While appearing on a recent episode of the “Sarah O’Connell Show,” Big E was asked about a potential return to the ring in WWE.
Big E has been on the sidelines after he suffered a neck injury when he landed on his head following a belly-to-belly suplex from Ridge Holland on an episode of WWE SmackDown in 2022.
The New Day member said, “It’s one of those things where I just want to make the right decision. I’m so thankful that I feel so good. In my day-to-day life, I have no restrictions. In my day-to-day life, I don’t even feel like someone who had a broken neck, but I broke my C1 in two places, and it’s something you often see in diving accidents, when people are diving into shallow pools or surfaces with no water, and they end up coming down on their head. Oftentimes, that is fatal for so many people. I talked to a few doctors, one who did the surgery for Tyson Kidd, who had a very severe neck injury. I also talked to the doctor they sent me to at USF. Both doctors were like, ‘Hey, please don’t wrestle.’ Almost begging.”
He continued, “So it’s just one of those things where I’m 37 now, I started wrestling when I was 23. I think about the long list of injuries that I’ve had, most of them from playing football. I’ve torn my left ACL, I’ve torn my right ACL, broken my right patella, torn my right patella, tore my left meniscus, tore my left pec, herniated disc in my back, a herniated disc in my neck, and broken my neck in three places. I’ve done a lot to my body over the years. It’s something that I’ve really loved. I’ve loved being in the ring, I’ve loved being an athlete. But at 37 now, I also think about what life is going to look like in 10 years, what life is going to look like at 50, at 60. I want to live a good life. I don’t want to be trapped in a broken vessel. So for me, it’s just making the right decision. No door has been permanently closed or permanently opened or any of those things. No decision has really officially been made yet. But we’ll see. I’m really thankful for health, for life, for being in such a good place, and I just want to make the best decision for myself, so we’ll see.”
