It’s a new day at the WWE Performance Center. Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods captured the NXT Tag Team Titles this past weekend at NXT Deadline, defeating Pretty Deadly’s Elton Prince and Kit Wilson en route to their first championships on the white and gold brand. Both Kingston and Woods have wrestled for NXT before, with Woods having an extended run in the brand, but this victory represents the most prominent position either man has been put in on NXT. While main roster stars holding NXT gold is nothing new, as Dolph Ziggler reigned as NXT Champion earlier this year, it appears that The New Day is keen on making the developmental program their home for the foreseeable future.
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As for what they hope to accomplish in NXT, Kingston and Woods told Sports Illustrated’s Justin Barrasso that they’re here to elevate the brand’s roster.
“Pretty Deadly is so talented, and they’re going to be even bigger than they are now,” Kingston said. “It’s all about getting experience and getting in there with experienced superstars, then spreading their wings to fly. Anything we can do to help that, we’re here for it. We want them to flourish. That’s what we’re here to do, and I’m looking forward to mixing it up with them again.”
“Everybody brought their full selves to that match, which was easy to tell,” Woods added. “We love getting a chance to tell our stories in the way we want to tell them. It’s the job of the current generation to give their knowledge to the next generation, so that will be the best era of pro wrestling. That’s very important to us, and it’s a responsibility for us to teach what we know.”
Even in defeat, Pretty Deadly elevated their star power simply by sharing the ring with The New Day, a team that is amongst the most decorated trios in wrestling history. The same can be said for the likes of Grayson Waller, Carmelo Hayes, and Bron Breakker, who all had programs with main roster stars. While the wins and losses vary, every aforementioned superstar received a bigger spotlight by having a storyline with a main roster wrestler.
Pretty Deadly have been with WWE since 2019, officially inking with the company in 2020. Prince and Wilson spent most of their WWE tenure so far in NXT UK, reigning as that brand’s tag champions for 287 days. They migrated to the United States-based NXT earlier this year, a couple of months before NXT UK closed its doors.ย
NXT airs tonight at 8 PM ET on the USA Network.
