What The New Day's Split Means For Big E's WWE Push

Here's what WWE has planned for E with Kingston and Woods on Raw.

By Andy H Murray /

WWE.com

WWE pulled a genuine shock on last week's episode of SmackDown, announcing that New Day members Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods were being sent to Raw without Big E.

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The draft pick came just seconds after Kingston and Woods had become SmackDown Tag Team Champions. The New Day, who have been a trio since July 2014, looked despondent in the ring, and are now set for a farewell bout with Shinsuke Nakamura, Sheamus, and Cesaro on tonight's SD.

Dave Meltzer writes in this week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter that WWE split the group as they want to keep E away from the trio's collective act and make him a more serious character as his singles push continues. This has been a frequent topic of discussion since E first struck out on his own a few months ago, with Booker T claiming the former Intercontinental Champion needed to "shed a few things for people to look at him like the World Champion," adding that "trying to be The New Day is not gonna work for him as far as working at the top of the card."

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Woods and Kingston are now the Raw Tag Team Champions, having traded belts with the Street Profits on Monday's show.