Xavier Woods Bio
Austin Watson, known worldwide by his ring name Xavier Woods, is an American professional wrestler and YouTuber born on September 4, 1986, in Columbus, Georgia. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand as one-third of the legendary faction The New Day. Outside of the squared circle, Watson has built a parallel career as Austin Creed, a gaming personality and content creator, giving him one of the most distinctive crossover profiles in modern sports entertainment.
Since debuting in 2005, Watson has built a résumé that includes stints in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, a run through WWE’s developmental ranks in Florida Championship Wrestling and NXT, and a record-breaking main-roster career. With his signature trombone in hand, Xavier Woods has become a 13-time tag team champion in WWE, a King of the Ring winner, and one of the company’s most recognizable entertainers.
Early Life and Background
Austin Watson was born and raised in Columbus, Georgia, the son of a family that encouraged both academics and athletic ambition. He graduated from Pebblebrook High School, where he first discovered his love for performance and competition. That dual interest would later shape his unusual path from the classroom to the wrestling ring.
After high school, Watson enrolled at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, where he studied psychology and philosophy. He graduated in 2008 with both a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and a master’s degree in psychology, an academic foundation that helped fuel the cerebral promos and character work that would later define his on-screen persona. While balancing his studies, Watson secretly began training as a professional wrestler, laying the groundwork for a career that would eventually consume his life.
Watson has also pursued a doctorate in educational psychology at Capella University, reflecting his longstanding interest in teaching, learning, and personal development. His academic record remains one of the most decorated of any active professional wrestler.
Path to Professional Wrestling
While still attending Furman, Watson began training under Rob Adonis in the Ultimate Christian Wrestling promotion, debuting in 2005 as Austin Creed, a character inspired by the boxing legend Apollo Creed from the Rocky film series. He also competed in the World Wrestling Council in South Carolina and NWA Anarchy, where he formed a celebrated tag team with Hayden Young known as Awesome Attraction, which held the NWA Anarchy tag titles for an unusually long reign after defeating Justice Served in 2007. In 2006, he was voted NWA’s Most Popular Wrestler by the fans.
In 2007, Watson famously took a day off from college to show up unannounced at Deep South Wrestling, a WWE developmental territory, to ask for a tryout. The day turned out to be significant for another reason: it was the day he first met Kofi Kingston, who happened to be wrestling in the ring when Watson walked in. DSW accepted him, and on July 12, 2007, Creed defeated Murder-One to win the vacant DSW Heavyweight Championship, becoming the first wrestler to hold the title after WWE’s split from the promotion. He remains the final DSW Heavyweight Champion, as the company closed the following October.
Creed then crossed paths with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, debuting at the 2007 Bound for Glory pay-per-view as Rasheed Lucius Creed. After signing a TNA contract in late 2007, he became a fixture of the X Division and later joined the young-gun faction The Frontline opposite The Main Event Mafia. In 2009, Creed teamed with Jay Lethal as Lethal Consequences to win the TNA World Tag Team Championship, his first major title in a national promotion. He was released from TNA in March 2010, setting the stage for his eventual WWE signing.
Xavier Woods Career
Early Career (2005–2010)
Watson’s earliest years in the ring took place across the southeastern independent circuit, where he wrestled under the names Austin Creed and Consequences Creed. Working promotions such as Ultimate Christian Wrestling, NWA Anarchy, and Deep South Wrestling, he developed the technical foundation, promos, and charisma that would later catch the attention of national bookers. His one-night TNA debut at Bound for Glory 2007 led to a formal contract later that year and a steady stream of televised matches on Impact!, including bouts for the X Division Championship and spots in specialty matches like the TerrorDome and the King of the Mountain.
His most significant early-career highlight came in January 2009, when he and Jay Lethal, under the team name Lethal Consequences, defeated Beer Money, Inc. to win the TNA World Tag Team Championship. The reign was short, as Beer Money regained the titles at Genesis, but the victory established Watson as a dependable tag team competitor. By the time he departed TNA in March 2010, he had also toured with New Japan Pro-Wrestling, teaming with Kota Ibushi in the Super J Tag Tournament, and won East Coast Wrestling Association’s prestigious 2010 Super 8 Tournament.
WWE Developmental and NXT (2010–2013)
On July 22, 2010, Watson signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment. He had famously arrived unannounced at Florida Championship Wrestling, and Kofi Kingston happened to be in the room once again, marking the second coincidental meeting between the future New Day teammates. Because Watson still had six months left in college, WWE agreed to a part-time arrangement, which became a full-time contract after he graduated.
Making his FCW debut on July 29, 2010, Watson competed under his real name before being repackaged as Xavier Woods. With Wes Brisco, he captured the Florida Tag Team Championship in November 2010, only to vacate it when Brisco suffered an injury. After WWE rebranded FCW into NXT in 2012, Woods made his televised NXT debut on October 31, 2012, and built a quirky, pop-culture-obsessed character inspired by his genuine love of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Dragon Ball Z, and 1990s nostalgia. He was called up to the main roster in November 2013.
