shield would have stayed together longer. Of course, we will never know, but it’s definitely something to consider.
Next, we have the Hart Foundation and D-X in 1997. Both factions were on top of their game as collective units with one man holding the world title. Bret Hart led the Foundation as WWE Champion and Shawn Michaels did the same as the leader of D-Generation X.
So, with all that being said, why should New Day have to break up? Why do the fans have to be deprived of the epic moment when Kofi Kingston rightfully gets his opportunity to raise the WWE Championship in the air after 11 years of excellence while the crowd chants “New Day Rocks”? It’s about time WWE listens to the fans. Yes, they do on occasion, but more times than not in the modern era, it seems the decision makers of WWE seemingly go for themselves This writer says to WWE: Why not change the narrative? Why not change perception? Why not show the world that you hear them and respect them by doing what is truly best for business? What’s best for business is Kofi Kingston as WWE champion with New Day celebrating by his side, and later on, sure, have them turn on Kofi, have them break up… BUT NOT NOW. Xavier, Big E, and Kofi deserve better! The fans deserve better! Vince McMahon and WWE creative, it’s your opportunity to do the right thing! This is Kofi Kingston’s opportunity for a legacy moment, and he deserves it.
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