Big E recently appeared on WWE’s The Bump and discussed several topics, ranging from his memories of WWE SummerSlam to his thoughts on his new singles run. Here are some highlights:
On being on the Kickoff show during the New Day’s rivalry with the Usos:
Big E: “But I will say one that stands out in my mind is when they had the gall to put us on the Kickoff, on the preshow with the Usos, when we were in the thick of our rivalry. We were in the meat of this thing and when we heard it, all of us looked at each other and we said what, the kickoff? And just knowing that we were all on the same page, we said, you know what? We’ll show them. You won’t ever put us on the Kickoff again. How dare you? We’re gonna steal this show. So our goal was to have the match of the whole night, and I love that mentality, so that’s one that stands out.”
On his new solo run:
Big E: “I will say, I know it’s been a while since I’ve done singles stuff, even though I had a singles match with Cesaro about a week prior. There is a bit of a dialogue, like I’ve only done tag matches my whole career, which is not the case, you know. Let’s not forget, I’m not one to beat my own drum, let people determine whatever my legacy is supposed to be, that’s up for you to decide. But I started off, for years, as a singles wrestler. I was the second-ever NXT Champion, I was an Intercontinental Champion, I’ve been doing singles for a while. You know, although I’ve been doing tags for a long time, this is not new to me, so I’m excited for the opportunity, of course. It felt like a good start with Miz, but you know, this is definitely something that kinda pretty much came out of nowhere. Bt all three of us, Kofi, Woods and myself, we’re all prepared to do every facet of this job.”
“I wanna go out there and have a killer tag match, I wanna go out there and have a killer singles match, I wanna go out there and have a great backstage promo, be able to do entertainment stuff, you wanna be able to do every facet of this job. So to me, it wasn’t this start, jump into something new, it wasn’t something that I was unprepared for, there were no jitters. If I can’t do this at 11 years deep, I’ve been signed for 11 years, I’ve been with WWE for 11 years, three of those were with FCW but I’ve been doing my thing for a bit, man. If I’m not ready at 34, at this point in my career, then get me out of here, you know what I’m saying? I’m ready for it, and it felt like a strong start. It’s just the beginning, though.”
“I’m excited to show people that I have a lot to offer and to me, it would be a disservice to Kofi and Woods, it would be a disservice to the legacy of what we’ve built for me to do anything less, for me to drop the ball, for me to give this anything less than my all would be a disservice to everything we’ve built over all these years. And that’s my goal, I just wanna add to our legacy as a faction. It’s always for the New Day, still. Even when I go out there alone, I still say, ‘Don’t you dare be sour, clap for your eight-time champs.’ I might be out there alone, but this is for the three of us, this is for our legacy and this is for the New Day, that’s the way it always will be until we’re retired. Everything we do, just like Kofi, when he held that world title and the way he picked us up, the way he carried us with him, the way we were still a unit, that’s still the same mentality is that I go out there representing the New Day, representing my brotherhood.”
On what he learned from seeing Kofi Kingston win the WWE Championship:
Big E: “The one thing that I learned is that you can do this, you can succeed at the highest level while still maintaining your friendships.”
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