Anyone expecting Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods to turn up at AEW Redemption tonight should pump the brakes.
Per Fightful Select, The New Day is still expected to join AEW, but the duo isn’t planned for tonight’s pay-per-view in Montreal. There’s also a bigger obstacle in the way: their WWE deals aren’t technically finished yet.
We do expect New Day to join the company, but we were told they are not planned for tonight’s Redemption show, and that their WWE deals aren’t technically up yet.
That rules out a surprise Redemption debut, at least for now. Kingston and Woods have been heavily linked to AEW since leaving WWE, and the expectation across the industry is that they’ll eventually land in Tony Khan’s company. The question was never whether AEW wants them. It’s when they’re legally free to show up.
The planning is reportedly already underway. During a Self Made session, Self Made Pro said AEW has been mapping out how to use the former WWE Tag Team Champions once they’re available.
The pair didn’t leave WWE on an ordinary contract expiration. They turned down TKO’s proposed restructuring and were granted their releases in early May, which put them on a non-compete clock that runs longer than the April release class whose window just expired. Until that lapses, a debut isn’t possible.
The obvious first program writes itself. With Kingston and Woods being longtime rivals of the Young Bucks dating back to their indie days, that’s the match fans will immediately start clamoring for whenever the two finally arrive.
