New Gay rocks! Kofi Kingston uses the power of positivity on Kevin Von Erich's verbal stumble at the WWE Hall of Fame

What a difference a year makes.

Last year at this time, The New Day were a floundering babyface group struggling for steady minutes on television as enhancement talent.

In 2016, Big E, Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods are the hottest act in the company. And more than their frequent Raw segments or continuous stream of new merchandie, WWE's willingness to place them front and center in major marketing campaigns - like the launch of their Snapchat partnership - or in potentially controversial spots - like inducting the Fabulous Freebirds into the Hall of Fame - shows how high Vince McMahon and team are on the trio.

The Freebirds are undeniably worthy to enter the Hall on merit, but their inclusion drew some criticism for the group's use of Confederate iconography and allegations of Michael "P.S." Hayes being racist. Even slotting the three black performers as speakers for their tag team predecessors was knocked as a purely political move.

And it may have been, but the trio delivered in the crunch, including swerving the audience by turning a reference to the 'Birds "Stars and Bars" facepaint into a USA chant which would have made Hacksaw Jim Duggan proud.

They were also thrown another curveball when fellow Hall of Fame ceremony speaker (and Hall of Famer) Kevin Von Erich slipped up when mentioning their name, calling them "The New Gay".

It was no big deal, and could have been left in the dust of a night that was memorable for many other reasons. But, quicker than you can make an AJ Styles joke, Kofi turned it into an entertaining and diversity-embracing moment: