WWE: Reviewing The New Day’s best career moments
The New Day has brought joy to the WWE Universe for six straight years. Here we look back at their most remarkable moments.
The New Day is, without doubt, one of the greatest factions of all-time. Their milestones over the years have been a pleasure to watch inside and outside of the ring. It is virtually impossible for a gimmick to remain the same year after year without getting stale, which is a true testament to how good the New Day has been. For now, the brand split has placed a temporary split of the faction with Big E staying on SmackDown, while Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston were moved to Raw.
This move sent shockwaves throughout the WWE Universe, many feeling that the group was gone forever. In a glass half full fashion, this just means the New Day is available to both brands in their respective ways. While we await what the future holds for the group, there are a plethora of memories that will live forever. In honor of “The Best of The New Day” being released this week on the WWE Network, here we’ll get nostalgic and look at some of the New Day’s greatest moments over the years.
The New Day goes one on one with the great one
Not many can hang on the mic with The Rock, The New Day did just that. If you let them tell it, they made The Rock break character even. This was a great clash of two different eras. It’s hard enough to book the great one with his tight schedule. This was during a period of time when The Rock was still making regular appearances. The fact the New Day got a segment with The Rock speaks to their staying power and how important they are to the company. The trio not only showed they can keep up with The Rock, but they did the heavy lifting during this segment. At this point, they were well on their way to becoming the most entertaining act in the company.
Rallying the troops
Remember that time WWE took all their tag teams and put them in a traditional Survivor Series match? Yes, that was bad and 10 on 10 matches should be banned for good. However, this segment in the go-home episode of Raw is unforgettable. The Braveheart themed gear didn’t impress the New Day’s teammates whatsoever. However, Big E giving the war cry for Team Raw reminiscent of the popular film got everyone on their feet in attendance.
Time travel
I get it, some hated this segment. But that doesn’t mean it’s not some of the group’s best work. Turning a brief feud with the Vaudevillains into comedy gold. This segment highlighted the trio’s greatness and their ability to turn a negative into a positive. Even poking fun at Kingston’s old Jamaican accent gimmick. In a sense, the New Day made the Vaudevillains relevant with segments like this one. But more importantly, proved they could carry the promo work whenever called upon.
Every Halloween Segment
This trio never disappoints on Halloween. Every year they pay homage to superstars of the past. They’ve dressed as the many in-ring personas of Charles Wright, as well as Jimmy Hart, Brother Love, and Akeem the African Dream. One of their best throwbacks was showing up to Smackdown as the Brood (Gangrel, Edge, and Christian), entrance and all. The group adding their spin on other WWE characters adds fuel to their comedic power. While not a Halloween segment, the New Day’s mockery of the Wyatt Family ranks high in some of their best work during their six-year run.
The United States open challenge
Heel New Day is grossly underrated. Some of their best work came when they were obnoxious characters annoying the entire roster. Rising through the ranks of the company during the “New Day sucks” rants and egging on the audiences from town to town. Similar to their dance with The Rock, the group squared off with another GOAT. Remixing John Cena’s theme song to the tune of “new US champ,” and completely countering Cena’s serious demeanor all segment. The group showed they could be effective in any facet of the card while being tag team champions. This was also during their feud with the returning Dudley Boyz, which one could argue gave the group legitimacy early on into their tag title reign.
An encounter with the King
The New Day can carry a segment like no other. During this particular moment, they got an assist from royalty. King Booker came out to congratulate the group on becoming five-time champions, and welcome them to the five timers club. While fans had grown accustomed to seeing Booker on commentary, seeing “King Booker” was a treat. Kingston and Woods were knighted brave and wise respectively, though Big E was shorted on anything other than big. Thus going “full Saxton” became something no one wanted association with. Fans got a spin-a-roonie from the Hall of Famer which is always a win.
Hosting Wrestlemania
Hosting Wrestlemania is an accomplishment only a few can claim. Creating Wrestlemania moments as the host is even more difficult. The New Day created moments up and down the card from the moment they stepped out in Final Fantasy-themed gear. Despite not being in action, the group got to announce one if not the biggest pop in Wrestlemania history, the return of the Hardy Boyz. They were the perfect choices to host and their announcement of the Hardy’s was a beautiful swerve.
Channeling Dragon Ball Z
Speaking of creating Wrestlemania moments, Dallas, Texas saw one of the more creative entrances in WWE history. The trio entered Jerry world through a giant-sized box of Booty O’s while donning Dragon Ball Z themed gear. Many might have forgotten their match against the League of Nations, but you will certainly remember the giant-sized cereal and the post-match legends moment. The group was joined by Hall of Famers Mick Foley, Shawn Michaels, and Stone Cold Steve Austin as they dispatched the League. They would then celebrate Stone Cold style while attempting to get the legends to dance. Even in defeat the New Day still felt like winners.
The Rap Battles
Yes, rap battles as in plural. Fans will remember the fourth of July segment as it was the harder-hitting of the two, but the trio officiating The Bar and Usos segment was gold as well. The rivalry with the Usos produced some of the best tag team matches in the past decade. The feud was aided by crafty promo work that often hit below the belt and broke kayfabe. This hilarious segment touched on the personal lives of the tag-teams in a comedic fashion. Another way the trio showcased they can entertain multiple styles.
Longest reigning tag champs
At nearly 500 days (478), the New Day were tag team champions. Breaking the record previously held by Demolition. Doing so in spectacular fashion by competing in two triple threat tag matches in one night against the companies best. This milestone is a big part of the legacy of the New Day along with their multiple title reigns. Being the longest reigning tag champs cements them amongst the greatest teams of all time, and honestly would be their biggest moment if it weren’t for one more feat.
Kofimania
While this is certainly an individual accomplishment for Kingston, it’s an even greater feat for the trio. For years in interviews, Woods and Big E manifested Kingston into the main event picture. Often times taking a back seat and sending Kingston to do singles work in open challenges, Money in the Bank matches, etc. The build-up to the Wrestlemania match, including both gauntlet matches on SmackDown is some of the best storytelling in the history of the company. The fact that everything happened organically and was influenced by the fans made it even more beautiful. Despite not being the main event that night, there’s no doubt, Kofi, winning the title was the biggest moment of the show. For many, match and moment of the year.
The New Day has had many incredible moments and created so much content in and outside of WWE. The group has a wildly entertaining podcast, and Xavier Woods has one of the most popular YouTube channels in existence. This list is subject to change because something tells me the trio will climb even higher ranks in the years to come. Now that we have the presence of the group on Raw and SmackDown, 2021 can be a year where the New Day finds even greater success to add to the long list.