On Sunday at All In: London, former WWE stars Kofi and Austin Creed made their AEW debut inside Wembley Stadium.
Kofi and Creed, who are now called The New Level, were revealed as the mystery trios partner of Swerve Strickland in the Trios Roulette Royale for the AEW World Trios Championship.
They won after eliminating Pac and Claudio Castagnoli at the same time.
Reaction to Kofi and Austin Creed’s AEW Debut in WWE
Four months ago, the the wrestling world received shocking news that Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods have mutually agreed to part ways with WWE. Kingston had been with the company for 20 years, while Woods had been there since 2010.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer reported then that Kingston and Woods decided to leave WWE after being asked to take a pay cut. The duo signed a five-year deal in 2025, so their exit was very surprising news.
With Kingston and Woods making their AEW debut, TC of WrestleVotes revealed the backstage reaction to it in WWE during a recent Q&A session.
“I did meet up with a source in WWE,” TC said. “He told me that this is the first time he thinks there is regret on WWE’s side of things for not having them come back. This is the first time there is a disconnect between TKO and WWE. The person I spoke to today said, ‘You know what? Maybe TKO mismanaged this one.’ People in WWE never wanted to see them leave.”
Many thought that The New Day would be lifers there, especially Kingston. He was a former WWE Champion and very popular backstage as a veteran.
Woods, on the other hand, has a popular YouTube channel that made him more known outside of pro wrestling.
Tony Khan on Signing The New Level
Speaking on the All In: London Post Show Media Scrum, AEW president Tony Khan addressed the addition of The New Level. Khan revealed that he never thought that two household names like Kofi and Austin Creed are going to be available.
Khan also shared some details on how their signing happened.
“It wasn’t like it was all a done deal the very first second they had gotten released or were able to go out and look elsewhere,” Khan said, via Wrestling, Inc. “The whole situation was a big surprise to me, and then, knowing that, I try to create an environment with tag teams, and trios, where there would be an exciting opportunity.”
Aside from the AEW World Trios Championship, The New Level have also set their sights on the AEW World Tag Team Championship. They confronted reigning champs, Cage and Cope, along with The Young Bucks, FTR and the Motor City Machine Guns.
Backstage WWE Reaction to Kofi and Austin Creed AEW Debut Revealed