Many fans consider The Latest Day to be the perfect stable in modern WWE history, with a complete of 12 tag team title reigns across all three brands among the many three. Big E was forced to retire several years ago, followed by Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston being granted their releases in 2026, but Big E stays pleased with the years he spent working alongside his real-life friends.
During an interview with “INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet,” Big E recalled Latest Days formation, acknowledging that the initial fan response wasn’t the best. “It sucks! It sucks, man!” he recalled.
Big E then stated Latest Day’s origin dates back to Florida Championship Wrestling, which was WWE’s developmental territory immediately before NXT got here into existence. Back then, Big E and Xavier Woods were a part of a bunch known first as The Clan after which as The Plan, which was a Nation of Domination-inspired stable that also included Abraham Washington and Byron Saxton.
The group eventually went their separate ways, with Big E and Woods ending up directionless on the fundamental roster several years later. He remembered one night particularly, when he had lost the Intercontinental Championship and Woods lost a squash match, and Woods brought up the thought of working together again under an analogous concept as their original faction.
“Woods goes in and pitches the writers that day, pitches them this concept of doing a brand new Nation of Domination; they essentially laugh him out the room,” he recalled.
Kofi Kingston joins the fold
While he was optimistic about Woods’ pitch, WWE creative had told him later the identical day that they’d nothing for him, and he simply needed to return to pre-taped shows. “Knowing that the office really had nothing for me, that Woods was in need of something, I just said, ‘Let’s do that man; let’s give it a shot!” he said.
It was Woods who suggested Kingston, but Big E was set on The Latest Day being heels, and he wasn’t sure WWE would’ve allowed Kingston to show heel. Big E stated that Kingston was considering retirement on the time, however the pitch revitalized him. Though it wasn’t quite the initial idea Woods pitched, WWE put the three of them together.
“Eventually we got to be the Latest Day that individuals knew and loved, but it surely was months and months and months of pitching. … The three of us were on house shows together. We did not have a reputation, but we started working on our chemistry,” he recalled, noting that the method allowed them to appreciate all of them wanted the identical thing out of wrestling. “We knew, yeah, that this concept is value dying on this hill for, because we were all in desperate – we were all looking for something.”
In the event you use any quotes from this text, please credit “INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet,” and supply a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.