Kofi Kingston And Xavier Woods' New Names Revealed Via First Post-WWE Appearance

Kingston and Woods will be guests at GalaxyCon in Oklahoma City later this month, presumably in a meet-and-greet capacity as opposed to a wrestling one. The pair has been advertised by the team running the convention, with Woods unsurprisingly being billed as Austin Creed - a name he has continued to use even while under WWE's employ - and Kofi Kingston is simply listed as Kofi.

The name Kofi planned to use after leaving WWE was the bigger mystery. Kofi Kingston isn't the wrestler's real name, which means it was presumably a WWE creation, or, at the very least, is a name owned by WWE. Kofi is the former WWE Champion's real first name, though, so there's nothing WWE can do to stop him from using it without the Kingston moving forward.

Kofi has the benefit of having a somewhat unique first name, at least in the wrestling business. When a wrestling fan hears the name Kofi, they think of Kofi Kingston. So whether he decides to stick with just his first name or if he uses a different second name down the line, fans are going to recognize him from his name alone, no matter what.

Everyone Knows Austin Creed

The same applies to Woods, who will unsurprisingly be using the name Austin Creed. Austin is the former WWE Superstar's real first name, but Creed is not his last name. However, it's a name he used before signing with WWE, and has continued to associate himself with throughout his WWE career.

It's an incredibly smart thing to do, and one more WWE Superstars should take note of, even if they think they'll never wrestle elsewhere. There aren't many under contract right now who have a second, entirely different name that fans will recognize alongside the name they use in WWE. If Woods were to show up in AEW tomorrow, for example, and the name Austin Creed was shown on the screen, most fans in that arena, and watching at home, would know who that is before even seeing his face.

It's just a convention for now, but it seems Woods and Kingston - or Kofi and Creed, that has a ring to it - are already moving on. Since they weren't released, I'm assuming they aren't bound to WWE's standard 90-day non-compete clauses. It's only a convention appearance for now, though, which might not fall under the same restrictions if the clause does apply to them.