Reports: Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods Set to Join AEW After WWE Exit

Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reported that Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods are headed to All Elite Wrestling after departing WWE in May.

The pair’s exit from WWE came in May when, according to reports, they rejected a restructured contract offer from TKO that would have cut their pay by 50 percent, bringing an abrupt end to their run as The New Day.

Dave Meltzer, writing in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, said Kingston and Woods had been widely expected to move to AEW since they turned down the proposed pay reduction.

Meltzer also reported that AEW executive vice presidents The Young Bucks — Matt and Nick Jackson — have been interested in working with Kingston and Woods for several years.

In his newsletter, Meltzer examined a segment on this week’s AEW Dynamite involving Swerve Strickland, The Demand, The Lethal Swirl and World Trios Champions “Hangman” Adam Page and Brodido, noting that The Lethal Swirl failed to overshadow Page and Brodido during their appearance on Collision and that the exchange fuelled speculation of a three-way match for the Trios Championship at All In: London.

Meltzer added that Kingston and Woods are expected to team with Strickland in that potential three-way contest.

All In’s 2026 edition is scheduled for Sunday, August 30, 2026, at Wembley Stadium in London, England, during the United Kingdom’s August Bank Holiday weekend; the event will begin at 11:30 AM ET. The show will run opposite WWE NXT Heatwave, which airs on August 30, 2026, from Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg, Texas, at 3 PM ET/12 PM PT.

The former New Day members are also scheduled to appear on Chris Jericho’s Rock ‘N Wrestling Rager at Sea in November.