WINC Watchlist: The New Day's Greatest Matches

Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, and Big E formed one of the most iconic stables in WWE history, leading to some of the best tag team matches of the modern era, in 2014. The New Day was formed on a July episode of "WWE Raw," but made their official debut during a November edition of "WWE SmackDown." Through the sheer "power of positivity," along with ridiculous antics, New Day won their way into the hearts of fans.

New Day won their first WWE Tag Team Championships at Extreme Rules in 2015, and would defend the gold throughout their numerous reigns under freebird rules. The group would also support each other throughout their singles careers, including WWE Championship and King of the Ring victories.

When it comes to that support, a big honorable mention on this list would be the gauntlet match on the March 26, 2019 episode of "WWE SmackDown," in the midst of Kofi-Mania, where Big E and Woods won the opportunity to get Kingston into a WWE Championship match against Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 35. Woods and Big E defeated The Good Brothers, Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura, The Bar, The Usos (via forfeit), and Bryan himself, alongside Rowan.

From giant boxes of "Booty O's" cereal on the WrestleMania stage, to Francesca the trombone, to Big E's gyrations, the stable was a staple of WWE as a trio for almost ten years. Tragically, Big E suffered a career-ending neck injury during a match in 2022, and New Day was never the same. Woods and Kingston would turn heel during the official 10-year anniversary celebration of New Day on an episode of "Raw," and ousted Big E.

Prior to the heel turn, Woods, Kingston, and Big E had a plethora of exciting, great matches together. There may be too many to name, but we've ranked five of what we'd consider the greatest.

The New Day had one of the most impressive runs with the tag team championships in WWE history when they captured the belts for the second time at SummerSlam in 2015. While that fatal four-way victory at the "Biggest Party of the Summer" would begin their 483 day-long reign, the match where they dropped the titles is one of their best. Kingston and Big E lost the titles to Sheamus and Cesaro, then known as The Bar, at Roadblock: End of the Line in 2016.

Cesaro was hot right out of the gate, immediately nailing Kingston with a dropkick, then taking him out with uppercuts in the corners. The Bar would tag in and out, dominating Kingston and keeping him away from Big E. The challengers' strong offense would be a big theme of the match.

While The Bar dominated the first portion, New Day would attempt to rally when Big E took out Sheamus with a spear, and they almost had the match won with a kick from Woods on the outside into a Big Ending. The match went back-and-forth, until Sheamus hit a Brogue Kick to Big E on the outside and Cesaro got Kingston with the swing, into a Sharpshooter. Kingston technically tapped out, but Woods distracted the referee.

In the end, The Bar used sneaky tactics to get the victory, when they faked the tag. Sheamus remained legal, unbeknownst to Kingston, who hit the Trouble in Paradise to Cesaro, and Sheamus was able to roll him up for the win.

The New Day would go on to prove they didn't need gold around their waists to remain over with fans, though they would be champions again numerous times. How good their Roadblock match was is a prime example of just how great New Day could make others look.

Survivor Series used to be all about brand supremacy, which was the case in the 2017 match where New Day faced off against the recently-reunited Shield, but the three-on-three bout was different, and much more exciting, than a traditional Survivor Series match. While there didn't seem to be a chance that Big E, Kingston, and Woods would emerge victorious over Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Dean Ambrose, they certainly tried, and it turned out to be an excellent match. It was yet another time New Day kicked off a PLE in a bbig way.

The match had plenty of good action, including brawls at multiple points throughout, but the stables seemed to always have an answer to one another's offense. To kick off the second half of the bout, Big E hit a huge spear to Ambrose to the floor. Woods was able to dodge one Superman Punch by Reigns, but walked into another, but Reigns wasn't able to hit the spear, and the match rolled on.

New Day looked to have the match won with back-to-back splashes on Ambrose, followed by double Midnight Hours to Ambrose and Rollins, but Reigns hit a spear to Kingston to break up the pin attempt. The match broke down into another brawl, but in the end, it was the Shield to hit the triple power bomb on the second rope to Kingston to win.

It was a match that probably wouldn't have happened outside of Survivor Series and the fact New Day lead the siege from "SmackDown" to "Raw," but it was a great, 21-minute plus bout that showcased what both stables could do. New Day hung in there with the Shield in a match that may not often be remembered off the top of fans' minds, but is certainly worth a watch.

