Xavier Woods

At 37 years old, Xavier Woods has this physical status:

Austin Watson (born September 4, 1986) is an American professional wrestler who appears on WWE's SmackDown brand, where he appears under the ring name Xavier Woods.

Wattson served with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) as Consequences Creed, and he served as a one-time TNA World Tag Team Champion with Jay Lethal as Lethal Consequences.

He has also worked for NWA Anarchy and other unofficial positions under the ring name Austin Creed.

Since signing with WWE in 2010, he was drafted to its developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) under the ring name Xavier Woods.

FCW later rebranded into NXT, where Woods spent until being called up to the main roster in 2013.

Woods formed The New Day in 2014 alongside Big E and Kofi Kingston, and they've since competed for the longest tag team championship in WWE history.

Early life

Watson was born in Columbus, Georgia. In 2004, he graduated from Sprayberry High School. He began studying psychology and philosophy at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, later this year. He earned a master's degree in psychology as well as a bachelor's degree in philosophy.

Personal life

Watson has two bachelor's degrees in psychology and philosophy, a master's in psychology, and as of 2015, he is researching for a PhD in educational psychology from Capella University.

Watson is a huge fan of video games. On his left forearm, he has a tattoo of the Wingcrest from The Legend of Zelda series. AustinCreed is also a Twitch account. In 2015, he defeated the annual WWE 2K tournament.

Watson married Jess Watson in 2015, and their son was born in 2017.

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Professional wrestling career

Watson began training for a career in wrestling and, after graduating from Furman University, started wrestling part-time with Rob Adonis' Ultimate Christian Wrestling promotion. He created his Austin Creed gimmick, which is heavily based on Apollo Creed's character from the Rocky series when he was in the Greenville, South Carolina-based World Wrestling Council.

Creed was part of Hayden Young's Awesome Attraction tag team during his time in NWA Anarchy. After defeating Justice Served (Jason Justice and Mike Free) in Cornelia, Georgia, on April 7, 2007, the two had one of the longest title reigns in the competition's history. Creed became NWA's Most Popular Wrestler, voted for by the NWA fans in 2006.

Watson took a day off from school to appear unannounced at Deep South Wrestling (DSW), then a WWE developmental territory, and then apply for a wrestler in the ring the exact moment he arrived; notably, his future New Day partner, Kofi Nahaje Kingston, (then using the ring name "Kofi Nahaje Kingston") was working in the ring the first time the two met, marking the first meeting between the two teams. Creed was given a try out by DSW, but WWE would officially end links with DSW shortly after he was promised one. Creed defeated Murder-One in the tournament finals on July 12, 2007, becoming the first wrestler to hold the title without being connected with WWE; the group closed its doors the following October 11. Creed became the final DSW Heavyweight Champion.

Creed was at Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's Bound For Glory pay-per-view showcase, working with Ron Killings as the replacement for Adam "Pacman" Jones. Creed wrestled under the name Rasheed Lucius "Consequences" Creed. Truth and Consequences was born out of Killings' nickname "The Truth" and Creed's name "Consequences" as well as a play on words relating to a game show with a similar name.

Creed had signed a TNA deal on October 21, 2007. Creed was confirmed when he appeared on the radio show Trash Talking Radio on October 23 with Tommy Cairo and Sabian. His signing was also confirmed later at a NWA Anarchy show, where Creed was shown with TNA Booking Director Bill Behrens' contract. Creed was not seen on TNA television for months after Killings demanded for and was later released from the company.

Creed defeated All Odds in a dark match on February 10, 2008. He worked with Sonjay Dutt, who defeated The Rock 'n Rave Infection.' On the March 13 episode of Impact!, a promo video with the phrase "prepare to face the consequences" showed Creed preparations and confirmed that he would return to the Lockdown pay-per-view on April 13. The return date was pushed back to April 10 this week. Creed returned to action on Episode #20 of Impact! on April 10th and defeated Jimmy Rave of The Rock'n Rave Infection, thereby qualifying for the Xscape match at Lockdown. Creed defeated Shark Boy during the match, but Curry Man was later kicked out by Curry Man. Creed was defeated by Kaz in the first ever TerrorDome match at Sacrifice.

Creed faced Petey Williams for the X Division Championship at Hard Justice, but she was dissatisfied with Sheik Abdul Bashir's interference. On the 8th episode of Impact!, he defeated Bashir for the right to face Williams again in the X Division Championship. Bashir retaliated against Creed, causing the match and the X Division title to be contested. Creed was defeated by Bashir in another match for the X Division Championship at Bound for Glory IV on October 12, 2008.

