Wrestling's 13 Greatest African-American Stars

2. The New Day

WWE Dwayne The Rock Johnson
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The New Day's appearance in such exalted company is truly the stuff of miracles. And it's all thanks to the power of negativity.

When the trio of Big E., Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods were lumped together in a dated, borderline-offensive 'positive preacher' gimmick with baby-blue singlets to boot, many quite rightly prophesied a very dark future for the bright New Day. From the first...er, day, fans were against the act. But only because it was utter utter sh*t.

Preaching to a choir of boos, it was fairly obvious the idea had tanked big time. Ironically, those jeers proved a godsend.

Turning heel saved The New Day. Free to embrace their most irritating leanings, E. et al. soon found favour thanks to their immense creativity. A trombone helped. So did fantastic matches, as people were able to see, well, the Woods for the trees.

Four years later, they've become the longest reigning WWE Tag Team champions in history, multi-million dollar merchandise movers, and amongst the most popular stables the company has seen. And to think they were touted as the new Nation of Domination.

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Editorial Team
Editorial Team

Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.