Big E On Short Feud With Malakai Black Prior To His WWE Release, John Cena’s Return At Money In The Bank

In a recent interview with Give Me Sport, Big E discussed his feud with Malakai Black prior to his WWE release, John Cena’s return at Money in the Bank, and much more. You can read some highlights from Big E below.

Big E on Vince McMahon’s reaction after winning Money in the Bank: “We had a brief conversation. I’m trying to remember exactly what it was, man. It was definitely positive. He had a smile on his face. We talked for thirty seconds or a minute or so and moved on. There’s so much going on, people pulling me in different directions, I had a bunch of interviews to do afterwards. Man, I wish I could give you a gem that you could use of a quote, but I don’t remember exactly what was said, but it was positive. I feel like the whole reception for the match, the reaction, for the finish, all of it was very positive. I wish I had a quote for you, but I can’t remember.”

Big E on his short feud with Malakai Black in WWE: “I don’t know the plans. I had no idea. Obviously, we’d seen the vignettes for weeks and weeks, then he comes out at the end of the main event and kicks me in the face so I think ‘alright, it’s him and I. We’re going to run for a bit’. So I definitely was surprised. I think he’s extremely talented. I think he has a ton to offer. I think people were excited to see us because there’s such a difference in the way that we carry ourselves in our characters, in many ways polar opposites. I think it could have made for a lot of fun. I’m not entirely sure why things went the way they did, but as I said, I think he’s an incredible talent. He’s a guy that I didn’t worry about him and his future because I knew he was going to get picked up somewhere. But yeah, I didn’t know the plan, I didn’t know where we were going. I had been married to Apollo [Crews], and I think that Apollo has a ton to offer in the ring. I think that despite butting heads from a character standpoint, I think he has a ton to offer in the ring. He’s so good and I think we have great chemistry, but it’s been a long time with him and I. The Aleister thing was an opportunity to do something different, a nice break from that, and it just ended up fizzling. Like I said, he’s very good at what he does, and I wish him well.”

Big E on John Cena’s role in his career and Cena’s return at Money in the Bank: “He’s done a lot over the years to be helpful, to give me advice, or to offer me a place to train, and I appreciate that. He contributes to our Kick Starter for ‘Our Heros Rock’ – contributed a lot of money to it – so I always appreciate that he’s someone who has looked out for me……I didn’t know that he was coming out. I was like 30 seconds late, I missed the very beginning, so I went back and watched that pop, and I stopped being a wrestler, a performer, a fellow WWE superstar, and I just became a fan. I just kept watching that over and over again because that’s one of the loudest and best pops I’ve heard since I’ve been signed here. That’s an all-timer. That’s an incredible pop. It’s cool to see that buzz again. I can compartmentalize enough to not always….I can see someone do well and shine without being envious and like ‘that’s my spot’ or ‘that’s where I should be’. I can take a step back and say ‘man, that’s just a really cool moment’.

“I think what makes it cooler too is that it’s not just Cena coming back and standing in the ring to cut a promo and go away. Roman has been on such a tear right now and he’s had such an incredible run. To see what feels like two titans, like is this going to be a passing of the torch moment, or is this going to be a ‘no kid, it’s not your time moment’? I think that’s the interesting part, and I’m just really looking forward to their promo stuff. I vividly remember Cena saying ‘hey, the reason I’m still here is because you won’t do your job, you can’t do your job’. The whole thing about ‘hey, you know how to cut a promo?’ Those are fighting words in a very real way. I’m just intrigued to see them go back and forth. I almost wish we had a little more time with their build-up just to see. Those two are going to do something pretty cool I think.”

If using any of the above quotes, please credit Out of Character with Ryan Satin with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.