Big E has reacted to Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods’ controversial World Tag Team Championship victory at WrestleMania 41, calling the win “cowardly” in a candid post-show interview.

After turning on Big E in November of last year, the New Day have transformed from beloved fan favorites into one of the most reviled teams in WWE. Despite the backlash from the WWE Universe, the duo captured Tag Team Championship gold for the first time in four years at WrestleMania 41, defeating the War Raiders to become 12-time Tag Team Champions.

Speaking after the show, Big E acknowledged the undeniable talent of his former brothers-in-arms, but did not hold back when it came to the manner in which they secured their win.

“Look regardless of what has happened with us I can never deny how talented those two are. I spent so much time with those guys as you know it’s long been talked about, our brotherhood and all those things and obviously I don’t feel great about the way things ended. They’re extremely talented and they’ll go down as two of the greatest to ever do it in the tag team division.”

However, Big E made it clear that while he respected their skills, he could not overlook their tactics.

“Cowardly, it’s cowardly man (the way New Day won). We started in 2014 and we talked about the way the industry is and how hard it is for certain talents, we always talked about doing things the right way in the ring and outside the ring and to see the way these men carry themselves now and the way the fans rightfully react to them, these are not the two men I thought I knew.”

Big E also pointed out that while the win marked a significant milestone for the team, it came at the cost of their integrity.

“Salute to them I suppose for winning a WrestleMania match, I believe it is their first WrestleMania win. But look at the way they did it. Is there any honor in that? Is anyone gonna celebrate a win like that? Is that a match that will be replayed in years and years later and we will stand on our feet and applaud them for their performance? No it won’t be.”

The New Day’s controversial victory was one of several title changes that occurred during WrestleMania 41. Jey Uso shocked the world by becoming the new World Heavyweight Champion, while Jacob Fatu made his WWE debut count by capturing the United States Championship.