Xavier Woods On Why People Should Appreciate WWE

WWE SmackDown Superstar Xavier Woods, who is currently out of action for a few more month after suffering an Achilles injury last October, recently spoke with ESPN while at the Chel Gaming Challenge during NHL All-Star Weekend in St. Louis.

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Woods recently became a hockey fan and is trying to learn a lot while spending a lot of time with the sport. He recently told WWE that he'd do "anything hockey" when it came to do promotional appearances during his downtime.

"I told WWE when I got hurt that I'd do anything hockey," Woods said. "Please dear lord, help me go to hockey stuff."

Woods has been out of action while partners Big E and Kofi Kingston have held the SmackDown Tag Team Titles for another title run by The New Day. The group debuted in 2014 and has held the blue brand titles 5 times, plus the red brand titles 2 times. Woods was asked if there was a moment when he realized that the three Superstars were really getting over as The New Day.

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"It's when people started chanting, 'New Day Sucks.' I was told by my first trainer that if people can make fun of you, and other people know they're making fun of you, then you're good," Woods said.

Woods also made interesting comments on how WWE Superstars don't get the advantage of receiving TV scripts days in advance, and how they don't find out what they're doing until a few hours before showtime. He was asked if there is any crossover between hockey and pro wrestling fans.

"Oh definitely," Woods answered. "Everybody has some tie to wrestling, either it was their grandpa taking them to matches or their stepmom being really into it. Everyone has some sort of wrestling story, and when they understand what wrestling is, they have a different appreciation for it. Look, it's 2020. We get it. Wrestling is what wrestling is. And then we'll hear people saying they just watch UFC and not the 'fake stuff.' Well, the dragons on Game of Thrones are not actually dragons. And in shows that are in television, you have months or years to write a script, the actors then get those scripts. They go over their lines. They shoot the scenes 30 times. And then they make their best cuts from all of these, and produce their 12-episode shows.

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"Our show is on 52 weeks a year. We don't get scripts days in advance; we find out what we're doing at like 5 p.m., and then go and perform it at 8 p.m. It could change in the ring. It can change during a live shot, in front of a live audience. We have to tell a story through words and through physicality as well. Once people get that, they realize, 'Oh, this is difficult. I should really appreciate it.'"

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