10 years in, The New Day remains WWE's unparalleled master of feels

There’s an episode of the hit '90s sitcom "Family Matters" called “My Big Brother,” where Steve Urkel is paired up with a kid named 3J via the Big Brother program. As the two get to know each other, Urkel catches on to the fact that 3J can’t actually read. To confirm his theory, he asks 3J to recite the stats off a Michael Jordan trading card. 3J rattles them off, then can’t properly say the name of the card company, Upper Deck. When asked how he knew the stats, 3J simply replied, “I memorized 'em.” You can only squeeze so much into 22 minutes, so how he memorized them is up to the viewer to decide. But the why can’t be questioned: There’s a way watching Jordan made you feel.

You wanted to explore the nuts and bolts of it later because you knew what you’d seen was special.

There’s not a unit in professional wrestling that’s produced special feelings longer than the trio of Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods and Big E, known collectively as The New Day. Formed in July 2014 but introduced under their iconic moniker in November of the same year, the unit's ridiculous set of accolades — most notably its 12 shared WWE tag team title reigns — outnumber just about any group you can put together, but it’s the people they chose to be along the way that helped make them so revered.

All of which is why, if the wound were any fresher, Glade would sell it as scent. Advertised as a 10-year celebration of the trio, this past Monday's edition of "WWE Raw" saw Kingston and Woods at odds after months of miscommunication. Big E, sidelined from the ring since March 2022 after suffering a broken neck, came out to try and fix the family issues, only to be the one blamed for causing them. But it wasn’t him attacking or badmouthing his brothers, it was the pair feeling like he’d chosen to live his life outside of their wants and needs.

That power of positivity, while seemingly a detriment to the trio's latest swerve, has always been the most impressive thing about the team. In January 2023, San Antonio hosted the Royal Rumble, and sometime between the media day, community events and the Rumble itself, WWE set aside a private dinner for that year’s crop of NIL athletes. It was the first event I was invited to outside of the official media routine — there were a few local media members there, but none of the people I normally see at news conferences or hear on media calls. The actual restaurant was closed for the night, so the doorman led us through the dining area and down to the wine cellar to join the rest of the guests. As I descended the stairs, one of the first people I saw was Omos, WWE’s 7-foot-3 former collegiate basketball player. He was having a conversation with Big E, who looked toward the stairs and said casually, “What’s up, CeeHawk?” Though a bit stunned, I tried not to show it. I’d been with The Ringer for about three months and had no idea he knew who I was. But his real charm — the real focus he puts on the people who support him — came next. As we were shaking hands, he looked at my date and joked, “You’re Danny Trejo’s cousin, right?”

Here’s the former WWE Champion, one of the most accomplished professional wrestlers in the world, talking to us like we were the guests of honor.

As the night went on, E and I stepped away and he showed me the Rapsody-helmed “Ruby Bridges” music video from his "Our Heroes Rock!" project he produced with ESPN writer Andreas Hale and writer/director Jonathan Davenport. I asked him how he was doing, and he seemed really at peace, even if he’d wrestled his last match after suffering his neck injury. Even if the work changed, the work wasn’t going to stop. He returned to the dinner and chatted up the incoming NIL athletes, sharing his story as a former defensive tackle for the University of Iowa, then the opportunities allotted to him once he entered the ring. More than an ambassador for a company, Big E showed why he and his brothers in the New Day are ambassadors for living life and using your platform to celebrate, encourage and inspire others, from All-Americans to burgeoning writers and everyone in between.

Every member seems to have that ability to make you feel like you’re part of the show. As if you’re in on the fun. As if you’re providing the fun.

Mega Ran is one of wrestling’s most notable musicians. Most recently providing Shelton Benjamin’s AEW theme, the man born Raheem Jarbo credits The New Day’s attitude, principles and friendship as what got him back into wrestling almost a decade ago. As an influential figure in the worldwide gaming/convention scene, Ran has been hearing about former King of the Ring Xavier Woods’ plans for nerd-culture domination for over a decade. "[In the early 2010s] he sent me an email letting me know he was a fan, and that he’d wanted to use a song of mine in FCW, which would later become NXT," Ran says.

"[Later] in passing he told me about an idea he had about him and three friends forming a team of fun-loving, jovial characters, and though they had a rocky start, the group became a huge hit.”

