Big E is making it clear that he is happy with his life away from the constant travel of the wrestling business. Since he broke his neck in 2022, the former WWE Champion has stayed with the company as an analyst. He appears on the pre-shows and post-shows for big events, but he is not interested in returning to a weekly schedule on WWE RAW or SmackDown.
In an interview with The Takedown on SI, Big E talked about the chance of taking a bigger role and why he likes his current life.
“It’s possible, I think it would have to depend,” Big E said about a regular role. “I will say I think the idea of being on the road every single week for an extended period of time is something that I’m not really open to doing right now. And God bless the amount of people who’ve come to me or even tweeted at WWE, ‘Get him on commentary. He deserves to be on commentary.’”
He mentioned that veteran announcer Michael Cole has tried to help him get a commentary job. However, the appeal of being on the road has faded for him.
“Look, I’ve been approached multiple times by people within the company, people who’ve gone to bat for me. Michael Cole has been someone who has definitely been in my corner, and I’m very thankful for all the lovely things he’s said about me. But, man, when you’re on that WWE hamster wheel, when you’re on the road every single week — I tell people all the time, when I first started on the road, we would do five shows a week every single week. And I was happy to do it. We were getting paid per show, so being young, being 26 when I first got called up, I wanted to be on every show. And I loved the road and loved my time and I was gung-ho about it,” Big E said.
Getting away from that schedule has allowed him to enjoy his personal life and his time with his fiancée, Kristen.
“But once you’re able to get off that hamster wheel and you realize that, man, I have my weekends back again or when I first started dating Kristen, my fiancee, I was able to come out for a chunk of 10 days for two weeks. And, man, life is good out here. Life is good off the grind. You know what I mean? Not living in the circus life. And I’m so grateful for this opportunity to be on the pre-shows and post-shows for the PLEs,” he explained.
Big E also likes being around the locker room to help younger wrestlers. He officially retired in February 2026 because his neck never healed enough to wrestle safely. Now, he uses his extra time for other projects, like his new YouTube show about the NFL Draft. By staying off the “hamster wheel,” Big E has found a way to stay involved with WWE without the stress of constant travel.
Big E Explains Why He Won’t Return to WWE Full-Time
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