Fans have been clamoring for a Big E. in-ring return in WWE for years.
During a recent interview with Jon Alba of The Takedown at SI.com, the former WWE Champion revealed never before told details about a conversation he had with his doctor about his WWE future after suffering what turned out to be a career-ending broken neck injury.
“For me, especially when I first broke my neck, I really didn’t think a lot of it,” Big E. said. “I wasn’t in pain, I wasn’t concussed at all, I didn’t have any real nerve issues. I was like, ‘Okay, we’ll heal up,’ and they told me initially, I think it was eight weeks being in a neck brace, and you should be good to go.”
“My C1 was broken in two places, and oftentimes, when that happens, the C1 will heal like cartilage,” he said. “So in those gaps, it’ll form cartilage instead of ossifying, instead of forming new bone. So after talking to (Dr. Juan Uribe) and a few other doctors, the doctor almost damn near begged me like, ‘Hey, please, even if you get your all go, you’re clear, you’re allowed to get back in the ring, please really reconsider it,’ and when I told him, ‘I think I’m definitely leaning towards being done,’ he almost quite literally breathed a sigh of relief. So for someone who’s been doing this for so long, who knows a lot more about spines and necks than I do, I definitely took heed.”
The current WWE premium live event pre and post-show broadcast team member continued, “You see so many of the veterans, the legends, around WrestleMania, oftentimes that’s when you see a lot of the guys you don’t see year-round, and man, it’s sobering. So many of them, who aren’t even that old, are struggling with pain. Clearly not very ambulatory. They’re using walkers to get around, and man, I told myself, as much as I love my career, as much as I love being an athlete, I am really gambling with my health.”
