7 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE Raw (23 Sept - Results & Review)

2. Woods’ Meltdown Continues


All the pieces in the New Day disintegration story are falling nicely into place, with Monday’s offering being particularly well done.

Xavier Woods’ growing frustration at New Day’s futility is justified, but fans learned Monday that it likely is rooted in a different inadequacy. Woods told Kofi Kingston that they needed to ditch all the silliness (Booty-O’s, pancakes, unicorns, and Francesca) and get serious about winning again. Given the ball, Xavier immediately stepped up to American Made… and then lost his cool during the match against the Creed Brothers, which led to the team’s downfall.

Backstage later, Woods bristled at the LWO trying to apologize for last week’s shenanigans, and he let slip that he felt slighted by all the former world champions (Rey Mysterio, Finn Balor, and even Kofi) all having their own things going on and disrespecting him because he’s never held a singles title. That might seem a stretch, but consider that Woods is part of a decade-old group where the other two men won world titles and have held midcard titles as well. It’s entirely plausible that that reality would have an impact on Xavier’s psyche.

Throw in New Day’s struggles (three years without tag team gold) and you have a recipe for Woods growing frustrated at his station. Even his gear reflects his souring mood, opting for black and gray while Kofi continues to wear the bright, flashy outfits.

There’s no clear indication of where this is headed – a breakup, a returning Big E, a peaceful resolution – and that’s perfectly fine. In fact, that’s what makes this story (for all its bumps along the way) such a solid one.

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Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.