Big E has reflected on the dramatic journey of incredible highs and heartbreaking lows that changed his WWE career in the space of just six months, from winning the WWE Championship to suffering the neck injury that likely brought his in-ring career to an end.
On September 13, 2021, Big E cashed in his Money in the Bank contract on Bobby Lashley. Pinning Lashley following the cash-in, Big E won the WWE Championship for the first time in his career, much to the delight of fans in the arena and around the world.
Holding on to the championship until January 1, 2022, Big E lost the title at the Day 1 Premium Live Event after Brock Lesnar was added to the WWE Championship match following Roman Reigns’ removal from the event due to COVID-19 protocols.
Following the title loss, Big E was traded back to SmackDown and reunited with Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods to form The New Day. Unfortunately, on March 22, 2022, Big E suffered a broken neck after taking an overhead suplex from Ridge Holland at ringside. Despite the fact that he was able to avoid surgery and has a high quality of life, multiple doctors advised the WWE star to never wrestle again. Taking the advice of medical professionals, Big E has accepted that his in-ring career is likely over.
Speaking with Chris Van Vliet, Big E opened up about his long-standing struggles with mental health and his fears about how he would handle life after wrestling:
“Yeah, man. I had a friend of mine who I’m now super proud of. He’s in LA. He used to work in social media for WWE, Anthony, but he’s doing his acting thing right now and doing well. But we used to have this thing, because we were both kind of quietly struggling with our mental health at the time, and he used to refer to me as the sad clown, because he was one of the few people who knew what I was going through and experiencing, and we would also have this joke, and it was a dark joke. But his little thing was, ‘As soon as I retire, within 48 hours, put me on suicide watch.’ Because for me the thought was I always have this constant distraction of travel, of doing shows, you don’t really have time to sit with your mind. But I had that. But when all that stopped, my fear, and I had a real fear of when all that’s over, and you’re home alone, there’s no running from yourself anymore, now you have to really confront your mind and what you’re going through.”
“A Lot Of Life Changes In A Couple Of Months”: Big E On His Emotional Journey
Continuing, Big E first spoke about the day he lost the WWE Championship and how plans changed constantly in the lead-up to the show:
“But yeah, going from having the title, dropping it. We had that Day One PLE in Atlanta, losing to Brock, which initially that was supposed to be me and Seth. It’s supposed to be a singles match, but then Kevin Owens got added to it to become a triple threat. Then Vince, at the time, loved Bobby, so Bobby gets added to it, becomes a four-way. Then, at the time, I don’t know if you remember, Roman gets COVID, allegedly, who knows? But that was the rumour, he got COVID, so he couldn’t be there. So Brock needed a match, so he gets added to our match, and what was supposed to be a singles between me and Seth becomes a five-way, where Brock beats me for the title. But you know, that’s the business, and honestly, the fact alone that I got to be world champion, a guy like me, is pretty incredible. It wasn’t the run that I wanted by any means, but I’m grateful that I got it.”
Reigns publicly announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the event and was removed from the show.
Despite his status as WWE Champion just months earlier, Big E explained that he felt demoralised by being moved back into the tag team division rather than continuing to pursue the world title picture. Big E then reflected on the period leading up to his injury and how meditation helped him navigate the struggles that followed:
“But to go from that, to having certain Raws where I felt like I was probably in five or six segments, and then I would have to do the dark match, I’m doing pre-tapes, and there’s a lot on your back. Going from that to immediately being thrust back into, and look, I love the boys, I love The New Day. But to go from, hey, you’re on the show alone, I think they were on SmackDown at the time, I was on Raw, to immediately be like, okay, the idea of you even trying to fight back or get another opportunity, we’re not doing that. Get back to the tag team, it was demoralizing, but the wrestling business is filled with ups and downs and ebbs and flows, and I think a lot of talent get too caught up in kind of the ebbs and flows. You have to be able to ride that wave. So for me the idea was always to fight back, but it was disheartening to be thrust back into a tag team, and then it wasn’t long after that where I get dunked on my head and my career is over. So yeah, a lot of life changes in a couple of months, but more than anything, I’m just so grateful that I had the tools with meditation to be able to deal with it all.”
While his in-ring career appears to be over, Big E remains part of WWE as a beloved ambassador and serves as a panellist on pre- and post-show broadcasts for major events.
Featured image: WWE
