Kofi Kingston and Austin Creed, formerly known as Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods of WWE's New Day, have publicly confirmed that WWE offered them a pay cut of more than 50 percent before their departure. Speaking after their AEW debut, the pair, now performing as The New Level, said they were blindsided by the offer and given no clear explanation.
According to reporting from F4WOnline and Fightful, the reduction was tied to TKO's policy of lowering compensation for talent not featured regularly on television. The two said they were also pitched reduced on-screen roles, and described walking away from WWE, their home for a combined 36 years, as an easy decision.
Kingston and Creed made a surprise debut at AEW All In at Wembley Stadium, winning the AEW World Trios Championships alongside Swerve Strickland in a Trios Roulette match. They were booked to make their first defense against The Rascalz on the September 2 episode of Dynamite.