Two legends 'mutually part ways' with WWE as decision made

The WWE appears to be going through a clearing out of their stars at present, as the organisation have announced a further two wrestlers to leave.

Across the past couple of weeks following WrestleMania 42, the WWE first announced the release of 22 wrestlers from their contracts.

This was swiftly followed by a social media post by Carlee Bright, another star of the sport, that she had been released from her contract with the organisation too.

Now, it has been announced that two legends of the WWE, which many fans will remember fondly, have parted ways with the organisation.

Reported by Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp and Cory Hays, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods have mutually decided to part ways with WWE.

New Day's Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods have mutually decided to part ways with WWE, Fightful Select and @Cory_Hays407 of Bodyslam have learned pic.twitter.com/4D8U0vDz5S

— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) May 2, 2026

Kingston signed a development deal with WWE 20 years ago and debuted on the main roster in 2008.

The Ghanaian-born star would become a huge name in the WWE and would hold multiple titles across his career, including four Intercontinental and three United States title reigns, as well as being a WWE Champion.

Meanwhile, Woods signed a developmental deal in 2010, with his main-roster debut coming in 2013, and from this point, he would also go on to experience success in the sport, as he would win the King of the Ring.

The pair were part of The New Day along with Big E, a group that debuted in July 2014, and they were originally introduced as happy-go-lucky black gospel superstars; however, they were widely rejected by fans.

New Day would then disappear from television for a period as the WWE prepared to pivot the group into villains and allow the athletes to incorporate their own personalities into it.

Upon their return the trio would become one of the most enduring acts in modern WWE.

The group would become the most successful tag-team run in modern WWE history, securing a record 13 tag-team championship reigns, including a record 483-day reign as Raw tag-team champions.

New Day utilised the "Freebird Rule", meaning the members would rotate tag title defences.

The trio would be no more after Big E suffered a broken neck in 2022, ending his in-ring career; however, Woods and Kingston continued as a tag team.

In February 2026 Woods announced that he had a shoulder injury and would be ruled out for a period, with the star yet to return prior to the announcement that he and the WWE were parting ways.

Meanwhile, Kingston has competed in the ring since the injury to Woods as he teamed with Grayson Walker on April 17 to try and win the WWE tag team titles; however, he would fail in this attempt.

Fans of the WWE will be disappointed to see New Day is no more with this announcement concerning Woods and Kingston, as it is a farewell to two of the sport's modern legends.