WWE Main Roster and The New Day Era (2013–Present)
Woods debuted on Raw on November 18, 2013, teaming with R-Truth. He had a brief singles run in late 2013 and early 2014, including a memorable WrestleMania XXX appearance in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. In mid-2014, after Big E and Kofi Kingston struggled as a duo, Woods approached them on Raw and proposed forming a stable, marking the birth of The New Day. The trio debuted under the new name on November 28, 2014, on SmackDown and quickly became one of the most popular acts in wrestling.
After turning heel in April 2015, The New Day launched a historic run as WWE Tag Team Champions. With Big E and Kingston competing in the ring and Woods serving as both a third member and frequent Freebird Rule defender, the group broke Demolition’s long-standing record of 478 days to become the longest-reigning WWE Tag Team Champions in history. Their record reign lasted 483 days before they dropped the titles to Cesaro and Sheamus at Roadblock: End of the Line in December 2016.
Following the 2016 brand split, the renamed Raw Tag Team Championship changed hands several times before The New Day moved to SmackDown in April 2017, sparking a legendary rivalry with The Usos for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship. Over the next several years, Woods and his partners continued to add championships, including multiple SmackDown Tag Team titles, additional World Tag Team Championships, and a long-awaited seventh SmackDown Tag Team Championship won in October 2020.
In October 2021, Woods entered the King of the Ring tournament and defeated Ricochet, Jinder Mahal, and Finn Bálor to win the crown at Crown Jewel, earning the new ring name King Woods. The honor marked his first individual accolade in WWE. In 2022, he and Kofi Kingston defeated Pretty Deadly to win the NXT Tag Team Championship, completing the Tag Team Triple Crown. The duo has continued to anchor Raw as a fan-favorite team.
Style and Strengths
Xavier Woods is best known for his quick wit, expressive character work, and crafty in-ring style. While not the powerhouse of the trio, he makes up for it with sharp timing, clever distraction tactics, and a willingness to absorb punishment to protect his partners. His background in psychology gives him an unusual sense of pacing and storytelling inside the ring, and his chemistry with both Big E and Kofi Kingston has produced some of the most entertaining tag team matches of the modern era.
Notable Events and Milestones
Highlights of Woods’ WWE career include New Day’s record-breaking 483-day Tag Team Championship reign, his 2021 King of the Ring tournament victory, the 2022 NXT Tag Team Championship win that completed the Tag Team Triple Crown, and his role in helping Kofi Kingston earn his iconic WWE Championship opportunity at WrestleMania 35. He has also appeared at multiple WrestleManias, including winning the World Tag Team Championship with Kofi Kingston on Night 1 of WrestleMania 41.
Xavier Woods Career Wins
Throughout his career, Xavier Woods has captured championships in promotions across the United States and Japan, including the TNA World Tag Team Championship and the WWE Tag Team Championship, SmackDown Tag Team Championship, Raw Tag Team Championship, and NXT Tag Team Championship, along with several tournament victories and end-of-year awards.
WWE Tag Team Championship Highlights
With Big E and Kofi Kingston as The New Day, Woods is a record seven-time SmackDown Tag Team Champion, a five-time World Tag Team Champion, and a one-time NXT Tag Team Champion, bringing his individual WWE tag team title count to 13 reigns. New Day’s 2015–2016 reign with the then-WWE Tag Team Championship lasted 483 days, the longest in the title’s history at that time. At WrestleMania 41, Woods and Kingston defeated The War Raiders for the World Tag Team Championship, continuing the group’s late-career renaissance.
Other Wins and Performances
Outside of WWE, Woods is a one-time TNA World Tag Team Champion with Jay Lethal as Lethal Consequences, a one-time Florida Tag Team Champion with Wes Brisco, and a one-time DSW Heavyweight Champion. He was also the 2006 NWA Most Popular Wrestler and the 2010 ECWA Super 8 Tournament winner.
Xavier Woods Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
While Xavier Woods’ immediate family details are kept largely private, he has consistently credited his parents and upbringing in Columbus, Georgia, for instilling the discipline and academic curiosity that shaped both his wrestling and scholarly pursuits.
Personal Life
Watson married his longtime girlfriend, Jess, in 2015, and the couple welcomed a son in 2017. The family has been a central part of his life throughout his WWE travels and his parallel gaming career under the Austin Creed name.
2025 Season Performance
Entering 2025, Xavier Woods remained one of the cornerstones of WWE’s Raw brand alongside Kofi Kingston. The duo captured the World Tag Team Championship on Night 1 of WrestleMania 41 by defeating The War Raiders, capping a remarkable comeback after months of internal conflict. Their victory reinforced The New Day’s status as one of the most decorated acts in company history.
The reign ended on the June 30, 2025, episode of Raw, when The Judgment Day’s Finn Bálor and JD McDonagh defeated Kingston and Woods after 72 days. The title change set up new chase opportunities for the duo heading into the rest of the year, with the pair already positioned as central figures in WWE’s tag team division.
Off-screen, Woods has continued to expand his gaming brand under the Austin Creed persona, including the 2025 appearance with Kofi Kingston on Dropout’s Dimension 20 series Titan Takedown. With The New Day’s stock as popular and merchandise-heavy as ever, Xavier Woods remains both a tag team title contender and a brand ambassador for the modern era of sports entertainment.