WWE Champion Big E rose to stardom as a member of the New Day, a beloved trio that is considered to be one of the greatest groups in modern wrestling history.
Part of the lasting power of the faction has been its authenticity, as Big E, Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston are renowned for being themselves on WWE.
During an appearance on The Breakfast Club, Big E described how staying true to themselves has been the New Day’s intentional mission to tear down stereotypes and provide more genuine characters.
“It’s been important for us because the three of us, we’re nerds, we’re comic book nerds, but so we wanted really just to be ourselves,” said Big E. “I think too often, in our industry, you would see talent of color put in certain boxes. Like you have to be a rapper, a dancer, so we just wanted to be ourselves.
“And we came out wearing bright colors, these phallic unicorn horns on our head, just doing silly stuff and the response, at first was rocky, but for us, getting off the ground, we just wanted to show people you can be yourselves, you can be unique, and you can still be proudly Black.”
When asked, Big E explained that he hasn’t experienced racism in WWE. Instead, he described how he feels like Black performers are expected to play certain characters; he then emphasized the importance of authentic characters in the mission of breaking these boxes.
“No, honestly I haven’t,” said Big E. “I will say, I feel like we, as far as our representation in TV, I feel like we’re getting to where we need to be. It’s still always a work in progress, but I think oftentimes, if there are issues, it would present themselves and people see a certain way. And they want you to, as a character, oh you’re a big black man, so this is the role you need to play. And our goal with the new day was to start tearing down those boxes so people don’t see performers.
“When they see a Black woman, they think she needs to be…doing certain things. And I look at someone like Bianca…and she’s so dope to me because, not only is she an incredible athlete, but she’s so authentic. What you see on-screen is who she is off-screen, and I think we’re getting more of those kinds of black characters on TV that are authentic, that feel like one of one.”
"We wanted to show that you can be yourselves, you can be unique, and still be proudly Black" – @wweBigE speaks on what The New Day stood for in WWE.
Full convo: https://t.co/GViojVLEbd pic.twitter.com/9TCguSAUlC
— The Breakfast Club (@breakfastclubam) October 29, 2021
