Big E Names Former WWE Star That Deserves More Credit
Big E is thankful that he was given some great advice by a forgotten WWE star.
During his WWE career, Big E has held the WWE Title, the Intercontinental Title and he’s been part of an all-time great faction known as The New Day with Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods.
It wasn’t always easy for the former collegiate football player Big E because when he signed with WWE in 2009, he had no background in sports entertainment. Over the next few years, he came up through the developmental system known as FCW (Florida Championship Wrestling) and he was the second NXT Champion as well.
While Big E learned about the WWE life training with the likes of Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Jon Moxley (Dean Ambrose) and many others who became big names, he credits another former WWE star for helping a lot.
On the UnDrafted AllStarz Podcast Show, Big E credited former WWE superstar Michael Tarver for helping him a lot.
“There’s a dude, people don’t give him enough love, but Michael Tarver. He was on ‘NXT’ back in the day. He was a dude who sat me down early in my career and really explained to me the mentality that I needed in the ring.”
“A lot of people tell you about moves, but he was the first person to sit me down and talk about the psychology and how I need to carry myself and being larger than life, so I always give a ton of props to him.”
The version of NXT that Tarver was on was the original show in 2010 where “rookies” had coaches that were on the WWE roster. Tarver was in that initial show, which would lead the group to become a stable known as The Nexus. Tarver was released by WWE in July 2011.
Will Big E Wrestle Again In WWE?
Sadly, Big E has been unable to wrestle since May 2022 when he suffered a broken neck during a match. Big E recently spoke about his current health status while noting there is no timeline for a return.
“I wish I had more information for you. Right now, there is really no timeline. I’ve been to a few different doctors who have looked over my scans. I don’t have any issues, I feel great, but I broke my C1 in two different places, it’s called a Jefferson fracture and because of the nature of the fracture, it takes longer to heal.
“Initially, they told me three months. I thought three months and I would be back to wrestling, but things ended up being more complex. There are chances I might take with a broken forearm or finger. An ACL (injury), I’ve had before.”