Kids love The New Day, and WWE loves their merchandise sales — it’s a (wrestling) match made in Booty-O’s Heaven.
Over their three-year history as a hugely successful three-man tag team, Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods have sold unicorn horns, cereal and ice cream pops (among other goodies, which we’re told may soon include pancake mix) primarily to children, so presenting the trio as “the “good guys” is good for business. And to a publicly traded corporation in the midst of its “PG Era,” well, you do the math on how valuable all of that family friendly twerking and trombone-playing is.
But considering how “face turns” (a villain becoming a good guy) and “heel turns” (the opposite) are a common thing in WWE and a necessary storyline tool, can The New Day ever actually break bad? Big E — real name Ettore Ewen — isn’t sure, though he thought they’d be there by now.
“After we dropped the titles to Sheamus and Cesaro about a year ago, I really thought that’s where we were headed,” he told TheWrap during a recent interview. “I think there was a lot of feeling that we were stale, and we kind of felt that way as well.”
“We were getting a smattering of boos — sometimes more than a smattering,” Ewen (pictured above, middle) said.
That’s often how such a shift from hero to hoodlum starts. But then The New Day had their popular (and pretty much still ongoing) program with current “SmackDown Live” Tag Team Champions The Usos — who themselves are on the “scoundrel” side — and all of that momentum ceased.
Ultimately, New Day (not to be confused with CNN’s morning series “New Day,” which President Trump would almost surely qualify as “the bad guys”) never went over to the dark side. After all, had they, WWE would need something to fill the void left behind by what E referred to as “the bright-colored, fun-loving trio.”
Tempting as it may be in the writers’ room, “I really don’t know if being heel is gonna be in the cards anytime soon,” Big E admitted.
Readers can catch Big E and The New Day on WWE’s “SmackDown Live” every Tuesday at 8/7 on USA Network.
Every WWE Champion Ever, Ranked by Number of Reigns (Photos)
Pro-wrestling championship belts change hands (or waists) like grapplers change ring gear these days, though it wasn't always that way. Bobby Lashley is the current WWE Championship after an incredibly short-lived reign by The Miz (and after one violent Hurt Lock in the main event of March 1, 2021's "Monday Night Raw" episode).
The Miz (yes, Mike from "The Real World") only had the belt for eight days. Really though, Lashley's violent "Elimination Chamber" attack on then-champ Drew McIntyre is what set Miz up for his second WWE Championship. In other words, the belt found the correct waist in the end.
This is Lashley's first-ever stint as WWE Champion, and it's spanned several pay-per-views. Up next is Sunday's "Hell in a Cell," which fans can watch on Peacock.
Scroll through our gallery to see every WWE Champion ever, ranked by their number(s) of title wins. Remember: this is a list of those who won the WWWF Championship, the WWF Championship or the WWE Championship. So don't come after us, Universal Champions, et al.
Rank: 31 (tie) Wrestler: Jinder Mahal # of Reigns: 1
Shortly before this publishing, the "Modern-Day Maharaja" dropped the title to A.J. Styles, ending a somewhat confusing run right before the WWE went to India.
Rank: 31 (tie) Wrestler: John "Bradshaw" Layfield # of Reigns: 1
JBL has taken his heel persona from the ring to the announce table. Never without a cowboy hat, Layfield thankfully leaves his lariat clothesline at home.
Rank: 31 (tie) Wrestler: The Ultimate Warrior # of Reigns: 1
The muscle-bound maniac who handed Hulk Hogan his first-ever "WrestleMania" loss died after suffering a heart attack three days after being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Rank: 31 (tie) Wrestler: Pedro Morales # of Reigns: 1
History lesson: Back in the WWWF days, Morales became the first guy in wrestling history to win all three of the major men's titles -- the WWF Championship, the Intercontinental Championship and the WWF Tag Team Championship -- in the company.
Rank: 31 (tie) Wrestler: Bobby Lashley # of Reigns: 1
Rank: 16 (tie) Wrestler: The Miz # of Reigns: 2
The kid from "The Real World" made good on his over-the-top MTV promos. One of the best on the mic, Miz has been holding down the Intercontinental Championship more than any other Superstar of the past few years.
Rank: 16 (tie) Wrestler: Bob Backlund # of Reigns: 2
Backlund couldn't "Make Darren Young Great Again" -- or even keep the guy employed -- but the master of the cross-face chicken wing had a pretty incredible career of his own.
From Buddy Rogers to Bobby Lashley, here are all the guys from the old WWWF and WWF days — and beyond
Pro-wrestling championship belts change hands (or waists) like grapplers change ring gear these days, though it wasn't always that way. Bobby Lashley is the current WWE Championship after an incredibly short-lived reign by The Miz (and after one violent Hurt Lock in the main event of March 1, 2021's "Monday Night Raw" episode).
The Miz (yes, Mike from "The Real World") only had the belt for eight days. Really though, Lashley's violent "Elimination Chamber" attack on then-champ Drew McIntyre is what set Miz up for his second WWE Championship. In other words, the belt found the correct waist in the end.
This is Lashley's first-ever stint as WWE Champion, and it's spanned several pay-per-views. Up next is Sunday's "Hell in a Cell," which fans can watch on Peacock.
Scroll through our gallery to see every WWE Champion ever, ranked by their number(s) of title wins. Remember: this is a list of those who won the WWWF Championship, the WWF Championship or the WWE Championship. So don't come after us, Universal Champions, et al.
