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Let me begin by saying that there's absolutely no replacing Xavier Woods. His value cannot be overstated, because of his crossover appeal, and you can hear Korey Gunz and Tom Colohue of Sportskeeda sing his praises in our YouTube podcast:
But at the same time, it is unfortunate indeed that Xavier Woods will be out for many months with an injury. It is an Achilles Tendon tear and an injury of this nature keeps a Superstar out for up to 9 months.
As we have seen in the past, like when Big E was injured, WWE is not exactly averse to the idea of introducing short-term replacements in The New Day. It just allows us to see a new side to certain Superstars, as we did with Kevin Owens.
So with that in mind, let's look at 5 men who could fill Woods' shoes and play his trombone for the following months. This list also includes Superstars from RAW, who've not really made an appearance on television since the most recent draft.
WWE can always pass off one mid-card or lower-card superstar going to the other roster as a trade.
#5 No Way Jose
To say that No Way Jose is in the mid-card would be a false statement. He is someone who's always scraped the bottom of the barrel even though his act is popular with fans. Like so many others in the WWE roster, he's not a lower card performer because of a lack of talent, but because there's an over-abundance of Superstars in the company.
No Way Jose could ditch his gimmick and as popular as it is with the live crowd, nobody would really miss it. For him to be allied with The New Day would be a massive step up for him.
#4 Drake Maverick
I'd always felt that Drake Maverick was being wasted as a General Manager. Having followed his career and especially having seen his Impact Wrestling run, I knew that the man has better comedic timing than maybe anyone in the current WWE roster. He had a chance to showcase some of his talents when he was in contention for the 24/7 Championship, trading wins with R-Truth, and making the WWE Universe laugh with his wife, Renee Michelle.
Now that the two men are on different brands, I can only imagine that WWE wants a fresh new start for this amazing performer. There's no better spot for a comedy wrestler than with The New Day because Kofi Kingston and Big E can jam with Drake Maverick's comedic timing and create some truly incredible moments. One can only imagine how weird things could potentially get if Renee Michelle was inserted into the picture as well and the storyline of consummating Maverick's marriage was continued.
I could be wrong but I sense great hip gyrating potential in Drake Maverick, and more importantly, I think that he would fit into the unit as the missing unit of a jigsaw puzzle.
#3 Matt Hardy
Matt Hardy was the hottest thing in pro wrestling back when he was a part of Impact Wrestling and was quite a big deal when he came to WWE as well as adopted the whole 'Woken' persona. But because of the personal problems faced by his brother= and all the injury woes that have plagued Jeff Hardy in recent times, his push came to a halt all at once.
It is a shame to see him sitting on the shelf coming up with creative material for his social media channel and not getting any TV time at all because the clock is certainly running out for the Woken one. As strange as it would be, I don't think that Matt Hardy would be a terrible pick for a temporary New Day member.
Odd and funny strangely go hand in hand and three creative minds in Matt Hardy, Big E, and Kofi Kingston could whip up some really interesting storylines if they were given the chance to do so. Matt Hardy still has a massive following as we can see from the posts on his social media channel.
Maybe the New Day can arrive at the Hardy compound in due course of time!
#2 Titus O'Neil
Titus O'Neil had a good thing could with Titus Worldwide but the group never broke through in the manner that it should have, in my opinion. Since then, the only thing of note that he has done at a WWE show is slipped and slid under the ring in what became known as Titus World Slide. Of course, he has been greatly involved in WWE's many CSR activities and is certainly a great human being who thrives in bringing smiles to the world at large.
As we saw during his Prime Time Players run, Titus O'Neil can definitely be entertaining and shake a hip if the situation calls for it. If it is indeed a short-lived run until Xavier Woods returns, I think that it would be fun to see Titus O'Neil come to The New Day and become the powerhouse of the group in a sense. It would give him a role on television and in many ways, get him over in a big way as a reward for all the great stuff that he has been doing.
Of course, he would be upset when Xavier Woods returns. And this could lead to a great feud between Woods and O'Neil!
#1 Apollo Crews
Let's look at the dynamics of The New Day. Big E is the muscle while Kofi Kingston is the well-rounded wrestler, who can do just about anything.
Xavier Woods has always been the high-flier in a sense as the lightest member of the group, but he is also someone with an incredible amount of power as we've evidenced on more than one occasion. And there is only another performer in the roster who can justify a very similar description and his name is Apollo Crews.
None can dispute the fact that Apollo Crews is absolutely fantastic in the ring and if he lacks in any department, one could say that his personality isn't up to speed in such a manner that it connects with the WWE Universe in the right manner. And this is why despite various pushes, Crews has never managed to ascend to anything but mid-card level.
The best way to give him some character would be to align him with The New Day and in doing so, both parties benefit even if it is for a while.
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