Big E: I’m Grateful To Have Been WWE Champion, But It Wasn’t The Run I Wanted
Big E opens up on his WWE Championship reign.
Having won the 2021 Men’s Money in the Bank, fans were overjoyed when Big E cashed in the briefcase on September 13 to become WWE Champion. After defeating Bobby Lashley, The New Day member embarked on a 110-day title reign, although many fans were left feeling as if there was more left on the table by the time he lost the gold in a five-way match on January 1, 2022. Now, it seems Big E shares a similar sentiment regarding his reign.
Speaking with Chris Van Vliet on Insight, Big E expressed gratitude for his WWE Championship reign, although it wasn’t the run he’d hoped for.
“What was supposed to be a singles between me and Seth becomes a Five Way where Brock beats me for the title. But 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. But to go from that, to having certain RAWs where I felt like I was probably in five or six segments, 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,’ 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.”
-Big E
Although Big E was Monday Night RAW’s top champion, he only successfully defended the title once on pay-per-view before his reign came to an end. Outside that, he had two further title matches with Bobby Lashley and a defence against Austin Theory.
At first, many had their fingers crossed that Big E would go on to have several other world title reigns having finally reaching the mountaintop in 2021. However, less than three months after losing the WWE Championship, the star suffered fractures to his C1 and C6 vertebrae, ultimately ending his in-ring career.
Elsewhere in the interview, Big E discussed his career-ending injury, saying he still feels for Ridge Holland after the Backlash he received. You can read more about that here.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on both Big E as soon as we hear more.
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