‘It Is Their Company, Not Ours’ – Big E Comments On New Day Pay Cut Situation Leading To WWE Departure

WWE

Big E has opened up about Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods of New Day leaving WWE, reportedly due to a pay cut situation.

After the initial wave of post-WrestleMania 42 WWE releases in April, it emerged that Kingston and Woods were departing the company as well.

It soon came out that this was because they’d been asked to take a significant pay cut, and they opted to depart the company instead of doing that.

Speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Big E – Kingston and Woods’ long-time New Day teammate in WWE – commented on the duo’s departure and the reports of it being due to the aforementioned pay cut request.

He said:

“I don’t want to speak for them. I know when the time is right, I’m sure they’ll have a lot of things to say. There are things out there about pay cuts and whatnot. I just know, look, this ownership is not the same ownership that existed when we first signed to the company. It is their company, it is not ours. So they make their decisions with how pay goes, and ultimately, we all have to abide by that, and you understand that it is not your ball.

“It was not our ball when we first signed to the company. It is not our ball now. It is someone else’s ball to determine when you get in the game and how many carries you’ve got. So they made a decision, and I just kind of want to leave that in their hands to be able to decide.

“I can’t fully speak to a lot of that, but I think we, as performers, we all want to feel valued, you want to feel like people want you here, there’s a plan for you, and we’re going to compensate you accordingly.

“When you feel like that plan is not in accordance with your plan, or the money doesn’t line up with the way you see yourself valued, you have to make a decision on whether you’re going to say, ‘Yes, this is what I will accept,’ or ‘No, this is not what I’m going to accept.’ So they made a decision to step away, and I respect (that).

“Those guys will always be my family, regardless of what company we’re in, regardless of how old we are. What we built is bigger than companies, it’s bigger than our industry. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be in the financial position I’m in. I wouldn’t have the breadth and myriad of incredible experiences, even just getting comfortable in my own skin. I credit those guys for so much of that.

“I look back on our time in The New Day, and we could talk about how my career was cut short, we could talk about the things that didn’t happen in my career, but I knew I was in the good old days. When I was in the good old days, I knew this was it, and I was able to enjoy it.

“You’re always pushing for more. You’re oftentimes annoyed with booking or disgruntled with certain decisions, but I knew we had lightning in a bottle, and not just on screen, but off-screen. The way we traveled together, the amount, the laughs we had, I can’t tell you how many times I had to wipe tears of laughter out of my eyes. So many times when we were just, we had too much fun.

“I don’t think we ever had a blow-up, we never had an argument, we never had a time where we butted heads, really ever. If we had any minor disagreements, they were about creative process, and we were able to get on the same page immediately. The way we work together, our synergy, it’s special.

“So those guys are family, and will always be family. And I will always root for their prosperity. I will always, always root for their fulfillment. I just want them to be happy. So, if they’re happy at home, if they’re happy wrestling in VFW halls, if they’re happy doing conventions, gaming, whatever it is that they want to do with their lives that fulfills them, as long as they ain’t hurting anyone, I fully support it.”

There is a high expectation that Woods and Kingston will soon sign with AEW, where they’ll be able to have dream matches with the likes of the Young Bucks and a renewal of their rivalries with FTR and the Hurt Syndicate.

One thing we do know about AEW CEO Tony Khan is that he isn’t going to attempt to shortchange his talent, and New Day likely to be compensated very well in AEW compared to WWE.

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• kofi kingston
• big e
• Xavier Woods
• endeavor
• TKO
• wwe
• New Day

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