Big E on Xavier Woods' influence on his WWE career
SmackDown Superstar, Big E, opened up on the impact that fellow New Day member, Xavier Woods, has had on his WWE career.
Speaking to Sports Illustrated, Big E stated that The New Day wouldn't be the success it is today or even exists if it wasn't for Woods:
"There's no New Day without him. If Woods doesn't come up to me in 2014 and say, 'Hey, I have an idea for a group. You want to join me?' If that doesn't happen, who knows where my career is right now, who knows if I'm even still employed here. He changed our lives. And the fact that he got the trombone over in wrestling? That's incredible."
Big E on mistakes with his early WWE character
On recent episodes of Friday Night SmackDown, Big E has embarked on a singles run with WWE. This occurred because both of his stablemates, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, have been sidelined with injuries.
Woods has been out of action since October 2019 due to a torn Achilles, whereas Kingston is currently out of action for six weeks due to a "rib injury".
This current run for Big E marks the first time that he has regularly competed as a singles wrestler with WWE since 2014. After his initial debut on the main roster in allegiance with Dolph Ziggler and AJ Lee, Big E eventually broke out and become WWE Intercontinental Champion.
His reign lasted 167 days. Once he lost the title, Big E was seemingly lost in the shuffle. Big E would comment on his on-screen personality at this time:
"I was so focused on being serious, all the guys I enjoyed watching as a kid were in that vein — Ron Simmons, Scott Steiner, Vader. The big, massive dudes that were ass-kickers, that's what I wanted to be. But there were already guys that were taller and bigger on the main roster, like Brock Lesnar and Mark Henry, that were filling that role. I needed to find what made me different, what made me unique, and Woods really helped bring that out. He's so free and creative and energetic, and goofy, and that allowed all of us to lean more toward that aspect of ourselves."
What do you think? Can Big E go on to become WWE Universal Champion on Friday Night SmackDown?