Examining Xavier Woods' Direction, Upside and Long-Term Potential

Xavier Woods is a ball of fire burning brightly after having found the right igniter. 

As one-third of The New Day, he has reshaped the audience's expectation of what a WWE Superstar is. The prototypical wrestler isn't working on a Ph.D., doesn't play the trombone and doesn't embrace his nerdiness the way Woods has.

But his approach his working. He and The New Day have been a blast to watch.

That group began as a flop, however. The clap-happy posse of positive thinkers didn't resonate with the audience, and the team looked doomed right away.

Woods, Kofi Kingston and Big E, though, transformed the group into something else entirely. They began to be exuberantly silly, dance with abandon and fire off major league one-liners.

The trio has since twice won the Tag Team Championship and been the heart and focus of the tag division for the bulk of the last two years. Woods has been their de facto leader, often the manager of the three.

That's a great spot for him. It highlights the best weapons in his arsenal.

The New Day has been tangling with a variety of teams, but The Club appear to be the champions' primary rivals for the near future. WWE was wise to pit those squads against each other.

This promises to be a feud where Woods, Kingston and Big E will be forced to be more intense and serious, a welcome addition to their usual zaniness. 

Looking beyond that, Woods is poised to flourish. But to what extent? That will largely depend on WWE's plans for him, whether it wants him to do more of his work on the canvas or with a mic in hand.

Strengths

In an era marked by quick action and acrobatics-heavy offense, Woods fits right in.

While not on someone like Neville's level of athleticism, the trombone-playing grappler is plenty agile. Woods rolls around the ring and bounds from the ropes in impressive fashion.

Credit: WWE.com

Wrestling purists may scoff at his inclusion of video game-inspired moves (like Ryu's Hadouken from Street Fighter), but there is certainly a portion of the audience who appreciates all of his pop culture references.

The New Day provided a proper stage for his personality, which has been his most valuable asset. Woods is a frenetic presence, funny, charismatic, witty, original. He has helped make that squad one of WWE's most consistently entertaining acts over the past two years. 

Former ECW champ Tommy Dreamer appeared on Busted Open Radio last December and compared The New Day to one of WWE's best factions ever:

As a bonus, Woods is one of WWE's most versatile assets. Not only can he mix it up between the ropes or goof around with his teammates, but he is a go-to personality outside the ring. Woods hosts the YouTube video game channel Up Up Down Down and excels as a spokesperson at corporate and charity events.

That will help him prolong his career even if his momentum as a wrestler slows. The Miz is a perfect example of how being a voice for the company can lengthen one's WWE tenure.

Obstacles

Woods is good, not elite, in the ring. The clearest demonstration of that was during John Cena's ongoing United States Championship open challenge last year.

Everyone from Sami Zayn to Cesaro took on the champ, and many of those bouts were among 2015's best. Woods stepped up to Cena in September, and their clash was one of the least memorable of Cena's reign.

Woods did have a strong showing against AJ Styles on Thursday's SmackDown, but this isn't the norm for him. He's solid as a wrestler, but his strength is more on the vocal side of the game. That's surely why when The New Day goes to battle, it is so often Kingston and Big E who do the actual fighting while Woods cheerleads.

Not being impressive in stature (he's 5'11'') in a world of squared-circle superheroes doesn't help either. 

WWE has shown in the past that it sometimes isn't sure what to do with Woods. From his Funkadactyl run to the first incarnation of The New Day, the company has thrown ill-fitting roles at him. If The New Day ever disbands, it's not a safe bet that WWE Creative will find a suitable path for him afterward.

Long-Term Potential

What avenue WWE has Woods travel down will go a long way in determining the level of his success. 

If he goes solo, his ceiling is being a short-term midcard champion. Even with all the intangibles he has, Woods will find it hard to move past that spot on the card with better in-ring performers as his peers.

So much of his appeal is as part of New Day as well. If he doesn't have Kingston and Big E to play off, suddenly his comedy will suffer.

Credit: WWE.com

Keeping the band together for the long run would have Woods and his crew move firmly into the discussion of WWE's greatest factions ever. They would rival Edge and Christian as a team who thrived both in the ring and as entertainers beyond it. The trio has been thriving for a long time now.

As a manager, though, is where he's bound to reach his full potential.

Playing the pestering, energetic loudmouth in someone else's corner is the best fit for him. We have seen that during his time with The New Day. In 2015, during the tag champs' peak, Will Pruett of ProWrestling.net wrote:

That's an honor Woods can claim several times over. He has the tools to be WWE's next Jimmy Hart and earn a spot in the Hall of Fame as an advocate. Woods should have less lofty aspirations, though, should he focus on wrestling instead.

Be sure to check out previous editions of this ongoing series:

• Apollo Crews
• Rusev
• Sami Zayn
• Darren Young