Matt Hardy Looks Back On KofiMania In Wake Of New Day's WWE Release

Following Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods of the New Day being shockingly released from WWE, TNA star Matt Hardy has reflected on Kingston's iconic world title victory over Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 35 and the organic growth of KofiMania in 2019.

Speaking on "The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy," the 30-year veteran shed light on the respect Kingston had backstage during his time with WWE and gave credit to the company for pulling the trigger on his world title win at WrestleMania after becoming one of the hottest performers in the sport that year.

"I mean Kofi is a beloved figure. I've never heard anyone have a bad word to say about Kofi, right? And considering he was a beloved figure, everybody was very happy for him," he stated. "He was starting to get hot and things were happening and things were changing and it just it so much paralleled the Daniel Bryan, Bryan Danielson run because it wasn't supposed to happen but he was so hot and the people were so behind him. I mean, they were just supercharged behind him. And the fact that Vince [McMahon] and the powers that be actually heard this and they acknowledged it and they rolled with it and they allowed it to happen organically and they followed through with it. I still commend them for doing that."

Hardy continued to speak on the New Day's impact on the WWE Universe, explaining that their success and relatability inspired an entire generation of young fans for years to come.

"I think if you're a young black kid watching the New Day, you go, 'Whoa, these are three guys, I love that they're together and they're representing people like me' ... Big E ended up becoming the champion, Kofi ended up becoming the champion, which no one would have ever guessed that when he was around especially in the beginning," he explained. "It's very nice to have inspiring figures like that people can relate to that look like them and they see them and go 'Wow if they can do it, then that gives me hope that I can do it too,' and that's very important."

Kingston and Woods were reportedly asked to take a significant pay cut from WWE, but the decorated tag team declined the offer and decided to leave the company instead. Additionally, news broke last week that other talent in WWE were also asked to accept a reduced salary, but those who were approached were only stars that the promotion's creative team didn't have interest in utilizing going forward.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.