Despite serving as an integral member of the New Day, the longest reigning tag team champions in WWE history, current wrestler and fighting game connoisseur, Xavier Woods came up a little short in his Tekken 7 pool at EVO 2017 on Friday afternoon.
The living ring legend’s loss is understandable considering his opponent – an unassuming Korean player that goes by Knee, who just so happens to be one of the top Tekken 7 players in the world.
Woods knew that the odds of advancing in the tournament had been dramatically reduced after he learned he’d be facing the fearsome Tekken god, but that didn’t stop him from retaining his optimism; at one point saying that he would be pleased if he was able to take one round off of Knee, via a post on his Twitter page.
Arriving at the station for his pool early, Woods graciously took the time to pose for pictures with fans, as well as shoot a quick promo for his match for his WWE sanctioned gaming channel: UpUpDownDown.
Knee, however, was late to arrive, leaving Xavier to bounce in nervous anticipation as questions were raised as to whether he would get a bye and advance in the tournament due to a no-show by his opponent.
Unfortunately, advancing wouldn’t be in the cards for Woods. Knee eventually made his arrival and the EVO 2017 bout soon commenced.
While Woods ultimately came up short in his match against Knee, (handily losing 0 – 2) there was a bright spot to be found in the WWE Superstar’s performance. Not only did he achieve his modified goal of taking a round off the Tekken legend – he actually doubled his hopes by taking two rounds during the best of three series.
Tekken 7 wasn’t the only title on the docket for Xavier Woods at EVO 2017 on Friday. The wrestling star also hosted a tournament for the arcade classic, Windjammers – a certified classic, and one of Woods’ favorite titles.
EVO 2017 is the largest fighting game tournament in the world, and is taking place this weekend (July 14th – 16th) at the Mandalay Bay Convention center in Las Vegas, Nevada.