Big E to reportedly undergo a character change; details revealed
The 2020 edition of the Draft is officially in the history books and WWE indeed had some huge surprises to shake the landscape of the main roster. One of the most talked-about moves was The New Day. Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods were drafted to RAW while Big E was drafted to SmackDown.
In the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer has reported that Big E will now likely undergo a character change and ditch his comedic New Day gimmick. As per the report, Big E will be presented as a more serious character on SmackDown going forward.
It was earlier reported that the reason New Day was split up was to give Big E a singles push on SmackDown and WWE tweaking his character could be yet another step in the direction.
Perhaps the most talked about aspect was the split up of The New Day, with Kingston & Woods moving to Raw as tag team champions and Big E staying a single. The idea is to get Big E away from the act and make him more serious for a singles push. Historically, WWE has broken up tag team acts in the draft before and while there are exceptions, most of the time they find out the combination of parts was more effective than the parts individually.
One would suspect E getting a major singles push, which was talked about weeks ago and somewhat started. The idea is to get him out of the comedic mode. There is a logic to it even though, because the New Day has been established together for so many years and have been popular, there was going to be a negative reaction breaking them up without a storyline leading to it.
What could be next for Big E on SmackDown?
WWE has been trying to portray Big E as a singles Superstar on SmackDown for quite some time now. The step to separate him from New Day solidifies their attempts to portray him as a singles Superstar. WWE Universe has expressed their desire to see Big E, a former NXT Champion, win a world championship on the main roster.
There has also been a lot of speculation on Big E bringing back his "5 count" gimmick, which he used during his time in NXT when he used to pin his opponents on the mat for five counts instead of the usual three to impose his dominance. It will be interesting to see whether these character tweaks could lead to a full-blown heel turn from Big E in the future.