WWE: The New Day’s top 5 moments of the 2010’s

Kofi Kingston’s meteoric rise as the WWE Champion was one of the biggest stories in wrestling this year, but this was just as big of a year for The New Day as a collective.

On July 14, 2014, Xavier Woods offered Kofi Kingston and Big E a proposition on an episode of Raw. At the time, the two were floundering at the by their own admission. Woods declared that they could not  “move ahead by shaking hands, kissing babies and singing and dancing like a puppet.” He continued, “together it is our time to find purpose because we do not ask any longer.”

That fall, WWE started airing vignettes for the new trio and The New Day was born. They made their in-ring debut on the Nov. 28, 2014 episode of SmackDown. Honestly, this felt like another attempt to arbitrarily put Black wrestlers together because the company didn’t have any other ideas for them.

However, The New Day became one of the most unconventional, authentic, and successful Black factions in all of wrestling. Their achievements set them apart as one of the greatest tag teams of all time, but what makes them so special is their initiative to be themselves in an industry full of dated stereotypes.

Kofi’s accomplishments as a single competitor will always grant him recognition among some fans, but we shouldn’t understate just how much The New Day have overcome together. As such, these are five of their best moments to date.