Former WWE Champion Recounts Big E's Rise To The Top

Kofi Kingston could not be any happier to see his longtime friend Big E win the WWE Championship on the September 20 episode of Raw.

Speaking with Justin Barasso of Sports Illustrated, Kingston recalled the moment.

“It was such an emotional day. I’ve been around the business long enough to know you don’t celebrate anything until it actually happens,” said Kingston.

“Throughout the day, I had this energy in [my] body, but I was scared to let it out. Something could have changed, and I didn’t want to jinx anything. When it actually happened, all that energy came pouring out.”

Kingston once won the title off Daniel Bryan in the main event of Wrestlemania 35 before dropping the title to Brock Lesnar on the October 4, 2019 episode of SmackDown.

“He refused to sell his soul to become the best,” the former WWE Champion said.

“When you lose yourself, that taints the experience. [Big] E was true to himself. To see Big E get to the top seeing him do it his way just amplifies this even more.”

Kingston also recalled how hard Big E worked to get to where he is currently.

“He took this opportunity to be a wrestler and ran with it. He has never rested on his laurels. He always prides himself on getting better. So it’s amazing to think where he started and see where he is now,” said Kingston.

“It’s an inspiration. Everything happened the way it was supposed to. It was such a big moment for all of us.”

Big E’s WWE career started off in NXT as “Big E Langston” but was shortened when he was called up to the main roster.

2014 became the turning point in Big E’s career when The New Day was formed.

Starting off as heels due to negative fan reception, their charisma eventually rubbed off on the WWE Universe and they became faces by February of 2015, becoming one of the most beloved factions the promotion has ever seen.

In last night’s episode of Raw, Big E and The New Day faced off against WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and The Usos.

Bobby Lashley, whom Big E defeated for the title, crashed the match, costing them the win after Reigns speared Xavier Woods and proceeded to attack every man involved in the match.

A long-term feud with Lashley seems to be on the books for Big E in the coming weeks, and fans are excited to see how it plays out.

Big E is well-loved by the fans and the superstars backstage, and his title win further proves how valuable he has become to WWE’s upper management.