WWE’s Big E reveals challenge of ‘finding himself’ as solo star without losing New Day spark

WWE superstar Big E is poised for his first ever WrestleMania singles match this weekend – and he’s ready to seize the moment.

The Intercontinental Champion will put his gold on the line against Apollo Crews in a Nigerian Drum Match, which comes in the midst of the wrestler’s first extended feud as a singles performer.

Since their debut in 2014, The New Day have gone on to become one of the greatest factions in WWE history, but now Big E is on SmackDown while his partners Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston hold the tag team titles on Raw.

Reflecting on the decision to split the act, the IC Champ exclusively told Metro.co.uk: ‘We were bummed, man, we were definitely bummed.

‘We definitely wanted to – just like Kofi was able to become World Champion with our group still being intact on the same show.

‘I also feel like it allows us more opportunities – we can do six mans, we can do tag stuff, we can do solo stuff. We’re like this swiss army knife of a faction, in that we can all break apart and come together and that’s what we wanted.

‘But, I think there was a bit of a silver lining with us on different shows. It forced us to kind of create some separate identities.’

The silver lining has undoubtedly been Big E’s resurgence as a singles star with the kind of run fans have wanted for a very long time, albeit not necessarily without The New Day by his side.

‘Man, those two are such a comfort blanket for me, just knowing they’re there and we can talk,’ he admitted, pondering the adjustment to a new working environment back in October.

‘The biggest thing was I just had to adjust to being out there on my own and finding my own footing for what felt right. Even simple things like, hey, how do I can come down the ramp? How do I enter the ring now?

‘I have new theme music, a new song from Wale – a great friend of mine, and an incredible rapper. Now, the feeling of it is a little bit different. We go from that upbeat gospel to now more heavy hitting hip hop song.

‘So, even the feel of how I enter, and having to think about gear now, do I need to be darker here?’

Early in this run, Big E was adamant he wouldn’t be abandoning the fun-loving side of his character, and he’s only strayed from that when the storyline called for it.

‘I think the identity definitely shifts whether I want it to or not, going from those jovial three man group to now being on my own,’ he added.

‘There are times where, like, log rolling down the ramp to the ring works when there’s another person there and it’s a big chaotic mess, but when it’s just you, things just feel different.’

For E, the challenge now is staying true to himself while being ‘unique’, and also not stepping back into his presentation as a performer before The New Day.

‘The dynamic just shifts without having those two extra bodies there. It’s just been a matter of finding what feels right,’ he said.

‘The biggest thing, I wanted to make sure I didn’t regress to, alright, I’m alone now, let’s just go back to the old black singlet with the Jamaican colours on it.

‘But there were elements of that that I still wanted to play with, so it’s still me finding that balance of what feels right.’

*Big E defends the Intercontinental Championship against Apollo Crews in a Nigerian Drum Match at WrestleMania 37. Tune into both nights (April 10 and 11) at 1am on the WWE Network.

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