Kofi, Austin Creed reveal they were blindsided by WWE, asked to take 'more than 50%' pay cut

AEW All In 2026 delivered as one of the year's best professional wrestling events this past Sunday in London. On the grand stage of the world-famous Wembley Stadium, one of the annual spectacle's biggest moments was the debut of Kofi and Austin Creed — now known as The New Level after spending years in WWE as Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods of The New Day.

The legendary duo wasn't advertised for the pay-per-view event, but instead made their arrival as a surprise entrant in the promotion's first-ever Trios Roulette Royale match for the AEW Trios Championships. Alongside Swerve Strickland, Kofi and Creed pulled off the win to become the new champions on only their first night on the job.

Kofi and Creed parted ways with WWE in a shocking development in May after a 12-year run teaming together, in addition to teaming with Big E. While Big E remained with the company as a retired wrestler-turned-analyst, Kofi and Creed were asked to take significant pay cuts when it came time to negotiate their contracts.

Speaking on Monday's edition of "The Ariel Helwani Show," they revealed that they only officially signed with AEW a day before All In. Regarding their WWE departure, the reported 50% pay-cut ask was incorrect: it was higher, according to Kofi.

"We just thought the terms that they wanted us to perform under were not fair based on what we brought to the table, based on what we're worth, based on the knowledge and prowess we have as performers and wrestlers," Kofi told Uncrowned. "What we can give back to the younger people and do in entertainment. Being able to go out there and garner a reaction as good guys or bad guys, no matter the situation. We took a lot of great pride in being Swiss Army knives. Whatever the situation was, we would make it great and make it entertaining. Compensation was definitely a big part, for sure, but more so, we wanted to work.

"I will say, it was more than 50%. It was more. The compensation is a big part of it, for sure, but the bigger part is being able to go out and live your dream in a way you want to live it out and be appreciated for it. We took it all into consideration, and we knew this was the only path to take."

Creed chimed in afterward when asked if there were any farewell messages from his longtime wrestling home. "Nope," he said when asked whether he received any thank-yous or calls upon leaving the company.

The process of adjusting to post-WWE life hit The New Level immediately, and even now, Kofi still struggles to call his longtime best friend "Creed" rather than "Woods" after having to leave the "Xavier Woods" name behind in WWE.

There was plenty of uncertainty in the early stages of their unemployment, said Kofi, who hadn't been a free agent in 20 years.

"This is so arrogant to say, but I'm just going to say it. I don't mean it in, like, a cocky way, but when you have the caliber of the career that we've had collectively as a group, you feel like you would not have to be in a position where you'd have to like, go in bet on yourselves again. But here we were," Kofi said.

"We found ourselves in that exact position, and as a father, if we didn't try to do this, if we didn't follow our hearts, how can I go back and tell my kids to go follow their dreams? To believe in themselves. To block out what people are saying about you and how they feel about you, and believe in yourself.

"If we didn't do that, I would feel like such a hypocrite, and I know Woods — Creed — feels the same way. That's going to take awhile; this time I caught myself. I had to change his name in my phone and everything. Like, bro, it's been a process. It's really trying to recalculate and recalibrate, but that's also a beautiful part of the whole process is being able to be reborn in a way. From a career standpoint, from a standpoint of having fun, from the standpoint of the uncertainty."

Ultimately, AEW was always the perfect landing spot for the all-time great tag team, said Creed. They never spoke to any other company before signing, largely because of the great tag scene AEW has cultivated throughout its existence.

In WWE, the tag-team division typically goes through waves of value for the company, and at its highest point in the past 15 years, Kofi and Creed were at the forefront. Injuries to their trio and the divisional fluctuation changed that, as they — and every other team — fell down the totem pole in recent years.

At AEW All In, specifically, the tag division was put on full display with a single image, coming directly after the current champions and all-time greats, Christian Cage and Adam Copeland, successfully defended against The Young Bucks.

"When it came to tag-team wrestling, it really wasn't a priority [in WWE], so we looked across the pond and saw the Bucks, FTR, Cope and Christian, Private Party, The Dogs, all these tag-teams having bangers," Kofi said. "'Man, what if we could be involved with that?' They look like they're having so much fun. You watch AEW pay-per-views, and I'm jumping out of my seat like a fan again. It excites me to watch that show.

"We're thinking, 'What if we could be part of that and add ourselves as one of, if not the greatest tag-team in history?' That was really the determining factor. Let's go and try to do what we love to do and feel passionate about our craft and feel like we're able to give in a way that is significant and matters. To go have bangers every night. That's what this is supposed to be. You're not supposed to go to work and feel frustrated with whatever is going on. You want to be able to have time to have matches that are incredible and entertaining. That's what the goal was."

Creed added to Kofi's sentiment as he examined the landscape in AEW. Despite holding WWE tag-team gold 12 times, there is still plenty more he sees for their future.

With all the fresh options at their disposal, it really is a tag-team playground of riches.

"We have a lot of friends over there, a lot of good people who said a lot of good things about it. But again, I know we probably sound like broken records to go back to the idea of having such a robust tag division and that being what our real focus is in this," Creed said.

"It just made a lot of sense to us, because watching those matches, watching those stories they get to tell — nobody is really doing it like that for tag-team wrestling. So it really just makes a lot of sense for us in that respect.

"I genuinely believe that this is the best tag-team division possibly ever. Like that shot at All In of all the tag-teams in the ring, that's some of the greatest tag-teams, I think, of our generation, so, possibly, when we're all done, maybe of all time, you know? And when are we going to get a chance to do something like that again? When has anyone ever done that in actuality? So, it really feels like, for the next duration, tag-team wrestling is going to be — they're eating well if they love tag wrestling."