Big E’s title run is a poor reflection on the company, not the performer
Remember when Big E was WWE Champion? There was a contingent of fans that hoped for the best, calling for WWE to build him into the champion that not only fans believed he could be, but one that the company needs today. Unfortunately, WWE did the exact opposite, stifling Big E with lazy booking and now dismissing him entirely. This has caused an impact where fans are upset, but the locker room is angered about his treatment. And both groups are 100 percent correct to feel this way about the entire ordeal.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed to see it end that way,” Big E said while speaking with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated. “I wanted it to be a five-course meal, and it was more of an appetizer. I’m overly critical of my work, to begin with, so I wouldn’t say I was happy with it. My hope was to knock it out of the park, and I fell a bit short. So, it’s motivating to start that climb back.”
The blame shouldn’t fall on Big E’s broad shoulders. Look what he did when he secured the title. He immediately took steps to become a mainstream champion. Hyping up major college football games on ESPN. Doing the introductions for massive championship bouts in boxing. Showing up on The Breakfast Club to talk about professional wrestling. Big E took the WWE Championship and presented it to the world outside of professional wrestling, looking to convince people to come to watch him in the world where he should have been presented as a big deal. Unfortunately, the WWE went right back to its typical booking patterns, stabbing themselves and Big E in the foot at the same time.
And the most frustrating thing about it is that WWE recognizes what Big E did with the title as a major deal. Listen to Stephanie McMahon talk about him during the recent quarterly investor call. She’s not talking about Roman Reigns or Brock Lesnar. She’s talking about Big E, the man the company swept away like he wasn’t an attraction many fans have demanded to see. Those upset have a right to feel this way.
“I’ve asked around, and all I’ve gotten is people who are really upset, you know, with the rug being pulled out from under him, and I haven’t heard anything about there being an awareness of an issue with him and I think the people I have asked would know,” said Wade Keller while speaking about the matter during an episode of PWTorch.
In professional wrestling, a main event attraction is supposed to do just that; attract current and new eyeballs. WWE especially, but much of professional wrestling continues to make the same mistake of sticking with the status quo when it comes to booking champions at the top of the card. Instead of going with new names and faces like Big E that could take into new markets, these companies look to the same individuals and get the same stagnating results.
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WWE had an opportunity to do something different with Big E and the company failed miserably. This shouldn’t reflect on Big E, but the reality of the deal is that there’s very little evidence that points to WWE realizing and making a shift on a mistake such as this.