Hall Of Famer On 2 Major WWE Departures: “It Was A Shock”

A wrestling legend disclosed his reaction to the recent departures of two major WWE stars. The Hall of Famer in question is Barry Darsow (aka Smash of the Demolition), and the stars in question are the New Day.

After WrestleMania 42, fans were utterly shocked to hear about the WWE departure of Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston of the New Day after years of history in the company. It was later reported that both Woods and Kingston were asked to take a pay cut on their existing deals, which they refused and decided to leave.

Meanwhile, the WWE Hall of Famer, Barry Darsow (aka Smash), also gave his opinion on the New Day’s departure from the WWE. Smash was a part of the legendary tag team, ‘Demolition,’ that performed in the Stamford-based promotion back in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

WWE Hall of Famer on the New Day’s shocking departure

While speaking on Wrestling Life Online, the WWE Hall of Famer, Barry Darsow (aka Smash) said he didn’t know how much pay cut the New Day were asked to take while highly praising them:

I heard the news, and I don’t know the inside thing or what goes on, how much money they were making, how much WWE has to cut, I don’t know all that stuff.”

But as I watch it, those guys would be the guys I wouldn’t think they’d get rid of, because they’re so talented, and what they’ve done in their careers there is so big, you can have them do anything, and you don’t have to recreate the wheel with new guys, and I’m sure they’re the kind of guys that would do anything they want them to do.”

Barry Darsow further revealed that the news of New Day’s departure was a shock for him, and also compared today’s pay in the WWE with his time:

It was a shock when I saw that, but they left on their own terms. They were gonna take a cut in pay and said ‘nah lets just go’. Back in our day, we didn’t make that amount of money, so if they’ve been working their for that company for how many years, and if they’re gonna take that cut in pay, which was probably way more than we made in our careers, they’ve got a lot of money in the bank.” [H/T WrestleTalk]

WWE Hall of Famer Barry Darsow (Demolition Smash) on the New Day's WWE release, says that he thought they were guys they'd never get rid of:

"I heard the news, and I don't know the inside thing or what goes on, how much money they were making, how much WWE has to cut, I don't… pic.twitter.com/ty2ouLHVKa

— WrestleTalk (@WrestleTalk_TV) June 15, 2026

Only time will tell what the future holds for the New Day following their WWE departure.