The New Day and their antics were made for gimmick matches, and at TLC 2015, they put their tag team championships on the line in a triple threat ladder match against The Usos and The Lucha Dragons. While it was Big E and Kingston to defend the titles, New Day retained thanks to the help of the man advantage in Woods, who was also excellent on commentary.

Ladder matches are best known for being spot-fests, and when you add in the tag team aspect, that holds true. While all teams got in their big spots, the champions had plenty of time to shine, and made the others look great by selling perfectly for their big moments.

Big E provided plenty of muscle throughout, from brutalizing one of the Usos in the corner with a ladder to allow Kingston to hit a dropkick through the rungs, to bench pressing both Sin Cara and Kalisto off a ladder while being stuck underneath it.

In the final act, there were moments when an Uso or Lucha Dragons' victory seemed certain, even after a Salina Del Sol by Kalisto from the top of the ladder, the most viral spot of the match, tried to put a stop to that. With Kalisto climbing the ladder in the ring, Woods jumped up from commentary, declaring there was no disqualification, and hit Kalisto in the back with his trombone. The move allowed Kingston to scale the ladder and retrieve New Day's titles.

The match proved to be an excellent opener of the 2015 premium live event, during a time where New Day were reaching their heyday. While all the teams shined in the bout, it was Woods, Kingston, and Big E to emerge with their titles in tow.

Once upon a time, WWE used to run matches on its pre-shows ahead of premium live events, especially big ones like SummerSlam when not everything could go on the main card. Before SummerSlam 2017 officially got underway, New Day and The Usos faced-off, in one of the best pre-show matches to date, for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships. It would be Big E and Woods to defend the titles.

The latest match in what would become a longstanding rivalry got plenty of time, with the teams going over 19 minutes. The Usos were gunning for their fourth reign with the titles, but the New Day, who once held the gold for over 400-some days, weren't letting them have the championships that easily.

The Usos fought hard, with Jey initially isolating Woods well away from Big E to start out. The challengers controlled a good portion of the beginning of the bout, until a turning point where Woods hit a big counter, driving Jey face-first into the mat. Both men got the hot tag, but it was Big E to go to work. In an impressive spot, Woods was the man to hoist Big E on his shoulders and slam him on to Jey in the middle of the ring.

The Usos tried to rally with a double spinebuster to Big E, followed by a hip attack in the New Day's corner, allowing for Woods to tag back in and hit a backstabber to Jimmy off Big E's body. Woods hit a Shining Wizard, but it wasn't enough to put Jey away. New Day hit the Up Up Down Down, but at the last second, Jimmy broke up the fall. The Usos had one last burst of offense, culminating in the Double Uce, and were able to pin Big E to win the titles.

In what is widely regarded by many as New Day's best match, it was Big E and Woods to take on Jimmy and Jey Uso in a Hell in a Cell match in 2017 for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships. The teams had traded the championships back-and-forth over the course of the year, so the stipulation was actually perfect for this match. Despite New Day's loss, the bout was historic, as it was the first time the tag belts had been defended in the structure.

It was a perfect blend of comedy, thanks to New Day, and brutality. The teams wasted zero time getting under the ring to arm themselves, with kendo sticks, chairs, and chains. Comedy props were used as weapons throughout, including multiple trombones, as well as a cowbell and gong. The Usos rallied and brought the extreme to the match, however, with brutal kendo stick spots. In one impressive spot sans weapons, Big E hit a Rock Bottom-like move to Jimmy from the apron, and Woods caught him as he was falling to hit a back breaker. They hit an Up up Down Down shortly after, but Jey saved the match.

Elsewhere, New Day trapped Jey in the corner with kendo stick stuck through the links in the cage. The Usos responded to the move with handcuffs and a kendo stick spot of their own, where they brutalized Woods as he was hung by his wrists from the ring post.

In the end, the Usos hit the double Uso Splash, compete with a chair laid out across Woods, for the victory. Woods and Big E's comedic antics amidst the brutal nature of the match made for a unique, 22-minute bout, and it was one of the best matches in the teams' iconic feud.