Big E Gives An Update On His Health

In an interview with These Urban Times, Big E gave an update on his health following the neck injury he suffered earlier this year. He fractured his C1 & C6 vertebrae after landing on his head following a belly to belly suplex from Ridge Holland. However, he did not have any ligament or spinal cord damage. Here are highlights:

On the status of his neck: “So I have to get some more scans at the one-year mark in March and then we’ll see how everything’s looking. But we’ll see from there. Yeah, my C1 is broken in two spots, so we obviously have to be very smart about that. I was very fortunate. I want to make sure I’m making the best decision for myself. We’ll see in March. I feel great. Honestly, I’m really thankful for that. I don’t have any nerve issues, no strength issues, no impairment whatsoever. Obviously, to get back in the ring to do what we do, I want to make sure my C1’s rock solid. Other than that, I’m very blessed. I feel great.”

On representation for black wrestlers today: “Yeah, that’s huge. I’m so proud of just the talent across the board. You look at one of the very biggest stars in our industry, that’s Bianca [Belair]. She’s been absolutely killing it, not just in the ring but outside of it. I’m getting goosebumps, because I think just seeing the way that like, little girls from all backgrounds and colors, the way they connect with her. It’s so cool. Seeing her husband Montez [Ford], his partner [Angelo] Dawkins, Bobby Lashley, obviously…and Bobby is in his mid-forties and I don’t know what this man is made of. I think he’s aging backwards. One of the most impressive athletes I’ve ever been around. But you look across the board…Ricochet, man…there’s so many black talent who aren’t just there to fill a quota, ‘We need more black talent so here they are’, but they clearly are so talented, they deserve to be in the spots they’re in. So I’m really proud of the progression. There’s still obviously more work to be done too but it’s been really cool to see the amount of really talented black talent come along in the last few years.”

On scouting for the WWE NIL program: “It’s been fun for me because I resonate with it because I was a football player at Iowa with a bunch of injuries, my career was over, and I’m thinking now, ‘what do I do with my life?’ And I didn’t really know. I was going to grad school, but I didn’t really feel fulfilled. For me, I love being able to…I feel I can go back in time to 13 years ago and look at young men and women in a very similar position as me who are seeing the end of their college career. You know, you spend so much of your time invested n your sport. So many of us, we play our sport since four, five, six years old. It’s all we know. You’re in school and working hard at that, but it’s something you love, and then it’s just gone. For me, being in the ring wasn’t the same as playing football and having my hand in the dirt, but it still filled that athletic void. The ability to go out there and hit people and run and jump and do all those things, I felt like a kid again, I felt free. So for me, I love doing it because it’s an opportunity to reach out to college athletes and let them know, ‘WWE might not have been something on your radar, you might not have considered it, but I’m telling you, it changed my life dramatically.’ I’ve been able to travel the world, entertain people all across the globe, it’s an incredible experience. So for me, I love it because I love college sports and I so resonate with college athletes. Being able to present this to them is something that connects with me.”