WrestleMania XL is upon us. As WWE fans of all ages prepare for the Super Bowl of pro wrestling this weekend in Philadelphia, WWE Superstar Big E is one of the company’s brightest ambassadors and building blocks for what will be an iconic 48 hours.
Following a devastating injury in 2022, when he suffered a broken neck during a match on Smackdown, the former WWE champion has become a vital figure outside of the ring. He undertook a significant endeavor, crafting a poignant short film about the life of Ruby Bridges, the first Black student integrated into an all-white school. Collaborating with Grammy-nominated MC Rapsody, who recorded original music for the NAACP-nominated project, Big E infused his love for hip-hop and history. He transformed a heavy moment in Black history into a light and stirring conversation starter for kids living in the modern era.
“I think there are so many stories of Black heroes, and we’re so often taught as young people: MLK, Rosa Parks, slavery, and that’s about it,” he says. “But our history is so much deeper. The Black men and women who have contributed to this country and our legacy have been incredible. We want to continue to tell these stories because there are so many out there, and we want to do it in a fun way.”
Big E’s love for hip-hop and history is palpable. It blossomed during his tenure at Iowa University, where he became an avid lover of the Blog Era. While playing college football as a defensive lineman, Big E became a fan of Wale and his seminal 2008 project, The Mixtape About Nothing. After E ventured into the WWE and learned of Wale’s fandom in 2012, their mutual appreciation ultimately turned into a close-knit friendship.
“We ended up DMing years ago, and we connected more than just him being a wrestling fan and me being a fan of him,” he recalls. “We connected on life. So many times, we were texting about life on the road a lot more than just being industry friends. I’m such a massive fan of him, not just as an artist but as a human being.”
Though Big E remains in great shape, possessing the same burly physique that made him an elite champion, he is enjoying the sidelines, watching his peers, most notably the Black WWE superstars, carry the torch during his hiatus.
“It’s really just been an incredible time for Black talent, and I just think it’s gonna keep growing and growing,” he says. “We’ve made a lot of progress, and I still think we have more progress to go.”
Billboard spoke to Big E ahead of WrestleMania XL about hip-hop and wrestling becoming synonymous, his friendship with Wale, working with Rapsody on his short film Bridges, his “Big 3” in the WWE, and more.
This year marks the 15th anniversary of Wale’s debut album Attention Deficit. You guys are obviously friends and shared a WrestleMania moment when he performed your entrance song “Feel the Power” in 2021. When did you first become a fan of his?
I’m a big Seinfeld fan. The Blog Era for me was when I was in college. That was when I really first learned about Wale. Then, when he came out with The Mixtape About Nothing, that changed things for me. So I started really paying more attention and then I started following him on Twitter and saw that he was a wrestling fan. So between his Seinfeld stuff, him being an incredible MC and also being a wrestling fan, I was just like, “I gotta reach out to this man.”
It’s been a pleasure to have him perform for me at WrestleMania for me in my hometown. That was special. I’m so grateful to have Wale on my team. He’s also done so much to make wrestling cool.
I feel like wrestling is at this great stage right now where you have The Rock around, all these celebrities who wanna be involved, but let’s give some credit to the homie Wale for making wrestling cool and for doing WaleMania every single year. I’ve reached out to so many people who are excited for WrestleMania, but honestly, the biggest thing for them is WaleMania. Like, “What’s my WaleMania fit? I can’t wait. What’s the lineup?” Shout-out to Wale for what he’s done for the culture, and what he’s done for hip-hop and wrestling.
There were so many closeted wrestling fans, especially in the hip-hop community. Why do you think so many people are coming out and embracing the sport now more than ever before?
I think it’s just cool now, man. I don’t know exactly what to point to, but you have The Rock involved now. You have [WWE president] Nick Khan involved. You have so many connections with sports and entertainment. I feel like a lot of people were closeted wrestling fans because it wasn’t cool, because it was the nerdy thing to do — but now that it’s becoming more accessible for people, I think a lot of people are coming out of the wooodwork.
I think back to his celebrity flag football game I did a couple of years ago right before the Super Bowl, and I was amazed that Diplo knew who I was. He wanted to talk about storylines and whatnot. That stuff always blows me away. But you’d be surprised how many people watched back in the day when they were kids, and watch right now and love what we do. You know, when Wale started WaleMania a couple of years ago, it wasn’t really the cool thing to do. People felt like they had to keep it in, but now, it’s a lot more mainstream. You see the WWE titles all the time. You see how proudly people wear those WWE custom belts after they win a Super Bowl or World Series. It’s just really cool to see our product become mainstream again.
I spoke to Jey Uso a while back and we touched on the famous freestyle battle between The Usos and The New Day. What were you so surprised about from a lyrical standpoint in that battle?
