Hardy continued to speak on the New Day’s impact on the WWE Universe, explaining that their success and relatability inspired an entire generation of young fans for years to come.

“I think if you’re a young black kid watching the New Day, you go, ‘Whoa, these are three guys, I love that they’re together and they’re representing people like me’ … Big E ended up becoming the champion, Kofi ended up becoming the champion, which no one would have ever guessed that when he was around especially in the beginning,” he explained. “It’s very nice to have inspiring figures like that people can relate to that look like them and they see them and go ‘Wow if they can do it, then that gives me hope that I can do it too,’ and that’s very important.”

Kingston and Woods were reportedly asked to take a significant pay cut from WWE, but the decorated tag team declined the offer and decided to leave the company instead. Additionally, news broke last week that other talent in WWE were also asked to accept a reduced salary, but those who were approached were only stars that the promotion’s creative team didn’t have interest in utilizing going forward.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.