Xavier Woods a.k.a. Austin Creed is a true believer and has achieved success. He is a fixture in professional wrestling and video gaming.
Xavier Woods, a WWE star, teamed up with Big E (and Kofi Kingston) to create The New Day in 2014. The trio has won multiple championships and is regarded as one of the most influential in company history. The group’s close friendship is even more important, as they are still in good standing years later – something that is rare for WWE teams.
Austin Creed, outside of the ring created a YouTube gaming channel called UpUpDown which has opened doors for him. When he was offered a job at G4, a video-game-centric TV network, his passion for gaming came full circle.
Woods has a lot of responsibilities, but his dedication and work ethic are admirable. Woods has managed to balance his family and hosting gigs while on the road with WWE. He was recently disabled from action due to an injury.
Woods isn’t slowing down as WWE continues its journey to Wrestlemania. This Saturday, the journey officially starts with the annual Royal Rumble. Winners will be awarded a Wrestlemania world title shot.
AllHipHop met Woods ahead of the Rumble to talk about his busy career. The versatile performer spoke out about The New Day’s history, Black representation in wrestling and his relationship to Mega Ran, among other topics.
Below is a short version of AllHipHop’s interview with Woods. You can also watch the entire conversation via video.
AllHipHop – It’s great talking to you, Mega Ran has been my friend for many years.
Xavier Woods That’s me.
AllHipHop I have heard wonderful things about you. Mega Ran is the one I want to begin with. He finally did your entrance music. That was so special! That’s something I’m sure y’all have been discussing for years.
Xavier Woods : It’s been wild, because when I was in development, pre-NXT (it was called FCW), we had a database we could go through to try and find the music. One day, I was searching for 8-bit or video games and found one of his songs. And I thought, “This is awesome, I need more.” I searched for him on Spotify, and was stunned to discover that he was actually a person. I love the music he makes. What? This was a genre I didn’t know existed.”
He opened my eyes to a totally different type of music. It is not video game, but nerdcore Rap. I was able to send him an email, and I told him that I liked his music but wanted to use a different track. He was open to it. We became friends a few years later. One year after meeting my family, I took him to Wrestlemania. The goal was to get him to perform my theme music. You know, like “I need your voice to be heard through these speakers when i’m going to fight.”
Fast forward to King of the Ring, and then it’s like, “Hey, do you know what?” It’s your turn now. I replied, “Oh, dope.” 11 years later, I finally have my own theme music. To make it even more special, Mega Ran performed on it. Sayzee is a Canadian rapper from Toronto who’s amazing with horror rap and Dragon Ball Z.
It’s amazing because no matter where someone is in their quest to reach their goals or other similar things, they will never be able to do it all by themselves. However, I believe that most people forget this very quickly. It happens a lot because many people don’t remember. There isn’t one person on the planet who achieves any fame, notoriety, or does anything extraordinary by themselves. You have mentors, parents, friends and other people who can help you along the journey. Being able to have a friend be part of my wrestling journey allows me to feel a different way. Knowing that my friends are there to support me as I do this thing I love, makes it easier for me to feel happy. It’s more than music to me.
AllHipHop: Yeah, that’s nice. Talking about friends, I think what a lot fans appreciate most is the fact that New Day has never had a big breakup or any other similar situation. You guys just won the King of The Ring. Big E was just crowned WWE Champion. Kofi had Kofi Mania. What does it mean to you to be the New Day while still enjoying that solo success?
Xavier Woods It’s amazing because it’s not a gimmick, or a thing only for the cameras. It feels like success to me when they achieve success. It felt like Kofi had won the title. That’s my brother. It’s funny, because the three of us were discussing this the other day. We just kept reiterating the point that when one of us succeeds, the other feels good. E replied, “It’s love. That’s what it is.” I was astonished. It’s genuine. You feel happy when your friends are happy.
There is no reason to think we’d ever do that. It makes no sense. It’s amazing that you can see a healthy male relationship in wrestling and not just a bunch yelling over metal and leather. Championships are important. You get more money if you are champion. While you may get fame and fortune, the championship won’t call you until you’re 80. It’s not going to call you if you aren’t moving well enough to talk about the good times.
So I believe that this is something that we should all be proud of, because it’s our identity. Two, it’s important for wrestling culture to be different. It’s possible to do the exact same thing as everyone else in wrestling. We could do something completely different. It might not be liked by everyone, but it is an effort to be different and better than what you are doing. So that’s what I feel inside my heart and soul.
AllHipHop: That’s great, that’s great. Speaking of New Day’s impact and role in wrestling, much of the current talk is about representation. It’s about diversity and Black wrestlers in particular. How has New Day’s influence been on Black wrestling representation?
Xavier Woods : It’s strange to think of it that way. It was just three guys trying to keep their jobs. It’s quite humbling to hear people say such things and have people reach out to say that they feel more comfortable in a locker room because of what I’ve experienced. I have never felt as comfortable in a locker room as I did when I was younger. Even though I was involved in sports throughout high school, there was always something in me that didn’t belong in the sport. It made me feel like I wasn’t clicking. It was an 85 percent click, but it was something. When I met Kofi, E, and we started to grind together and figure that stuff out, I realized that there were more than a few people with whom I could have this kind of vibe. We were close because Tyler Breeze was my friend at the time. I lived with these guys, and they were my favorite guys.
Finding E and Kofi was the turning point. It was then that I felt like “Oh, wow! I can be me!” Because I had a lot of things going on inside. Knowing that anyone can do anything on TV may give people the confidence to say that they are worth it. I don’t need to be like anyone else. I don’t need to conform to what someone says I should be. I can be myself and it will be fine.” I love that people get that from our work. It’s great that people can feel those feelings. It’s good to feel this way.
AllHipHop Would you say that your journey would have been different if there were someone like you to guide you back in TNA’s Consequences Creed days? Do you think having someone there would have made a difference in your ability to feel comfortable and be you?
Xavier Woods: Probably. It all depends on what era you are in, the kind of people you have grown up with, the people you meet along your journey. It was a completely unknown experience, but I love where I am today. It was such a great experience. D-Von Dudley was someone I looked up to as someone who helped me along the way. He was a man who became my mentor. Without a two-hour conversation with him, I wouldn’t send my stuff to WWE. I was floating around when I was released from my previous job. I thought, “Maybe this is not the right fit for me.” Perhaps I’m not qualified enough to wrestle on television.
After talking with him, my entire life changed. If I don’t send my stuff, I don’t become Xavier Woods. I don’t partner up with Kofi or E. There are many things that don’t happen the way they did in my life. Technically, I had a man. A guy helped me in the way he was meant to. He was a true friend and I will always be grateful for his help.
AllHipHop Well, it’s been an insane time to be a wrestling champion during a pandemic. Part of that was because you were wrestling in front a small crowd. Was that what it was like? Was that an unpleasant experience?
Xavier Woods It was great. It was a good place to start my career. In my early years of my career, I wrestled in many different places with either two or seven people, or none at all. It was great to get back to your roots. You also lack adrenaline, without the fan interaction, that energy, and that noise, Adrenaline can protect you from pain. So everything you feel hurts more when there are no people around. Overall, though, I was out for most of that time. So I didn’t return from my Achilles injuries until September 2019. So, I was home for a moment. After a while, I did Talking Smack and then I re-debuted.
So, I was in the ThunderDome only for a very short time compared to everyone else. However, I will admit that Mania was a great show. It was almost like someone turned the light switch on as soon as we entered the crowd. It was like, “Oh, yeah. This is how it’s supposed feel like.” So, it’s incredible to be back in front fans again.