Creed's Impact!, along with Samoa Joe, A.J., appeared on the October 30, 2008 episode of Impact!, Creed. Styles, Jay Lethal, Petey Williams, Eric Young, ODB, and The Motor City Machineguns formed The Frontline, a group of younger wrestlers protesting The Main Event Mafia.

Lethal, a Frontline member, won the World Tag Team Championship from the champions Beer Money, Inc. on January 8, 2009 (Robert Roode and Storm). Creed and Lethal were later identified as Lethal Consequences, a mash-up of their respective names. In a three-way match at Genesis, Beer Money, Inc. recovered their titles. Creed and Lethal were rematching against All Odds, but they were unable to regain the titles.

Creed and Lethal joined the Motor City Machineguns to attempt to depose Suicide within the next few months. Lethal Consequences was lost to Beer Money, Inc., at Destination X, Creed, a TNA X Division Championships victory won by Suicide in an Ultimate X match for the TNA X Division Championship, which was contested by Suicide. Creed defeated Suicide in a Xscape match at Lockdown. Eric Young and The Motor City Machine Guns defeated The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) and Sheik Abdul Bashir, both at Sacrifice. Creed was involved in a King of the Mountains match for the X Division Championship, which was won by Suicide in a Slammiversary. Creed was a member of the Society of Asylum, which was won by Daniels.

Creed and Lethal were part of a 5-man ladder match against a future X Division Title match on October 1, 2009, which was part of Impact! Amazing Red, the match's winner, sparked Creed to vomit after his head hit the ground, causing Creed to projectile vomit.

On the preshow, he was largely defeated by Glory, Lethal Consequences (Consecutors Creed and Jay Lethal), and the Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) lost to the Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin). Creed had a Feast or Fired match in final resolution but lost the game.

Watson was recalled from TNA on March 29, 2010.

Watson, under his Consequences Creed ring name, announced himself as a participant in the first Super J Tag Tournament on April 4, 2019. The team of Gedo and Kushida disqualified Creed and his partner Kota Ibushi from the tournament in the first round on May 8. Creed returned to New Japan on June 28, 2010, partnering with IWGP Heavyweight Champion Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma in the J Sports Crown Openweight 6 Man Tag Tournament. Shinsuke Nakamura, Masato Tanaka, and Tomohiro Ishii pulled the trio out of the tournament in the second round after defeating Tamon Honda, Kentaro Shiga, and Makoto Hashi in the first round.

Creed defeated Brian Milonas, U-Gene, and Tommaso Ciampa to win the 2010 East Coast Wrestling Association's Eastern Coast Wrestling Association's 2010 Super 8 Tournament on July 10.

Watson had signed a developmental deal with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), according to the company on July 22, 2010. Watson revealed in a 2016 interview that he was recruited as a wrestler after showing up unannounced to Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), a WWE developmental territory, to apply for a job as a wrestler; his future New Day partner Kofi Kingston, who had coincidentally met him on the day Watson had similarly appeared in DSW in 2007, was still in the audience as Watson entered. WWE had intended to sign Watson full-time but the client declined but, after he had six months left before finishing college, they decided to keep him part-time until he graduated from college and then gave him a full-time contract afterwards.

Watson made his FCW debut on July 29, 2010, when Brodus Clay and Donny Marlow defeated him in a tag team match, where he and Percy Watson were defeated by Brodus Clay and Donny Marlow. Following his debut, he was then added to FCW's official website under the name Xavier Woods. Woods began to work with Wes Brisco in October and October 14th, where they defeated three other teams in a tag team tumultue match. Woods and Brisco defeated Johnny Curtis and Derrick Bateman to become the Florida Tag Team Champions on November 4, 2014. After Brisco was sidelined with an injury, Woods and Brisco vacated the Tag Team Championship on December 1, Woods and Brisco vacated the Tag Team Championship. Woods joined up with Marcus Owens to face Damien Sandow and Titus O'Neil in the vacant Florida Tag Team Championship, but were dissatisfied. Woods began competing as a solos competitor during 2011 and 2012, but not with much success.

Woods made his television debut on October 31, 2012, in the NXT franchise, after WWE rebranded its development territory, FCW, into NXT, defeating Leo Kruger. Woods began winning on NXT over El Local and Jake Carter's likes, and the likes of 1990s pop culture, which made him incorporate his gimmick of a teenager of 1990s pop culture into his matches and clothing. Since being called up to WWE's main roster, he stopped using this gimmick.

Woods made his main roster debut on November 18, 2013 as he team up with fellow TNA alumnus and former tag-team partner R-Truth to defeat 3MB (Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal). Woods defeated Heath Slater in his debut singles match, while R-Truth and The Funkadactyls were accompanied by Naomi and Cameron. Woods and Brodus Clay clashed after Clay took offense to Woods' use of his entrance music and The Funkdactyls as his valets on November 29 of SmackDown. Woods' first defeat came late that night when he and R-Truth lost to Tons of Funk (Clay and Tensai). Tons of Funk was defeated in a rematch on the December 2 episode of Raw, Woods and Truth. Woods lost to clay on the December 9 episode of Raw. Woods and Truth defeated Tons of Funk on December 11 to put an end to the feud.

