Former WWE Champion Big E has expanded on his decision to call time on his professional wrestling career.
It is closing in on 4 years since Big E suffered a broken neck while competing in a match on SmackDown. As the former World Champion was able to avoid surgery and still in his prime, fans expected to see him back in the ring when he had fully recovered. However, having not had a match since the accident occurred, Big E recently confirmed that he made the decision to retire from the ring.
Speaking about the topic with Jon Alba of The Takedown on SI, the WWE star first noted that he expected to make a full recovery and make it back to the ring. However, following conversations with doctors, he did have second thoughts:
“For me, especially when I first broke my neck, I really didn’t think a lot of it,” he said. “I wasn’t in pain, I wasn’t concussed at all, I didn’t have any real nerve issues. I was like, ‘Okay, we’ll heal up.’ And they told me initially, I think it was eight weeks being in a neck brace, and you should be good to go. My C1 was broken in two places, and oftentimes, when that happens, the C1 will heal like cartilage. So in those gaps, it’ll form cartilage instead of ossifying, instead of forming new bone,” he said. “So after talking to [Dr. Juan Uribe] and a few other doctors, the doctor almost damn near begged me like, ‘Hey, please, even if you get your all go, you’re clear, you’re allowed to get back in the ring, please really reconsider it.'”
“And when I told him, ‘I think I’m definitely leaning towards being done,’ he almost quite literally breathed a sigh of relief. So for someone who’s been doing this for so long, who knows a lot more about spines and necks than I do, I definitely took heed.”
Big E Focusing On High Quality Of Life After Wrestling
Also in the interview, the former World Champion spoke about many legends struggling to function normally following the years of wear and tear on their bodies. Very much aware of this, Big E admitted that it was not a gamble that he was prepared to take:
“You see so many of the veterans, the legends, around WrestleMania, oftentimes that’s when you see a lot of the guys you don’t see year-round. And man, it’s sobering. So many of them, who aren’t even that old, are struggling with pain. Clearly not very ambulatory. They’re using walkers to get around. And man, I told myself, as much as I love my career, as much as I love being an athlete, I am really gambling with my health.”
Featured image: WWE
