WWE splits with New Day, Will Ospreay wins title and more from pro wrestling

It’s a new day in WWE.

Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods left the company on Saturday after etching their names into the tag team history books in WWE for several years. The duo were four-time tag team champions as a team and eight times when Big E is included in the group.

The New Day were fan favorites and held the tag team championship for a record 483 days.

But Woods’ injury threw a wrench into the New Day storyline after the team turned heel following their tag team title win at WrestleMania 41. Kingston had teamed with Grayson Waller, but the two had failed to earn gold.

News of their departure sent shockwaves throughout the professional wrestling world, with stars from companies across the sport reacting. It’s unclear where Kingston and Woods will land next, but there will certainly be two of the hottest free agents on the open market.

WWE also parted ways with Tonga Loa and JC Mateo in the company’s recent departures.

LEGENDARY WWE TAG TEAM DUO are leaving the company in the latest wave of job cuts

Hottest story in professional wrestling

El Grande Americano will face El Grande Americano at WWE’s Royal Rumble at the Riyadh Season Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on January 31, 2026. (Joe Maher/WWE)

WWE and All Elite Wrestling (AEW) have been hot over the past month, but the most interesting storyline over the past few weeks has been at Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), where El Grande Americano and Original El Grande Americano are a few weeks away from an epic mask vs. mask clash.

By Saturday night, the two wrestlers had signed a contract, but there was an even bigger twist when El Grande Americano’s girlfriend, Andrea Bazarte, had her contract suspended in order for her to sit out the upcoming match.

Original El Grande Americano received support from Creed Brothers. Brutus and Julius Creed put El Grande American through a table and celebrated as they appeared to have given Original El Grande Americano some support.

Their rivalry will come to a head at Rey de Reyes on May 30. It will be a no disqualification match and the loser must remove the mask. Both competitors have struggled wherever they have been showcased.

The Original El Grande Americano returned to WWE at the Royal Rumble in January with El Grande Americano already in the men’s Royal Rumble match. Original El Grande Americano eliminated El Grande Americano before he himself was eliminated. The rivalry has been burning hot ever since.

Darby Allin makes title defense, gets new challenge

Darby Allin competes in the ring during AEW Collision on October 3, 2024 at the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio. (Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire)

It was one of the best matches of the week as Darby Allin defeated Brody King for the AEW World Championship. The two tore each other apart as King launched himself through the barrier to deal maximum damage to Allin.

Allin avoided the colossal attack, tossed King back into the ring and hit him with two Coffin Drops, pinning King for the win. Allin is 2-0 after winning the AEW title from Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) last month. He submitted Tomasso Ciampa the week before.

Allin may have his hands full with his next challenger.

Kevin Knight climbed to the top of the world title ladder after he defended the TNT Championship against MJF. Allin and King both said that Knight would be next in line for the AEW title if one of them won the match. So Knight gets Allin on Wednesday.

Knight watched very closely in the stands as Allin pulled off the win.

WWE NXT STARS TALK STAND & DELIVERY STANDING OUT OF WRESTLEMANIA WEEKEND

Interesting changes are coming to NXT

Blake Monroe enters the ring during NXT at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla., on January 13, 2026. (Mike Marques/WWE)

Blake Monroe, Ethan Page, Fallon Henley, Je’Von Evans, Joe Hendry, Lainey Reid, Oba Femi, Ricky Saints, Sol Ruca, Trick Williams have all been promoted to the main roster since the start of the new year.

As the new wave of talent hits WWE’s main roster, The CW Network and WWE announced a few new changes coming to the brand. The company said NXT’s premium live events, such as Stand & Deliver, The Great American Bash and Deadline, would air on the CW.

“The CW has played an integral role in raising the profile of our upcoming superstars, and we are excited to bring NXT Premium Live Events to broadcast television for the first time ever,” WWE senior vice president of talent development and creative Shawn Michaels said in a press release.

ESPN later announced that it will partner with the CW Network to stream NXT events through its ESPN Unlimited app.

“Joining with ESPN is a monumental next step in the evolution of CW Sports,” CW President Brad Schwartz said in a press release. “The CW now offers more than 800 hours of premium live sports per year. This deal expands the reach of CW Sports and enables us to capture audiences across the best of broadcast and the best of streaming, ensuring fans can access live CW Sports wherever they are and on whatever device they prefer.”

“This new partnership will allow us to seamlessly connect with our audiences everywhere – from football and basketball to motorsports, professional wrestling, bowling, bull riding and much more to come as CW Sports continues its exciting march forward.”