One of the highlights of that hit was the infamous New Day/Usos rap battle, of which Ran was a creative contributor and crew member of team New Day. “Whenever our paths would cross on the road, I’d call up [Woods] and invite him to shows, or he would invite me to wrestling events," Ran says. "WrestleMania 31 in Santa Clara, California, was extra special, because during the weekend, my favorite wrestler, Macho Man Randy Savage, was getting inducted posthumously into the WWE Hall of Fame. Austin [Xavier Woods] invited me, like two days before the event, and I said, ‘Oh, hell yeah!’ ‘Bring a suit,’ he said. I’ve never made a WrestleMania trip without at least a nice shirt and shoes packed since then.

"The guys put their all into it, like they do everything that they touch. Triple H called them an example to the younger talent of trusting your gut and pouring yourself into whatever you’re given, and I try to do the same thing in my own life, whether it’s writing a song for a video-game level that no one may ever make it to or writing the song of my life. Enjoying and appreciating the journey will make for a better performance, every single time.”

As much fun as they are to their peers, it’s the children that have always been the biggest of the New Day experience. Collectively, Kofi Kingston might hold the record for “most tears shed following a wrestling match” with his historic WWE championship victory at WrestleMania 35, which caused even the toughest guys to get a bit weepy. While we as grown men celebrated, new realities suddenly existed for Black kids who never thought being WWE champion was possible. The bright colors, the unicorn iconography, the … cereal have always been presented in a way for the youngest of fans to process.

With projects like Woods’ breakthrough gaming project Up Up Down Down, Big E’s educational media, and Kofi bringing technology to new regions in Ghana, they’ve each found ways to make sure the next generation knows that they’re the future. When Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards producer Andria Parides handpicked the group for the program's 2023 edition — where they competed in a tug of war competition against fellow WWE talents and one lucky 8-year-old fan, with a pit of slime awaiting the loser — all the energy the New Day brought to the event, along with the behind-the-scenes moments, let Parides know she’d made the right choice. “They wanted to make sure it was just right," she says, "that our audience member had the time of her life.

"They wanted to make sure they sold the moment to feel over the top, and most of all, they wanted the crowd to feel their excitement, being on such an iconic brand. Truly, they are a producer’s dream. Xavier's massive grin the entire time he was on that stage is one I will always always remember. [He acted like a] kid in a candy shop! That show was the catalyst to begin an incredible relationship with them, and more specifically with Big E. The kindness, genuine care and creative prowess [among the group] are unparalleled and should be celebrated on not just anniversaries, but every day.”

The creative minds behind WaleMania, wrestling’s largest annual indoor block party, have made it a point to have the trio front and center.

Emilio Sparks, one third of the event’s braintrust, was the producer of The New Day podcast, which spawned plenty of viral clips, from the science of twins to the pushback against five-star classics. When Sparks got serious about the art of yoga, Big E was his first guest on his YouTube show, talking about all things body, mind and spirit. Both Kofi and Big E found themselves honored at separate WaleManias, with Kofi being saluted before his WrestleMania WWE championship match, and Big E shortly after stepping away from the ring. For all they’ve seen The New Day do, it’s really who they are that matters so much to producer Kazeem Famuyide and crew. “I’ve got a million stories about [them], but the best thing to know about them is each one of them is legitimately good people in an industry where many people have succeeded in spite of it,” Kaz says.

"I can’t help but think that during this current boom of the WWE, that those guys wouldn’t get their just due as folks who were as over an act as anybody. … But it’s who they are as folks that make me and anybody who ever been around them love them," Kaz says. "Woods’ mind is light years ahead of a ton of performers, as evidenced from what he’s done for content creators, but it’s how he always shows up for WaleMania and always connected with me on a human level is what I’m a fan of. Kofi is one of the greatest WWE superstars to ever live, but it’s our chats about fatherhood that I’m always a fan of. Big E is a one-of-one human athletic specimen, but he’s one of the most positive forces I’ve ever known in life.

"All that being said, they are still kind of underrated and won’t be truly appreciated until they are done. What they’ve done for Black wrestling fans and fans around the world is unquantifiable, and the fact that they are great folks on top of it is just icing on the cake. When I worked at WWE as a writer, it’s always a lot to learn and fast, but The New Day always protected me and made me feel like a real part of the team from Day 1. I’ll never forget that.”

After 10 years of celebrating power, perseverance and positivity, you can appreciate a shift, a change in direction from wrestling talent. You expect all-time performers to thrive, regardless of circumstance. But not seeing The New Day as the gesturing, gyrating gems they’ve always been is particularly tough, because the feelings they put on screen were so close to how they made you feel behind it. Woods' blueprint, Kofi’s wisdom and Big E’s energy helped create one of the all-time acts with some of the all-time moments in professional wrestling history. And while they might not rock with one another the same way as Monday's dramatic turn, The New Day will absolutely always rock.