Heading into the final SmackDown before the WWE Draft, Xavier Woods was feeling pretty darn good about himself. He'd secured a major win over LA Knight on the previous edition, was booked for his first-ever shot at the Intercontinental Championship, and found himself three seconds away from earning his first-ever singles title as a member of the WWE Universe, which, considering he joined the promotion just over a decade ago, held particular weight.

Fast forward to the end of SmackDown, and Woods simply didn't have the goods to become the third and final member of New Day to win singles gold, as, despite his best efforts, he was beat by Gunther in the ring and ultimately sent to the showers to reevaluate his plans moving forward, as he detailed on the SmackDown LowDown.

Fortunately, since then, Woods has had some time to think through his future, think about the draft, and evaluate where he would like to be moving forward, either as a singles star or as solely a tag team specialist alongside his lifelong buddy Kofi Kingston. While Woods knows he will inevitably have to wrestle Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship, as he is a member of a tag team who are destined for the Hall of Fame at some point down the line, he still hasn't given up the dream of a becoming a solo WWE Champion too, as he detailed on his social media account.

“Last Friday night on SmackDown, I had a match for the Intercontinental Championship with ‘The Ring General' Gunther,” Woods began. “Since you don't see that title anywhere on me right now, you can guess the outcome. Do I want another shot? Of course. Am I going to get another shot? I have no idea, but that's not due to lack of skill or effort. That's because this Friday night, the WWE Draft kicks off, and I have no idea what show Kofi and I are even going to end up on, but one good thing that came out of last Friday is that I had the chance to remind every single member of the WWE Universe that I have the ability to go toe-to-toe with any of our current champions.

“Roll call, I have gone toe-to-toe with our current Tag Team Champions, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. I just went shot-for-shot with the most dominant Intercontinental Champion that we've had in recent memory, ‘The Ring General' Gunther. I am one of two men to go the distance with our reigning and defending, Roman Reigns, and I actually have yet to have the pleasure of being one on one in the ring with our current United States Champion, Austin Theory. Don't even get me started on the fact Triple H just unveiled a brand new Heavyweight Title. So what I'm trying to say is that regardless if I end up on Raw or SmackDown, Xavier Woods has options, and I will become a singles champion. It might not be today, and it might not even be tomorrow, but eventually, Xavier Woods wins.”

Had Woods won on SmackDown, the entire WWE Universe would have been different; Gunther would likely be vying for the newly announced WWE World Heavyweight Championship on whichever brand Roman Reigns doesn't land on, and Woods would be afforded another chance to prove he's a singles star after his run as the “King of the Ring” petered out. Unfortunately, that didn't happen, but hey, just because Woods was unsuccessful in his first effort doesn't mean he'll have to wait 13 years for another shot. After months of feuding with Bobby Lashley, Austin Theory would likely relish a chance to wrestle a proven vet like Woods.

Xavier Woods and New Day have a rumored feud with this SmackDown faction.

While Woods would love to add a singles title to his resume, rumor has it WWE might have other plans for the gamer known as Austin Creed, as, according to WRKD Wrestling on social media, WWE may have plans to place the entire New Day into a feud with none other than “The Ring General's” faction, Imperium.

“Despite a loss to Gunther on Smackdown, one long-term backstage pitch has seen Xavier Woods and a fully healed Big E and Kofi Kingston feuding with Imperium once the New Day are ready to return,” WRKD Wrestling wrote on Twitter. “The centerpiece for the feud would be Big E facing Gunther.”

On paper, this feud makes a ton of sense, as Gunther made it abundantly clear that he thinks Woods and the rest of the New Day are a bunch of goofs who don't take themselves too seriously inside the ring or out of it. If the rest of New Day and get healthy, which is far from a guarantee, considering Big E's current health situation, pairing the pancake-loving trio with Imperium would be the exact sort of opposites-attract angle that has found rousing success in professional wrestling promotions the world over for decades.