Will Ospreay’s Death Riders angle takes a new twist

Will Ospreay speaks during a New Japan Pro-Wrestling event at the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan on January 5, 2026. (Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)

Will Ospreay entered the Death Riders’ dojo after Jon Moxley gave him the opportunity to smash him in the head with a chair. Ospreay entered Moxley’s corner of the universe and began training with the faction that has been trying to add damage to his injured neck.

Ospreay made it clear to the Death Riders leader that he needed to support his brothers-in-arms, the United Empire, when they appeared in New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s Dontaku event this weekend. Ospreay was there to team with Henare and Great-O-Khan as they captured the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship in a victory over Bishamon-in (Botlin Oleg, Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi).

Callum Newman challenged Ospreay to attack Shingo Takagi after Newman’s victory to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, calling him “Death Rider Billy”. Ospreay obliged and hit Takahi with a hidden blade.

The fallout will certainly be palpable when Ospreay returns to “Dynamite” later this week.

WWE STAR DANHAUSEN REFLECTS ON FIRST MONTHS WITH BUSINESS, GIVES UPDATE ON DANHAUSENETTES

Other notes from a week in pro wrestling

• Becky Lynch defeated Iyo Sky to retain the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship when Asuka interfered in the match on “Monday Night Raw”.
• Damian Priest and R-Truth defeated Axiom and Nathan Frazer to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship on “Friday Night SmackDown.”
• Brie Bella and Paige defeated Lash Legend and Nia Jax to retain the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship on “Friday Night SmackDown.”
• Four matches are set for WWE Backlash, including a match between Danhausen and a mystery partner against The Miz and Kit Wilson. The Miz and Wilson laid an assault on Danhausen on “Friday Night SmackDown.”
• Myles Borne defeated Shaquon Shugars to retain the NXT North American Championship.

Lizzy Rain celebrates her win during NXT at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida on April 28, 2026. (Kevin Sabitus/WWE)

• Lizzie Rain, niece of Iron Maiden drummer Clive Burr, made her NXT debut.
• Kazuchika Okada defeated Ace Austin to retain the AEW International Championship at “Dynamite”.
• Megan Bayne and Lena Kross defeated Kris Statlander and Hikaru Shida to retain the World Women’s Championship at “Dynamite”.
• Jack Perry defeated Mascara Dorada to retain the AEW National Championship at “Collision”.
• Willow Nightingale defeated a returning Anna Jay to retain the AEW TBS Championship at “Collision”.
• Kevin Knight defeated Hook to retain the AEW TNT Championship at “Collision”.
• HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. congratulated his niece Zoe Hines on joining the WWE.

• “Broken” Matt Hardy returned to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) and attacked Vincent of The Righteous. Vincent was about to finish off Jeff Hardy before Matt Hardy returned. It was a few weeks ago that The Righteous brutalized Matt Hardy.
• AEW’s Rebel revealed that she was diagnosed with “terminal ALS” at just 47 years old. “Please continue to pray for a peaceful journey and a peaceful passing. I love you,” she said in a video posted on her Instagram account.
• JBL promised to make some changes if he were to become the new AAA General Manager. He wrote on X: “When I become the GM of Triple A, I want to make the world better, I want to 1. Build a wall to keep the Okies out. 2. Make it legal to hit leprechauns with trash cans or anything else you can grab and throw. 3. Make Ron Simmons head of the treasury. 4. Make cerveza free.”

• Trevor Murdoch announced his retirement from pro wrestling on the latest episode of the National Wrestling Alliance’s (NWA) “Powerrr.” The three-time NWA World Champion and former WWE star thanked fans for their support.
• Meanwhile, on the same NWA show, Gisele Shaw defeated Tiffany Nieveas to become the Women’s Television Champion.
• Andrade El Idolo defeated Yota Tsuji to become the new IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion at New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestling Dontaku in Japan.
• Templario defeated Kushida at CMLL vs MLW to win the Major League Wrestling World Middleweight Championship.
• Zamaya signed a deal with Major League Wrestling.

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• CMLL Women’s Champion Persephone is out of commission indefinitely, according to AEW co-founder Tony Khan. Persephone received black mist in the face from Julia Hart during a tag team match last week. Persephone was set to compete in Ring of Honor’s Survival of the Fittest tournament for a shot at the Ring of Honor Women’s Championship at Supercard of Honor.
• Miu Watanabe and Riku Tatsumi defeated The IInspiration to become Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling’s new Princess tag team champions.