Big E not interested in WWE commentary role right now
Big E is happy with his current WWE role and doesn’t want to get back on the road every week at the moment.
Since suffering a broken neck in 2022, Big E has remained with WWE in a broadcasting position where he appears on PLE pre-shows and post-shows. He recently told The Takedown on SI that fans and even some people within the company have hoped for him to expand that position into a commentary role. However, Big E is not open to traveling more regularly right now.
“It’s possible, I think it would have to depend,” Big E said about a more regular role on WWE programming. “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.’
“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.
“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.”
Big E said being at the PLEs has helped him stay around everyone in the locker room, and he loves being an uplifting voice for the younger wrestlers that are just breaking into the main roster. When Big E was coming up in wrestling, there were too many older people who pushed younger talent down or were overly critical instead of helping them.
A lighter WWE schedule also helps Big E pursue opportunities that he’s interested in outside of wrestling. He’s partnered with data analytics firm SūmerSports to host a YouTube series focused on the NFL Draft.
Last month, Big E confirmed that he considers himself retired after having been out of action since breaking his neck four years ago. He is able to live a normal, pain-free life, but his neck has never recovered to the point where it’s forming new bone properly. Because of that, wrestling again would be too much of a risk.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.