Swerve Strickland is finally speaking out about the shocking WWE departures of Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods — and he made it clear he has enormous respect for both men while openly admitting he’d love to work with them in AEW.
While speaking to Inside the Ring, Swerve revealed that he has already communicated privately with Kofi Kingston following the New Day’s WWE exit. According to Swerve, Kofi’s reputation inside wrestling speaks for itself after two decades in the business.
“Yeah, had some very small words, just through texts and stuff. It’s hard to find anything to say anything negative about Kof. He had such a polished record for 20 years. He’s like the epitome of professionalism when it comes to that, especially in our culture. You look at Kofi in the top five to ever do it. He’s the perfect type of role model.”
Swerve then explained why Kingston, Woods, and even Big E became so important to an entire generation of wrestlers and fans. According to him, The New Day succeeded by refusing to hide who they really were.
“It was the biggest thing about these two guys and Big E adjacent—they were themselves, and they made guys feel and show that you don’t have to put on this mask and this shade and have to pretend or portray what the perception of what you should be is, and just be yourself.”
The conversation eventually shifted toward the possibility of Kingston and Woods eventually arriving in AEW. And Swerve did not hesitate when asked whether he’d want that to happen.
“Oh yeah, of course! Of course, absolutely!”
Still, Swerve stressed that the priority should be whatever Kingston and Woods personally want after spending so many years at the top of WWE.
“I want them to do what’s best for them. If they want to take a five-year hiatus, they more than earned it.”
He also pointed toward one lesson he believes every wrestler eventually has to learn in the business — understanding personal value.
“They know their value as well—that’s the most important thing. That’s the lesson that everyone learns in this—not just as a fan, but as a professional yourself in this industry—to know their value. They understand what they bring.”
Swerve’s comments come after weeks of growing speculation surrounding The New Day’s future following their WWE exit. Earlier reports from Bryan Alvarez revealed that Kingston and Woods did not leave because their contracts expired, but instead chose to reject new TKO contract terms involving reduced money.
“We can also confirm that in the case of New Day, it was their decision to leave based on what TKO was offering for a new deal. To be specific, New Day’s deals were not up. They were asked to restructure to TKO deals, they didn’t like the deals, so they were then granted their release.”
At the same time, AEW interest has already become a major talking point internally as there is a lot of excitement.
“There is a lot of excitement in AEW circles about the potential of The New Day coming into the company.”
One matchup that continues getting mentioned internally is a long-awaited showdown involving The Young Bucks and The New Day — something fans have wanted for years.
“We’ve heard from a number of people connected to the company who pointed out that The Young Bucks and New Day have teased the idea of wrestling each other going many years back, but now everyone may finally be able to actually deliver that bout.”
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