"The writers laughed at him" - Xavier Woods' storyline idea that WWE rejected
Big E has revealed that WWE’s writers laughed when Xavier Woods wanted The New Day to debut as a modern-day Nation of Domination.
The Nation of Domination is considered to be one of the most influential factions in WWE history. The group, which was represented by a total of 12 Superstars between 1996 and 1998, mostly consisted of African-American Superstars. Farooq, D’Lo Brown, The Godfather, Mark Henry, The Rock, and Owen Hart were among the faction’s most successful members.
Speaking to WhatCulture’s Adam Wilbourn, Big E discussed the first time that The New Day (himself, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods) joined forces. He also recalled how WWE’s creative team reacted when Woods said he wanted the three men to form a revamped version of The Nation.
"So I would say The Nation of Domination [if Big E had to join another faction], which is kinda what we wanted to be initially. That’s essentially what The New Day was.
"That was Woods’ first pitch was doing essentially a Nation of Domination 2.0 and the writers just all kind of laughed at him. So when we came out, the very first time you see us in Miami in 2014 that summer, and he [Xavier Woods] is wearing that white and red suit, that’s what we wanted the faction to be."
As Big E alluded to, Xavier Woods cut a promo alongside his fellow New Day members during an episode of RAW on July 21, 2014. However, the trio’s televised in-ring debut (see above) had to wait until a SmackDown show on November 28, 2014. During their in-ring debut, The New Day defeated Curtis Axel, Heath Slater, and Titus O’Neil in a six-man tag team match.
Xavier Woods is not the only person who wanted a new Nation of Domination
WWE reportedly planned to revive The Nation of Domination in 2020, with Ron Simmons (aka Farooq, the group’s original leader) set to be involved. According to the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer, Farooq was supposed to initiate the re-establishment of The Nation during an episode of RAW on July 20, 2020.
Although he did appear on the show, the WWE legend ended up being used in a short backstage segment with Bobby Lashley and MVP instead.