The New Day On How They Plan To Honor The Legacy Of Brodie Lee
Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods of the New Day joined the latest episode of WWE's The Bump. While discussing their recent Mortal Kombat inspired gear, Woods delved into their philosophy regarding wrestling gear.
"It is solely for us," Woods said. "But we know if we do something for ourselves, we're doing it for our people. The people we talk to, the people that live in these realms that we play in. When we were kids we would see things on the screen watching WWE and go 'this is so cool. This is so fun. But what would I do in the same position?'
"So now that we are in that position, we get to do exactly what we want to do. And all the kids that have that thought, they go 'these are our guys because they're doing what I want to do. They're wearing what I want to wear, wrestling how I want to wrestle. They're making the references I want to make.'
"So that's what it is. We're not your granddaddy's wrestlers, you know what I'm saying? We get in there, we hit hard, but we're going to entertain you first. First and foremost though, we're going to entertain ourselves."
The topic then turned to the late Brodie Lee (aka Luke Harper), a close friend of Kingston and Woods. They discussed his influence and their tributes to him.
"We were all very close to Harper," Kofi said. "It's still hard to believe he's gone. But the thing we can do in his honor is just to honor his name, honor his legacy, and the impact he had.
"We live a very unique lifestyle and it's very difficult at times. To have someone in the locker room like Luke Harper, it helped us to get through those difficult times and turn it into great times. Just having his presence there.
"He impacted so many people in so many positive ways. So the least we can do is honor his legacy, honor his name in any way we can. And let the world know just how special and how amazing of a person he was."
Kingston and Xavier were then asked about hosting WrestleMania 33 back in 2017. The duo talked about how they and Big E embraced the idea.
"Minutes are money. People will tell you that constantly," Woods said. "So the fact that we got to host WrestleMania. I mean on one hand its absurd within itself. It's not something you grow up as a kid saying 'oh I want to host WrestleMania.' It's not on the bingo card.
"But when we got offered the spot it was like, of course. It wasn't a regular thing at the time so were like in this weird tryout period of seeing if it worked for talent to host WrestleMania. So the fact that we not only got to do that but have the first moment of WrestleMania that year, in Final Fantasy 14 gear, it meant a lot to me.
"You don't plan for something like that," Kingston added. "There were a lot of people upset they wouldn't get to see us on WrestleMania wrestling in a match. Like really upset.
"We appreciated the passion but it was like 'hold on a minute.' There's only a handful of people who have hosted WrestleMania. So the fact that we were trusted enough to go out there and hold that role was incredible.
"And then to deliver on top of that; to bring the Hardy's back. To be in Final Fantasy gear. As a kid if you had told while I was playing Final Fantasy in middle school, that one day you'd be wearing Final Fantasy gear? Hosting WrestleMania and bringing out the Hardys?
"I'd have looked at you and asked 'what are you on right now?' But you look back on it and it's like, we did that! So it was an honor to be able to do that, just so cool"
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit WWE's The Bump and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription