Hotseat: Big E

THE ROAD TO becoming the fourth-ever Black WWE World champion has, for Big E, been just as long and difficult as it was for the previous three champions. A former football player turned homegrown WWE superstar, Ettore Ewen reached the highest of the highs—the mountaintop, as they call it—on September 13, 2021, in Boston, Massachusetts. E’s WWE championship win was celebrated alongside Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, with whom he comprises arguably the greatest faction in modern WWE history, The New Day.

But that coronation didn’t happen overnight. It was the result of 12 years of hard work—from competing against numerous other future hall-of-fame wrestlers in Florida Championship Wrestling to becoming the first-ever NXT champion; breaking lifting records in John Cena’s gym to breaking onto the main roster alongside Dolph Ziggler and AJ Lee; floundering on the main roster, then coming together with Kingston and Woods; initially floundering some more before finally turning New Day into the company’s most popular trio. The group established itself as one of WWE’s most decorated tag team units while setting the record for the longest single reign as World tag team champions (483 days). Now, E is on the way to making waves on his own and becoming the man 14-year-old Ettore aspired to be. He fought hard, believed in himself and his brothers, inspired countless fans … and it all paid off. About six weeks into his reign as WWE World champion, Big E spoke to PWI Contributing Writer Righteous Reg about this whirlwind of events, potential dream opponents, the importance of having friends by his side, and the legacy he is still looking to carve out with the New Day.

Reg: So, first of all, how does it feel being the fourth-ever Black WWE Champion?

Honestly, I really love getting to this moment we’re at in WWE, and I think just in wrestling, in general. And you look around, and there are just so many really dope