When news broke recently that each Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods of the Latest Day were staying put in WWE, having agreed to recent contract extensions, it got here as little surprise. In spite of everything, the duo have been within the WWE system for 19 and 15 years respectively, and have been amongst essentially the most consistent stables/tag teams during that point, with little reason to depart. And yet, at the least considered one of them was keeping all of their options open.
Fightful Select reports that, while details surrounding Kingston’s negotiations with WWE aren’t clear, given his deal was reached quietly several months ago, that isn’t the case for Woods. As a substitute, the previous King of the Ring winner’s extension with WWE was said to have “come right down to the wire,” indicating that Woods was near hitting the free agent market before agreeing to terms with WWE.
For those pondering this was a situation where Woods was potentially searching for leverage, that also doesn’t seem like the case. While Woods’ preference was to stay with WWE, he also found himself able where he would not must compromise regarding terms, allowing him to make a call that may be “what was best for him.” In the long run, Woods decided the most effective decision was to remain.
Given how close Woods got to becoming a free agent, it could suggest Woods could have had some interest in speaking with AEW, where Woods’ long-time frenemy Kenny Omega and long-time friends Adam Cole and Claudio Castagnoli work. Nonetheless, there is no such thing as a indication that Woods, nor Kingston months earlier, had any contact with AEW.