Big E. appeared on INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet for an in-depth interview covering all things pro wrestling and WWE.
The following are some of the highlights.
On respecting New Day’s decision to walk away from WWE and ownership changes: “I don’t want to speak for them. I know when the time is right, I’m sure they’ll have a lot of things to say. There are things out there about pay cuts and whatnot. I just know, look, this ownership is not the same ownership that existed when we first signed to the company. It is their company, it is not ours. So they make their decisions with how pay goes, and ultimately, we all have to abide by that, and you understand that it is not your ball. It was not our ball when we first signed to the company. It is not our ball now. It is someone else’s ball to determine when you get in the game and how many carries you got. So they made a decision, and I just kind of want to leave that in their hands to be able to decide. I can’t fully speak to a lot of that, but I think we, as performers, we all want to feel valued, you want to feel like people want you here, there’s a plan for you, and we’re going to compensate you accordingly. When you feel like that plan is not in accordance with your plan, or the money doesn’t line up with the way you see yourself valued, you have to make a decision on whether you’re going to say, “Yes, this is what I will accept, or “No, this is not what I’m going to accept. So they made a decision to step away, and I respect [that]. Those guys will always be my family, regardless of what company we’re in, regardless of how old we are. What we built is bigger than companies, it’s bigger than our industry. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be in the financial position I’m in. I wouldn’t have the breadth and myriad of incredible experiences, even just getting comfortable in my own skin. I credit those guys for so much of that. I look back on our time in The New Day, and we could talk about how my career was cut short, we could talk about the things that didn’t happen in my career, but I knew I was in the good old days. When I was in the good old days, I knew this was it, and I was able to enjoy it. You’re always pushing for more. You’re oftentimes annoyed with booking or disgruntled with certain decisions, but I knew we had lightning in a bottle, and not just on screen, but off-screen. The way we traveled together, the amount, the laughs we had, I can’t tell you how many times I had to wipe tears of laughter out of my eyes. So many times when we were just, we had too much fun. I don’t think we ever had a blow-up, we never had an argument, we never had a time where we butted heads, really ever. If we had any minor disagreements, they were about creative process, and we were able to get on the same page immediately, the way we work together, our synergy, it’s special. So those guys are family, and will always be family. And I will always root for their prosperity. I will always, always root for their fulfillment. I just want them to be happy. So, if they’re happy at home, if they’re happy wrestling in VFW halls, if they’re happy doing conventions, gaming, whatever it is that they want to do with their lives that fulfills them, as long as they ain’t hurting anyone, fully support it.”
On his WWE Championship reign not being the one he wanted but still being grateful for 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 rumor, 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 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, 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.”
On how he feels people crossed the line and went too far with threats to Ridge Holland after the spot that led to Big E suffering a broken neck: “It was pretty quickly,” he said of when he talked to Ridge. “I don’t remember the exact timeline, but we ended up talking pretty quickly thereafter. He got a lot of hate, he got threats. On one end I can understand a lot of people. I can appreciate the people who are supportive of me and who wanted to see me continue to wrestle, and felt like he was the reason that I couldn’t, but I know what I signed up for. I know things go awry. It was never malicious. It was never intentional. I felt for him and continued to feel for him. He actually sent me a 10-pound box of meat as an apology, which felt like a very manly thing to do. Here’s a bunch of meat. At the time I really wasn’t eating much red meat, so I was like, oh, this is great, but I sent that to my creative partner, Johnny. Someone enjoyed it, at least. But no, we talked, and he continued to check in. I actually ran into him briefly at the MGM Grand in Vegas for Mania this year. He was on the move, and I was on the move, and there are fans around too, so it’s pretty quick. But it was good to see him. It seemed like he was in a better place, but yeah, I know it really altered his career, and I tried to put out a statement or two to tell people there’s no ill will whatsoever, please leave this man alone. But more than anything, he has a family to take care of. He has kids, and to see him, one, he dealt with a devastating injury of his own. He dealt with losing his job. I really felt for him, continue to feel for him, because I tell people I’m in a great place, I’m very thankful. I still am continuing with the company, doing broadcasting work. I am good, I am truly, truly good. But, yeah, I think he was just in a very difficult position, and I really hate that his tenure in WWE, for the most part, a lot of it’s going to be defined by the injury and his role in it. But I really feel for him and for his family, and I truly hope he’s in a better place. I hope that’s all come to an end, because a lot of people crossed the line and went too far.”
