AEW's Kofi & Austin Creed Were Offered Non-Wrestling Opportunities Following WWE Exit

Kofi and Austin Creed were integral parts of WWE for years as The New Day, and the two (alongside Big E) were big merch movers for the promotion. Kofi and Creed's exit from WWE was especially surprising because of this, but according to the AEW World Trios Champions, they weren't worried about getting work after leaving.

According to Creed on "Close Up with Renee Paquette," the initial expectation after their parting with WWE was that they might just have some free time forced upon them, but that wasn't the case. "Not to sound pompous or anything, but our phones were ringing pretty quick and our schedule got filled pretty quick; not even with wrestling stuff, just with, like, anime conventions," Creed claimed. Because of that, they never felt worried they wouldn't be able to make a living, crediting their prominence in the gaming and anime spaces already. 

"So for that 90 days, it was just really nice to only do what we wanted to do — be our own bosses," Creed pointed out, adding that they also got to spend a lot of time with their families and still make occasional appearances at conventions. 

Kofi then weighed in, sharing how their experiences could serve as a useful lesson to other wrestlers. "I think, for me, it's like: have interests outside of wrestling, you know what I mean?" he explained, while clarifying that he doesn't mean wrestlers shouldn't focus on their career. "But there's also so much else to life! And, you know, having a family, to me, is like the greatest thing in life."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Close Up with Renee Paquette," and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.