Big E Speaks Out On Losing The WWE Title, Original Day 1 Plans

Big E did an interview with Sports Illustrated to reflect on his first run as WWE Champion, which ended at Day 1 in a fatal five-way match after suffering a pinfall at the hands of Brock Lesnar.

Originally, it was supposed to be a fatal 4-way bout before Lesnar was added after his match with Roman Reigns was nixed. Here are the highlights:

Original plans for the match:

“Initially, it was supposed to be me and Seth,” Big E said. “Seth was named the No. 1 contender early, so we had some time, and that’s when I wrestled Kevin. That worked out really well, so he got added to the match, and then so did Bobby. So what it became was much different than what it was supposed to be.”

Lesnar being added to the bout due to Reigns testing positive for COVID-19:

“I got to the building thinking we were going to have our four-way. I didn’t know about Roman being unavailable until that afternoon, a few hours before the show. That threw a wrench into our match, as well as ripple effects to Raw and SmackDown.”

No longer being champion:

“I’m not comfortable being just a guy on the roster. I’m not good with going back to the way it was before.”

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed to see it end that way. And it’s not anything against Brock. Brock is a very special athlete, human and performer. There is no shame in losing to Brock Lesnar. I took a moment to soak in the sadness. The highs of winning, like at Money in the Bank or cashing in, those are incredible. But the lows suck, too. And that’s motivation to fuel me.”

The planned finish before Lesnar was added:

“I never heard a finish [for the four-way]. When it became a four-way, especially one so loaded, anything was a possibility. But I hadn’t heard anything about a finish.”