During a recent interview with Yahoo! Sports, Big E commented on his upcoming singles push, representation in the industry, and more. You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On getting a singles spotlight: “This is all kind of coming out of nowhere. I feel confident that I am ready for this. The interesting thing and weird thing is we don’t have that organic response. I hope people enjoy this run, I hope it’s good and entertaining, I hope all of the people who have clamored for this for years are not disappointed.”
On representation in the industry: “I will say, all of us, truly talented, hard-working Black entertainers, none of us want to get opportunities because we are Black. I’m certainly not saying this is the case now, but I want to show people that I am worthy of this opportunity and this spot. I [also] think representation matters. It matters to see people like you, who look like you, doing well. I never wanted to be put in the box where they say ‘This is how a muscular Black wrestler should perform.’ As much as I love Ron Simmons, I never wanted to be a copy of Ron Simmons or of so many of the Black wrestlers I watched as a kid. I wanted to be a one of one. I wanted to be someone who cannot be easily replaced because what I do is different than what anyone else does.”