With the news that Kofi Kingston would be barred from ringside for the contest, The Dreadlocked Dynamo watched on from afar as Big E & Xavier Woods attempted to run the gauntlet to secure Kingston his WWE Title opportunity at WrestleMania.
First up for The New Day were former Raw Tag Team Champions Gallows & Anderson, and Big E & Xavier quickly disposed of The Good Brothers, finishing them off with a thunderous UpUpDownDown.
As Kofi and several Superstars erupted with joy while watching from backstage, Big E & Xavier remained focused as Rusev & Shinsuke Nakamura stalked to the ring. The Bulgarian Brute & King of Strong Style looked to use their fresh legs to their advantage, but The New Day proved resilient and toppled the maulers with another UpUpDownDown.
Third out were arguably the toughest challenge yet – The Bar. The long-time rivals of The New Day showed no sympathy for Big E & Xavier’s plight and looked to decimate the pairing. Sheamus & Cesaro were unrelenting, but Woods endured tremendous punishment before catching Sheamus with a surprise rollup for three. An enraged Celtic Warrior & Swiss Cyborg took out their frustrations with a post-match beatdown of The New Day members, punctuating the attack by smashing Big E through a table before taking off.
With that, it seemed Big E & Woods’ chances were all but gone, especially with SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos up next. With the two so worn down and one of the greatest tag teams in WWE history standing across from them, the WWE Universe and Kofi collectively held their breath. Yet, the match would never go down, as Jimmy & Jey addressed their long history with The New Day, but also Kofi’s deservedness to challenge for the WWE Title at WrestleMania. And, with that, The Usos forfeited and exited the ring.
“The New” Daniel Bryan and his intellectual peer Rowan blew a gasket backstage, but the pair eventually somewhat composed themselves and entered the match as the last line of defense that could dash Kofi’s WrestleMania dreams once and for all. Bryan & Rowan were vicious, immediately pouncing on the worn-down New Day members. Yet, Big E & Woods never stopped believing, and they found the willpower and strength to take Bryan and Rowan down outside and trap Rowan underneath the announce table. Rowan couldn’t rise from the rubble, and one dramatic 10-count later, Woods & Big E finally secured Kofi’s WrestleMania opportunity.
Kofi rejoiced with The New Day, the WWE Universe rejoiced with Kofi and the SmackDown LIVE Superstars rejoiced with them all as Bryan vs. Kingston for the WWE Title was now the newest destination on The Road to WrestleMania.