Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods invoked a classic ‘heel’ tactic on this week’s WWE Raw.
The pair, who form The New Day tag team, were once two of the most popular stars in professional wrestling.
Alongside Big E, they hold several records, including the most reigns as SmackDown Tag Team champions (7), and the longest-reigning Raw Tag Team champions (483 days).
As a stable, The New Day also hold the record for most WWE-branded tag team title reigns, with 12 (seven SmackDown, four Raw, and one NXT).
But back in December, Kingston and Woods turned heel.
During a 10-year anniversary celebration of the formation of The New Day, Big E made an in-ring reunion with Kingston and Woods for the first time since he suffered a broken neck in March 2022.
He announced that wanted to manage Kingston and Woods, much to the delight of fans.
However, the duo lashed out at Big E for supposedly ‘abandoning’ them after his injury and kicked him out of the stable.
Since turning heel, Kingston and Woods have been riding a wave of fan hate, and took a moment to rile up the crowd as Raw rolled through Cleveland this week.
As the jeers rained down, The New Day referenced NFL star Myles Garrett’s bombshell trade request and desire to leave the Cleveland Browns.
“Some of ya’ll are booing… people who boo the truth are called liars,” Woods began, standing in the middle of the ring.
“As a matter of fact, you’re booing us like we want to be here anyway.”
At that moment, Kingston jumped in.
“We can’t wait to get the hell out of Cleveland, just like Myles Garrett.”
The brutal jab, which drew jeers, was also referenced on commentary.
“Too soon, too soon,” the announcers said, with Pat McAfee, a former NFL kicker, writing the same on X.
Delivering a line like that is an easy way to get cheap heat with the crowd, and is reminiscent of something that a heel Rock, or JBL, would have said in years gone by.
The fact it came just hours after Garrett, the NFL’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, requested a trade, no doubt meant it stung even more.
In a statement shared on Monday, the star defensive end cited his desire to challenge for Super Bowls as the reason he wanted to leave the Browns.
“As a kid dreaming of the NFL, all I focused on was the ultimate goal of winning a Super Bowl – and that goal fuels me today more than ever,” Garrett wrote.
“My love for the community of Northeast Ohio and the incredible fanbase of the Cleveland Browns has made this one of the toughest decisions of my life. These past eight years have shaped me into the man that I am today.
“While I’ve loved calling this city my home, my desire to win and compete on the biggest stages won’t allow me to be complacent.”
Cleveland will be losing their best NFL player soon, and much to the annoyance of the Raw crowd on Monday, Kingston and Woods also backed up their trash talk.
With the help of Logan Paul, the duo picked up a win in their match against Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee.