Big E competing for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 37: 5 steps to make that happen
In early 2019, the iron struck hot at the perfect time for Kofi Kingston. While the direction was looking like WWE was going to push Mustafa Ali, he was legitimately injured during a match against Randy Orton, sidelining him and squelching his push. Kofi was used as replacement for Ali, and although it seemed as just a fill-in during number one contender matches, the fans created an organic movement that not only led to a WWE Championship match against Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 35, but him being the first African-born WWE Champion after defeating Bryan at MetLife stadium. Kofi retained him momentum throughout 2019, having a six-month title reign before losing to Brock Lesnar. Kofi's New Day partner, Big E, has been someone for fans have been a big support of for quite some time.
In fact, there have been rumors swirling for years that Big E was receiving a singles push, but it never came to fruition. However, as seen on a recent episode of SmackDown, this push finally seems to a a reality.
Currently, both Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods are sidelined from in-ring action. This, by default, leaves Big E left alone to make an impression. Since Kofi gave him his blessing to commence the road to singles superstardom, Big E has been receiving support from the WWE Universe, which further solidifies that people have been waiting for this to happen for a long time. This momentum should continue through a main event push.
Big E has once had a singles push in the WWE. However, that was seven years ago, as he defeated Curtis Axel on the November 18, 2013 episode of RAW to become Intercontinental Champion. When he defeated Axel, Big E received a thunderous ovation, and the crowd was much behind his push. Now, for the first time, Big E should receive his long-anticipated main event push, all the way to the Universal Championship.
Here are 5 steps for Big E to compete for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 37.
#1 Sheamus tries to derail Big E's push
Currently, WWE has been building Sheamus as one of the biggest heels on SmackDown. His feud with Jeff Hardy has further solidified his villainous ways, and his current character is easy to dislike from the WWE Universe. WWE should capitalize on this by having Big E as his next foe.
On the road to competing for the Universal Championship, it is necessary for Big E to gain more babyface steam by feuding with a heel who has a great deal of heat. Not only would this help Big E's impact as a singles competitor, but it would also cause fans to rally behind him, as he is competing against one of the strongest heels in the company.
A Sheamus vs. Big E feud would be ideal to commence after SummerSlam, since it would be somewhat of a fresh start for each superstar. Sheamus is seemingly done with Jeff Hardy, and Big E is further distancing himself from the feud with Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura after losing the SmackDown Tag Team Championships.