Kofi called Austin Creed by his former ring name after they made their debut at AEW All In as the New Level after leaving WWE as the New Day.
About four months after New Day’s Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods left WWE, they made their debut in AEW at the latest All In PPV.
However, they debuted new ring names. The New Day has been rebranded as the New Level. Kingston now goes by just his first name, Kofi, and Woods is now Austin Creed.
After spending over a decade in WWE (Kingston was there for nearly two decades), it must be hard to get used to having new names. During the post-show press conference, Kofi called Creed “Woods,” which prompted him to quip, “I want to live in the past.”
The mistake is understandable. Even Kofi conceded, “You gotta work with me. I’ve been calling him a certain thing for over 10 years.”
New Day’s Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods’ AEW debut after leaving WWE
On Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026, the New Level made their debut at All In. They made their debut during the last match of the pre-show, which was a Trios Roulette Royale for the AEW World Trios Championship.
The New Level teamed up with Swerve Strickland to win the titles in their first match in the promotion. They beat teams that included the likes of “Hangman” Adam Page, Jay White, Orange Cassidy, and Claudio Castagnoli.
For now, they appear set to compete in trios action with Strickland. More than likely, they will also work in the tag team division, mixing it up with AEW’s dense roster of teams.
The New Day originally debuted in WWE on July 21, 2014. Originally, the lineup consisted of Kofi, Creed, and Big E, who has since retired from in-ring action due to a neck injury. Kofi and Creed left WWE in May 2026.
Over the years, they won 13 tag team championships in WWE. That is a record for the most WWE-branded tag team championship reigns. However, the Dudley Boyz have 18 if their ECW and WCW title reigns are counted.
About four months after New Day’s Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods left WWE, they made their debut in AEW at the latest All In PPV. However, they debuted new ring names. The New Day has been rebranded as the New Level. Kingston now goes by just his first name, Kofi, and Woods is now Austin Creed.