The New Level opened up about their departure from WWE and why AEW was the right destination for the next chapter of their careers.
Kofi and Austin Creed, formerly known as Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods in WWE, made their AEW debuts at All In: London, joining Swerve Strickland as the wild card team in the Trios Roulette Royale. The trio went on to win the match and capture the AEW World Trios Championships.
Speaking during the post-All In press conference, Creed was asked about his and Kofi’s WWE departure. He compared their time with the company to a relationship in which the two sides eventually grew apart.
“I always think about this like personalities and relationships. Different people have different personalities. Those personalities can grow. Sometimes they grow together, sometimes they grow apart. There’s no bad, there’s no good. You are excited about the opportunities you had, the things that you learned, but that relationship no longer was one that we felt we needed to be in.”
Creed went on to explain that tag team wrestling played a major role in their decision to join AEW. He said being part of a tag team was something he dreamed about as a child and praised AEW for putting an emphasis on cultivating the division.
“So to be able to come to a place that admires that, that wants to cultivate that with legendary tag teams, with young tag teams so when those legendary ones are gone, the younger ones are fulfilling the prophecy and they’re keeping everything going. That’s what’s important to us, so to be able to come here and do that, and that is why we’re here,” Creed said.
Kofi echoed those sentiments, describing AEW’s tag team division as one of the greatest in wrestling history and saying they want the opportunity to mix it up with the talent on the roster.
When discussing their WWE past, Kofi said he isn’t interested in looking backward and instead wants to focus on the future. That led to a humorous moment when he accidentally referred to Creed as “Woods,” drawing laughter from those in attendance.
As for their new team name, Creed said “New Level” works in a variety of ways, pointing to them reaching a new level in AEW and facing a new level of competition.
Kofi described arriving in AEW as surreal after watching the company from afar, while Creed compared the experience to the first day at a new school. Despite being in unfamiliar surroundings, Creed said the welcoming atmosphere reinforced his belief that joining AEW was the right move for their careers.
Strickland also discussed what teaming with Kofi and Creed meant to him. He said he had watched the pair since he was younger and specifically pointed to Kofi’s WWE Championship victory as something that inspired him to believe he could become a main-event talent himself.
During his own media scrum, AEW President Tony Khan addressed the process of bringing Kofi and Creed into the company. Khan said he was careful not to contact them until their 90-day notices had expired, adding that he waited several additional days before reaching out.
For those interested, you can check out our complete AEW All In: London Results 8/30/26 here at WrestlingHeadlines.com.
