10 Times WWE Turned Trash Into Treasure
7. The New Day
That first introductory vignette was chronic, maintaining Kofi Kingston's unimpressive form in this department. As a solo act, Kofi dealt out beach justice to Jamaican bullies (well, white American bullies in "Jamaica"); as part of the debuting New Day, Kofi et al., backed by gospel singers, promised to unleash the power of positivity, drawing, as everybody expected, a negative reaction in these ever-cynical times.
After leaning heavily (and not obliviously) into the obnoxiousness of the act, New Day turned face almost exactly as they had turned heel. The hyper-annoying bit turned back on itself to become oddly charming. It was clear, wonderfully so, that the stable were having the time of their lives out there. The New Day's act often comes across as juvenile, and repetitive, and far more concerned with banter over content. Little of it is funny ha-ha, but there's something so vibrant and energetic - infectious - about the act that compels audiences to it three years later, which, in this 3 Hour RAW Era, feels like a lifetime.
Consider the RAW landscape as the New Day entered relevance. Adam Rose, while on the way out, was still A Thing. Ryback was defeating Mark Henry. King Barrett was still in the midst of a push.
Fun, creativity, and palpable, all-too-rare agency, not positivity, has powered the act's staying power. They could wrestle The Usos tomorrow, still find meat on the bones, and then sell it as merch.