WWE's New Day Take A Knee Before Their SmackDown Match

A dignified show of support.

By Jamie Kennedy /

WWE.com

WWE stars Kofi Kingston and Big E took a knee before their match against Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro on this week's episode of SmackDown.

Advertisement

Neither Michael Cole nor Corey Graves drew much attention to what the New Day boys were doing, but the pair dispensed with their usual hip gyrations and pancakes in favour of kneeling mid-ring and raising their right arms into the air.

This, obviously, was a dignified show of solidarity with the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement.

Advertisement

WWE, to their credit, didn't shy away from the gesture despite choosing not to make a big deal of it on television. An image of Kofi and Big E protesting injustice can be seen as the first pic from their match in SmackDown's photo gallery on the promotion's official website.

Various WWE Twitter accounts, including those for company content on FOX and the UK's BT Sport, also showed New Day's entrance as it happened on TV. Practically every thumbnail from their appearance shows the tag-team on one knee in the centre of the ring.

Advertisement

Fans on social media echoed their own support for the team's decision.