Xavier Woods is no longer 'the baby brother' of The New Day
Without a doubt, Kofi Kingston, Big E, and Xavier Woods will eventually go down as one of the greatest teams in the history of WWE.
The New Day are certainly legendary as a trio, but now they've all found major singles success, even the 'little brother' of the group. Initially, the pecking order of the pack was easy to figure out: The veteran Kofi Kingston, the powerhouse Big E, and... Xavier Woods.
At least that's how the team was viewed by many fans for years. Kofi was the star, Big E was a future star, and Woods was a very talented trombone player. It's almost as if Xavier was an afterthought at times with the group.
As time wore on, however, Woods' immense talent became more and more apparent, and he gradually came on equal footing with the others in terms of the group. Obviously, they had huge success together, winning not only multiple tag team titles but the hearts of the fans as well.
Xavier Woods seemed to be the odd man out as his partners moved on to major singles success
Major solo success for members of The New Day all started with KofiMania, as Kingston rode a huge wave of momentum to make history by capturing the WWE Championship.
@WWE @WWEBigE Kofimania will always hold a special place in my heart man https://t.co/53kn9GnyyV
It continued earlier this year when Big E captured that very same championship and has done a tremendous job as the reigning titleholder. He will have his hands full this Sunday when he faces off against Roman Reigns at Survivor Series.
But for Xavier Woods, singles success did not seem to come as quickly. He was often relegated to being a part-time tag partner or merely cheering on his friends during their huge matches.
That's all changed recently, however.
Woods had an outstanding showing at King of the Ring, capturing the crown and really taking a huge step forward as a singles competitor. Fans and observers always knew there was a star there, and now he's finally getting a chance to show it.
Woods' stock is clearly rising, as he recently confronted WWE's biggest superstar
After The Bloodline destroyed all of the spoils of his King of the Ring victory and then attacked him, Xavier Woods - the ultimate underdog - just had to stand up to the biggest bullies on SmackDown.
"Clothes don't make the man." - King @AustinCreedWins to @WWERomanReigns w/ @HeymanHustle
#SmackDown https://t.co/6Z7V6ExhYL
It was all a trap, however, as Woods set up The Bloodline, where he and Big E suckered them into a trap right before Survivor Series. It was the perfect way to end this week's episode.
And while (clearly) this segment was to set up the main event between Reigns and Big E at the pay-per-view, the star of the night was Woods. He was the most prominent face on the program. He got beaten down, came back like a hero should, and got a measure of revenge on the biggest star in all of professional wrestling today.
Woods has always had a sly charisma and off-the-charts athletic ability, but he's really taken huge steps forward in the past several weeks. He's proving that he's on par with his brothers in The New Day. Which is another thing that makes this group unique: Each man can go out and conquer mountains on his own, and then they can all come back and do the same together. That's very rare.
So, while Xavier may not have reached world title status like his partners yet, one thing is for sure: He's no longer the baby brother of the family. He's all grown up.
What do you think of Xavier Woods' current success as a singles star? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.