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'Something's Gotta Change!" Xavier Woods Blows up after Tag Team Title Match on Raw

The Judgment Day took advantage of a distraction to retain their World Tag Team Championships
Rick Ucchino|
Could this be the end of the New Day?
Could this be the end of the New Day? | wwe.com

Outside interference cost the New Day their coveted 13th reign as World Tag Team Champions in WWE.

Finn Balor and JD McDonagh defeated Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston on the 9/16 episode of Raw thanks in large part to their Judgment Day cohorts.

Just as Woods appeared to be closing in on the win for his team, Carlito, Dominik Mysterio and Liv Morgan came down to the ring. They were met by members of the LWO and a brawl ensued. Kofi Kingston then climbed to the top rope and took everyone out with a trust fall.

Woods hit a big elbow on McDonagh and had him beat, but the ref was busy with all the chaos unfolding outside the ring. This allowed JD enough time to recoup. He tagged in Finn Balor and held down Woods for a Coup de Grace. Naturally the ref was around this time to count the three for Balor.

It was the first successful title defense for the Judgment Day since they won the gold from Awesome Truth back on June 24.

After the match was over, a visibly frustrated Xavier Woods told Kingston that, 'something's gotta change' before leaving the ring.

Back from commercial break, we see Woods berating the LWO for getting involved in their match. He blamed them for costing New Day the World Tag Team Championships. Kofi rushes in to inform Woods that he asked them to have their back in the event that Judgment Day played the numbers game.

Woods, who earlier in the night respectfully asked Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley to not get involved in their business, went off on his long-time tag team partner. Questioning why Kofi no longer believes that New Day are good enough to win on their own and why Woods was not informed of the plan to involve the LWO.

Kofi seemed to cut Woods deep when he revealed that his motivation for seeking help was due to New Day no longer having Big E watching their back.

There's been tension building between Kofi and Woods for weeks now. After nearly 10 years together... could this possibly be the beginning of the end for the New Day?

You can follow Rick Ucchino on X and on Instagram: @RickUcchino

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Rick Ucchino
RICK UCCHINO

Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com

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