The New Level wasted no time making their presence felt in AEW, and their arrival may already have WWE officials reconsidering how the departures of Austin Creed and Kofi Kingston were handled.

Creed, formerly known as Xavier Woods, and Kofi, who wrestled as Kofi Kingston in WWE, made their surprise AEW debuts at All In 2026. The longtime tag team joined Swerve Strickland for the Trios Roulette match, immediately becoming one of the most talked-about acts of the night.

The trio went on to capture the AEW World Trios Championships, while Creed and Kofi also made it clear that they have their sights set on AEW’s World Tag Team Championship.

Their debut received a strong reaction from the AEW audience, and the former WWE stars appear to have made an immediate impression backstage. Kofi has also shared a personal update that further indicated he has moved on from his lengthy run with WWE.

According to a report from WrestleVotes, the success of The New Level’s AEW arrival has reportedly led to some regret within WWE over allowing the duo to leave. The report also suggested that there was a disconnect between WWE and its parent company, TKO, when it came to the situation. The report states,

“I did meet up with a source in WWE. He told me that this is the first time he thinks there is regret on WWE’s side of things for not having them come back. This is the first time there is a disconnect between TKO and WWE.”

“The person I spoke to today said, ‘You know what? Maybe TKO mismanaged this one.’ People in WWE never wanted to see them leave. A lot of people in that company had a lot of interaction with Kofi and Austin, and they loved them. They were beloved in that organization. Everyone in that office in Stamford, a lot of those guys who worked with them, felt that was a big loss. It was a morale loss to have those guys depart.”

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