Woods made his WrestleMania debut on April 6, 2014, but he didn't win the match. Woods and Truth then began a feud with debutant Alexander Rusev, and they were defeated by him in singles matches. Woods and Truth were disqualified by Rusev in a handicap match at Extreme Rules. Woods and Truth's staff also disbanded after this loss.

Woods appeared on Raw's July 21 episode after Big E and Kofi Kingston lost their second match as a team in a string of losses, a string of losses, and they were unable to speak on them. He went on to say that they could not "get ahead" by kissing babies and shaking hands, and that "now is their moment" and that they should have a stable. Woods accepted Woods' invitation, and Woods led Big E and Kingston to a dramatic victory over Heath Slater and Titus O'Neil on the next day's Grand Event. Woods appeared in a commentary role on the WWE Tag Team Champions' match, The Usos, on July 29. The threesome were then temporarily suspended on the SmackDown episode on August 8; no one of the other two members of the team was mentioned or acknowledged. Woods appeared on the television crew alongside Rich Brennan on the August 28 episode of Superstars. Despite being disbanded on WWE television, Woods, Big E, and Kingston stayed together at home shows. Woods competed in an Intercontinental Championship No. 26 on September 26 on SmackDown's episode. Cesaro defeated 1 contender in the royal war.

WWE began airing vignettes for Woods, Big E, and Kingston, with the stable being billed as The New Day and depicting overly-positive babyface characters. On the November 28 episode of SmackDown, the New Day made their in-ring debut against Curtis Axel, Heath Slater, and Titus O'Neil. Kingston and Big E defeated Gold and Stardust at the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pre-show on December 14, sparking a brief feud with Gold and Stardust. Woods was eliminated by the eventual champion of the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal in WrestleMania 31, where he was disqualified by the eventual winner, Big Show.

Since fans responded in a sarcastic way on the show, The New Day turned heel on April 6, 2015, The New Day turned heel. During games, Woods would often trash-talk with their opponents and the audience. After Woods blocked Sin Cara from re-entering the ring, The New Day defeated the Lucha Dragons by counting out to become the top contenders for the WWE Tag Team Championship on April 20. Big E and Kingston defeated Tyson Kidd and Cesaro to win the WWE Tag Team Championship, beating Woods due to a distraction. Woods was then granted a cut of the throne and the trio defended the titles under Freebird Rule. On SmackDown and Payback, Big E and Kingston retained titles against Kidd and Cesaro, with Woods playing in both games. The New Day retained the trophy in the first-ever tag team Elimination Chamber match, where all three members were able to compete. Woods and Big E lost their titles to The Prime Time Players (Titus O'Neil and Darren Young), but the titles were regained at SummerSlam for the second time. Woods was brought through a table with a 3D in the next night on Raw. The New Day had been robbed by returning The Dudley Boyz. At Night of Champions and Live from Madison Square Garden events by disqualification, and by pinfall in a Cell, the New Day retained the titles against The Dudley Boyz. In a triple threat tag team ladder match against the Lucha Dragons and The Usos, the New Day retained the trophy at TLC. At Royal Rumble, they retained their status against The Usos.

Despite portrayed heels, New Day's solid in-ring performances and entertaining segments earned good feedback from critics and live audiences, as the crowd began to embrace them. After beating Sheamus and King Barrett, the New Day retained their titles at Roadblock but lost to them in a six-man tag team match at WrestleMania 32. In a dangerous four-way tag team match between the Valiantvillains and the Money in the Bank, the New Day retained their championship at Extreme Rules against The Vains, Enzo Amore and Big Cass, as well as former President George Amore and Big Cass. Woods and his fellow The New Day coworkers were drafted into the Raw brand as part of WWE's draft on July 19, respectively. The New Day became the longest-serving WWE Tag Team Champions in history on July 22, beating the previous record of 478 days established by Demolition. The Raw Tag Team Championship was renamed after SmackDown introduced the SmackDown Tag Team Championship after the company's demise, and the titles were renamed by The New Day. At SummerSlam and Battle of Champions, they retained their titles against Gallows and Anderson. On the October 31 episode of Raw, The New Day revealed that they had been named captain of Team Raw for the Survivor Series tag team elimination match at Survivor Series. They were the first team disqualified at the tournament, but Team Raw later went on to win the match. The New Day retained their titles against Team Raw's sole survivors, Cesaro and Sheamus, on the November 21 episode of Raw. The New Day lost the Raw Tag Team Championship to Cesaro and Sheamus, bringing an end to their record-breaking championship reign of 483 days. The New Day was rematch but lost the championships, but the New Day was unable to regain the titles. The New Day will then host WrestleMania 33.

