WrestleMania, World Wrestling Entertainment’s biggest event of the year, is quickly approaching. In Tampa Bay, Florida, on April 5, superstars from Raw, SmackDown and NXT will fight in front of thousands of fans in Raymond James Stadium.  

But on March 1, WWE held a live event at The Oncenter in Syracuse. Live events are non-televised shows held throughout the year to display talent to cities around the world. The New Day, a team made up of Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods and Big E, formed in 2014 and performed at the Syracuse live event. 

This past Thursday, WWE held its Super ShowDown event in Saudi Arabia, which brought an abrupt end to some current championship reigns. The New Day was challenged by the team of The Miz and John Morrison for their SmackDown Tag Team Championships. The Miz and Morrison overcame Kofi Kingston and Big E, who ultimately lost their titles. 

The New Day are a group of pancake-throwing, booty-shaking and record-breaking superstars. 

Currently, The New Day holds the record for the longest-reigning Tag Team Champions at 483 days and seven Tag Team Championship reigns. Individually, Kingston, Big E and Woods have contributed singles titles to the group’s fame as well. 

The Daily Orange spoke with The New Day member Big E about his career, his outreach with the WWE universe and WrestleMania. 

The Daily Orange: What is it like performing in two countries in two days? 

Big E: It’s been kind of like a whirlwind. I’ve been signed for over a decade, but I’ve kind of gotten used to it. We actually had an event last night in a makeshift arena, and then just two hours ago, we landed in Boston to prepare for tonight. You kind of get in that mode of working. It’s what the job is. 

D.O.: How important do you think the fans are to the work that you do inside and outside the ring? 

Big E: It’s crucial. Without the fans, none of us would be here. The reason that The New Day had any kind of success is because of them. I remember when The New Day actually started out as heels (the bad guys), but the fans pushed us to turn face (the good guys).  

I remember we had a SummerSlam match in 2016, where we continued our record-breaking reign, and I remember sitting in my hotel room after that match and I was looking at social media at fans being so loud even after it was over. When I’m an old man, I’ll look back and remember nights like that. 

D.O.: You’ve been with the WWE for quite some time now. What would you say is the biggest challenge that you personally had to overcome? 

Big E: I would say that, early in my career, I had trouble being entertaining. I grew up an introvert in a sports background, where the goal is to physically overwhelm your opponent. There, it’s not about hospitality, it’s not about connecting with the fans.  

So, switching things up was difficult but also because the entertainment industry was something that I was never involved with. It took me a while, but it took me by surprise that I was able to start showing my personality. Now, I get so much fulfillment going out there and looking around seeing people smiling or laughing. 

D.O.: As we know, WrestleMania is right around the corner. And the odds were seemingly not in the favor of The New Day this past Thursday at Super ShowDown. What’s next for Big E and The New Day? 

Big E: It’s hard to say. I think this time last year we were deep in KofiMania, and that was something that kinda came out of nowhere. We always just try to do our best and be hopeful. But at the end of the day, whether it’s a singles title run or regaining the tag team titles, we’ll just continue doing our best and roll with whatever happens. 

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. 

Published on March 2, 2020 at 12:15 am