Big E 'excited' for Roman Reigns vs John Cena match at WWE SummerSlam, but will he cash in Money in the Bank contract?
In a reply to a question asked by Hindustan Times during a media call, Big E said that he is 'really excited' to see Reigns vs Cena at WWE SummerSlam, but hinted he may seize his opportunity to cash in the contract.
The stage is set for the return of 16-time WWE Champion John Cena for his first WWE match since last year's WrestleMania. And he will be up against the Universal Champion Roman Reigns at the WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view this Sunday, as he looks to surpass Ric Flair to become the only 17-time world champion in history.
But the battle between two icons of modern professional wrestling comes with a caveat and that is Big E. The New Day member won the Money in the Bank contract this year - which allows him to challenge for the title at any time, and at any place.
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In a reply to a question asked by Hindustan Times during a media call, Big E said that he is 'really excited' to see Reigns vs Cena at WWE SummerSlam, but hinted he may seize his opportunity to cash in the contract.
"As far as the match with Roman Reigns, I am very excited for that one. Because those are two guys who are alphas in their minds. Who see themselves as the top of WWE. Of the industry. They both see themselves as all-time greats and I think I am watching as a fan," Big E said.
"Even their body language in the ring when those guys are going head-to-head. They are making their chess moves, trying to get one up against each other. All that stuff I find very interesting. I know they are going to deliver at SummerSlam. I know it's going to be a barn-and-burner.
"But if both those guys end up real battered, bruised, and barely able to stand up when it's over -- I don't know it might be a great time for a very strong man to run down with the briefcase and change the fortune," he added.
'Learnt a lot from Cena'
A lot of people may forget this fact now but Big E first arrived to the WWE main roster in 2012 and attacked John Cena. Having your first program alongside Cena is always a big opportunity for up-and-coming talents, and Big E said that he got to learn a lot from watching 'Mr. Hustle. Loyalty. Respect.' in the ring at that time.
"It was one of the best learning experiences for me to come up that way. The night of the Slammy that was my debut, I got to close the show leaving John Cena laying. And, that something I do not take lightly. It helped set my career up, it helped establish me. It was such a great learning experience. I was there, pretty much every live event night - it was Dolph Ziggler vs John Cena in a steel cage match, in a main event with AJ Lee out there," Big E recalled.
"Being out there with the crowds, and getting the understanding on what it takes to close these shows, to hear the defeaning Cena pops on a daily basis was such a great learning experience for me. It really set a lot in motion which is being able to be there and to see how the top guy in the industry, how he operates, how he handles himself, how is he out there every night.
"Back then too, we used to do live events on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, we got TV on Monday, we do TV on Tuesday. So that was the grind being able to work those five shows a week was a great learning experience," he signed off.
(WWE SummerSlam is one of the most popular annual special events next to WWE WrestleMania and viewers across India can watch all the action LIVE on SONY TEN 1 channels in English, SONY TEN 3 channels in Hindi and the newly launched SONY TEN 4 channels in Tamil and Telugu.)