As part of the Superstar Shake-Up, The New Day was moved to the SmackDown brand on April 11, 2017. They began a feud with The Usos while fighting them at Money in the Bank, which they won by a random score. Woods and Kingston won the SmackDown Tag Team Championship for the first time, but The Usos lost the title back to the Usos at SummerSlam. The New Day beat The Usos to win the championship in a Sin City Street Fight on September 12, but lost them again to The Usos at Hell in a Cell on September 12 episode of SmackDown Live. In a deadly four-way tag team match involving Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin, as well as Aiden English and Rusev, the New Day failed to recover the awards from Clash of Champions. Daniel Bryan, the general manager of SmackDown Live on December 26, announced a tournament for the vacant United States Championship. Woods defeated Aiden English in the first round of the tournament, but in the semi-finals, they lost to Jinder Mahal. Woods reached number 12 in the Royal Rumble competition on January 28, 2018, but Mahal had to dismiss them. The New Day met the Usos for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship, but it was a no contest after Inference from The Bludgeon Brothers. The New Day will face The Usos and The Bludgeon Brothers in a triple threat tag team match for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania 34. The winning team earned the right to face The Bludgeon Brothers in the SmackDown Tag Team Championship at SummerSlam on July 21, with general manager Paige determining a tag team championship tournament. In the semi-finals and Cesaro and Sheamus in the finals, the New Day defeated SAnitY. The New Day won the match by disqualification, ensuring that the Bludgeon Brothers retained their positions, but The New Day defeated The Bludgeon Brothers in a no disqualification match for the third time two days later. Woods and Big E lost their titles against The Bar on October 16, defeating the Bar in SmackDown 1000.

Woods participated in the Royal Rumble match on January 27, 2019, but was disqualified by Drew McIntyre. Woods and Big E defeated Gallows and Anderson, Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura, The Bar, The Usos, and Rowan in a tag team gauntlet match in the lead-up to WrestleMania 35, and after many attempts, Mr. McMahon gave him the title shot. Following WrestleMania, Woods, and Big E, the SmackDown Tag Team Championship match at Extreme Rules was awarded to another SmackDown Tag Team Championship slot. Woods and Big E won the titles, beating Daniel Bryan and Rowan, as well as Heavy Machinery. At Battle of Champions, Woods and Big E lost their titles to The Revival. Woods sustained a legitimate achilles injury during a WWE live event on October 21, and it was announced that he would be sidelined him for six months to a year.

Woods recovered from injury, after he partnered with Kingston to defeat Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura in their seventh SmackDown Tag Team Championship on October 9, 2020. Kingston and Woods were drafted to the Raw brand after the match as part of the 2020 Draft, splitting them from Big E, who stayed on the SmackDown brand. New Day's episode of Raw Tag Team Championship holders The Street Profits, who were drafted to SmackDown, would trade tag team titles with Raw Tag Team Championship holders The Street Profits. This will be Kingston and Woods' third year as a team (fifth for Kingston), New Day's 10th tag team championship appearance as a team, and Woods' 10th tag team championship appearance as a team. The Raw Tag Team Championship to The Hurt Company was lost to TLC, Kingston and Woods on December 20, as Cédric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin were defeated in the competition. During Woods and Benjamin's live broadcast of Raw, Woods and Kingston would regain the titles from Alexander and Benjamin, marking Woods' fourth reign with the Raw Tag Championships and overall 11th Tag Team Championship reign in WWE. The championship will be held until WrestleMania 37, where they lost the championship to AJ Styles and Omos.

Woods – alongside his tag team partner Kingston – were drafted to the SmackDown brand, which went into operation on October 22 as part of the 2021 Draft. Woods entered the 2021 King of the Ring tournament, representing Raw, where he defeated Ricochet in the first round and Jinder Mahal in the semi-finals. Woods won the tournament and became "King of the Ring" at Crown Jewel on October 21, his first individual award in WWE. Woods was coronated on the following episode of SmackDown, with the team now officially members of the SmackDown brand. Woods was adorned with a cape, crown, and scepter, and Woods' ring name was changed to King Woods. Woods, a 2022 edition of SmackDown, was diagnosed with a torn plantaris, preventing him from competing for the next six weeks.

Woods returned to Xavier Woods in a match on March 25, 2022, the 2022 version of SmackDown. Kingston & Woods then faced Sheamus & Ridge Holland in a match at WrestleMania but lost.

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