WWE Champion Big E joined Oral Sessions with Renee Paquette to talk about his title victory over Bobby Lashley on RAW two weeks ago. He revealed that he learned he was cashing in Money in the Bank to win the title the day of the show, even though he was told to be on RAW a few days beforehand.
“I didn’t know I was going to RAW ’til that Saturday,” Big E said. “We did the show in New York and I was driving from New York to DC, and then I just got a call that my travel and everything was adjusted. So I was like, ‘okay, I’m going to RAW.’ But it wasn’t until Monday afternoon, pretty much right before I sent the tweet, that it was like, ‘alright, all systems are go and this is what we’re doing.’ So pretty much from then on, it feels like my life changed because everything has been so much more hectic. I had a bunch of people reach out and do interviews that Monday. It’s like, ‘alright, we have to do these interviews Monday afternoon.’ I was like, ‘nothing’s been done yet. I just sent out a tweet.’ But things were already in motion.
“You know how it is in our industry; you don’t really know until it happens. So I always kept waiting for some sort of swerve or a segment to run too long, or something to happen where I’d have to back pedal or maybe even lose the briefcase. I don’t want this to sound arrogant, but a part of me did. But a larger part of me thought, ‘there’s no way this is going to happen because people would lose their minds. People would be upset.’ That’s not good heat. That’s not compelling, ‘oh, let me watch this.’ That’s like, ‘alright you’ve let me down once more’ heat.”
Big E then took Paquette through his entire day Monday, from starting the day working out to winning the belt. Though he would’ve loved to cash in on a major show, he was happy to win the WWE Championship in Boston, a city with much significance for him and his family.
“So Monday, I was at the gym. I sent the tweet and then had to finish up, and headed over to Boston,” Big E said. “When I think of memorable cash ins, I was there with Dolph, which was the night after ‘Mania. I think of Seth’s too, which was at ‘Mania, and so, if I had to pick one, it probably would’ve been something like that, one of the bigger shows where you have maybe 100,000 people. Those are the cash ins that are really memorable, and you can argue that it was a random RAW. But I will say the nice part was I do have some real Boston connections, so it was cool when I realized, ‘alright, it’s going to be here in Boston.’ There’s the fact that Kofi is from Boston. My sister, unfortunately it was so last minute she couldn’t get there, but I have a sister that lives in Boston. My other sister just moved from Boston, where she lived awhile ago. My mom went to BC and Tuffs. I was like, ‘okay. At least this isn’t a town that I have no connection to and it’s random.’ It was cool when I realized, ‘alright, it’s Boston. I have some real roots here.’
“Once I got to the building, it was just going the entire time. Just knocking things out, segments, backstage stuff, trying figuring out my travel because then, instead of going home Tuesday, now you’re sticking around and doing The Bump Wednesday morning. I stayed in Brooklyn Tuesday, and then drove up early Wednesday morning from Brooklyn to Connecticut, so I was just trying to get my life together and figure out some kind of a schedule.”
Prior to cashing in, Big E spent the final few minutes in Gorilla with his New Day stablemates and friends Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods. He described the interactions and how much the support from Kofi and Woods meant to him.
“That was really cool,” Big E said. “So for me, I was pretty placid. I knew what I was doing. It was probably the last ten minutes or so, I just ended up sitting down on a cooler in Gorilla. And of course, without me asking for him or beckoning them at all, Kofi, without me realizing, ends up sitting down. I think it was Drew Gulak who was sitting next to me, and I love Drew too, and Drew, as Woods was coming in, just got up so Woods could sit down. I always tell those guys that some of my favorite moments in wrestling are mid-show or mid-match when the three of us are able to have our little pow wows. Sometimes, in multi-man tag matches when everyone’s bumped to the floor and your down for a second, sometimes there are just moments where we’re all just able to steal a moment together. I feel like we were in school because I look across and we’re all three of us are sitting in Gorilla, just watching the monitor and talking. And I don’t remember anything specific that was said, but those guys are always there for me. Man, that means a lot.
“I guess I never assumed that would be a thing in wrestling. It’s a pretty selfish pursuit for the most part, especially the amount of time that you’re gone and being away from people. And you know, I didn’t sign my WWE contract with a tag partner when I signed 12 years ago. I did this alone. And I just love the fact that we’ve been able to build what feels like a family – three guys that genuinely root for each other. And we want the best for each other in and outside of the ring, and the fact that we’re over seven years in and aren’t at each other’s necks and still care about each other is really dope. So we just had 10 minutes to just be there and talk.
“The one thing I do remember, and Woods ended up posting it, but I had the Money in the Bank briefcase to my left. And he had the idea of ‘let’s take a picture’ of how it started. So it’s all three of us, here’s the briefcase, and then it was how it was going now or how it ended or whatever, and there’s the WWE title afterwards after I got back from the match and everything. I’m just beyond appreciative of those two just always being there for me. It’s cool to have. That’s love, that’s brotherly love and I’m grateful for it because it’s been a really – you know, a lot of ups and downs, but I’ve had a good career that I can be proud of.”
