Legendary WWE tag team star takes shot at company after New Day’s 50% pay cut revelation

Following their exit, former WWE New Day stars Kofi and Austin Creed revealed that they were asked to take a pay cut upwards of 50% before joining AEW.

During the Sep. 2, 2026, edition of Dynamite, Cage and Adam Copeland stood on the entrance ramp while delivering a promo. Cage didn’t hold back, saying, “And I’m surprised that the four of you aren’t more embarrassed — I’m surprised you’re not so embarrassed that you wouldn’t consider willingly taking a 50% pay cut and going somewhere else.”

Christian Cage with a shot at TKO and WWE

“I’m surprised you’re not so embarrassed that you wouldn’t consider willingly taking a 50% pay cut.”

HOLY SHIT. #AEWDynamite pic.twitter.com/BQjVb3yOn0

— PW Chronicle (@_PWChronicle) September 3, 2026

While he did stutter during his delivery, the fans had his back. One said, “I hate that he stuttered [loudly crying emoji] but W Christian.” Another wasn’t as optimistic, saying, “Stuttered. No matter how good a promo is[,] one stutter murders it. Brutal.”

Before joining AEW in 2021, Cage was known for his time in WWE. He was best known for his time as Copeland’s (who went by Edge) tag team partner.

Ex-WWE New Day stars were offered more than a 50% pay cut before joining AEW

During an interview with Ariel Helwani, Kofi conceded that “compensation was definitely a big part” of why they left WWE, but they also “wanted to work.”

He then revealed that WWE asked them to take pay cuts that were “more than 50%.” Over the last few months, there have been reports that WWE is asking talent to take pay cuts of up to 50%. Now, it appears they are even asking legendary Superstars like Kofi and Creed (who went by Xavier Woods in WWE) to take even bigger pay reductions.

They would subsequently leave the company in May 2026. They had both been with WWE for over a decade, with Kofi’s tenure lasting nearly 20 years.

A few months later, they would make their AEW debuts at All In on Aug. 30. They won a Trios Roulette Royale for the AEW World Trios Championship, teaming up with Swerve Strickland. Their team won against others that included top stars like “Hangman” Adam Page, Jay White, and Orange Cassidy.

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