Well look, I was hesitant to do it because I’m a hip-hop fan, but I can’t rap [Laughs.] The three of us can’t rap. Me, Kofi [Kingston] and [Xavier] Woods can’t rap. We all knew this — but man, that segment was so much fun. Having Wale be a part of it and be the host of that thing [was great]. The Usos, I told them a while ago that they need to drop an EP or something. They can actually spit. They got some bars. They did their thing. That segment was a lot of fun.
One of the things I remember was Daniel Bryan — who is such a wrestling head that I thought would be critical [of the segment] — he said, “Man, you guys could have done that for an hour and I would have been locked in and entertained.” I think a lot of people went into that with trepidation because segments like that in wrestling aren’t very good and are very corny. But I think with Wale being there, The Usos really bringing it, really just added so much to our programming and our rivalry. I also think we did it the right way. That’s a segment that I’m really proud of.
Over the years, we’ve seen wrestlers like John Cena to even recently Montez Ford release music. Has there been anybody in the locker room that impressed you from a rapping standpoint?
I haven’t heard anything original from him, but Omos will surprise you. Omos can spit a whole Jay-Z verse. He’s a big hip-hop head. Omos is one of those dudes who haven’t been able to show his full charisma and full personality on TV, but he’s definitely a big hip-hop head, and a dude I love talking hip-hop with.
Because you grew up in the Blog Era, you know the big three is Drake, Kendrick and J. Cole. Who would you say from a wrestling standpoint is the holy trinity of the WWE and why?
That’s a really good question. You know what? I’ll go Randy [Orton]. He’s just one of the GOATs who I feel like sometimes as much credit as he gets, he still doesn’t get enough credit. So I’ll go Randy, Cena and I gotta put one more in there. This is hard. I’ll go Roman [Reigns]. He’s been doing his thing.
Speak about Roman’s current run as champion — especially heading into Mania — considering we haven’t seen a run like this since Hulk Hogan. A lot of people want to see his reign end this weekend.
It’s just one of those things that I think a lot of fans have been so locked into. You say everyone wants it to end — but not everyone though. There’s still a lot of people riding with Roman that wanna see him push through.
When I see his run, I think of someone who reinvented himself — because you can think of someone who was really being pushed as “The Guy,” and a lot of fans didn’t accept him as much. He’s really found his footing since the pandemic. Since he came back, this has been a generational run. That’s what I think he’s a real testament to.
I think a lot of people are impatient with talent and they want them to have it all figured out right now, but sometimes, you need time to grow. You need time to really get in your feet and know, “This is who I am.” So Roman was a guy who obviously had a ton of talent first getting on the main roster, but he wasn’t quite himself yet. He wasn’t as comfortable as he could have been, but now I think you’re seeing him at his very best. You’re seeing him at his most natural. This is the guy he’s always been.
Don’t get me wrong, he was a good dude in the locker room and whatnot, but he always had that alpha mentality. He played football at Georgia Tech. He was all-ACC. I was a defensive tackle at the same time and watching him, hearing his name. So he’s always had that attitude of an alpha. I think so many times that he was positioned as a babyface and as a guy who had to pretend he wasn’t that guy, but I think he’s a lot more comfortable and you see it now. You see how natural his promos are. You see how comfortable he is in this position. So when I think of his run, I just think it’s a testament to riding a wave.
With Bianca Belair gracing WWE 2K24, the emergence of Jade Cargill and the rise of Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams in NXT, how would you describe this current renaissance we’re seeing right now with Black wrestlers?
It’s been beautiful to see, man. It’s a long time coming, and it’s one of those things where I just look around and I’m really proud of Black talent because I don’t think you can look at any of the Black talent in WWE who are in the spots they are in and say, “Oh, they’re just given [these opportunities] because it’s a quota system or because of the color of their skin.
What I love is how different everyone is and how they standout on their own. They all deserve those spots. They all bring something to the table. The Black men are killing it, but to see Black women doing their thing [is amazing]. You see what they’re doing on the main roster, but we got a crop coming behind them in NXT, as well. We as Black people, we dominate in the NBA and the NFL, it also makes sense to do the same thing here in WWE and pro wrestling. It’s been an exciting time and I’m really proud to see the amount of Black talent doing incredible things and standing out on their own.
Seeing the way Jade has came in and how the fans have taken to her has been incredible. Someone like Naomi, who doesn’t get enough credit for how she’s inspired young Black women to enter this business as well, [has been great too.] It’s really just been an incredible time for Black talent and I just think it’s gonna keep growing and growing. We’ve made a lot of progress, and I still think we have more progress to go. I think of someone like a Montez Ford and he hasn’t even approached his ceiling. Not even close. And [Angelo] Dawkins as well. A lot of people sleep on what Dawkins has been doing. Another super talented dude. There’s a bevy of Black talent in our industry. I love seeing it and I wanna see more of it.
What was your experience working with Rapsody on your short-film “Bridges,” which honored Ruby Bridges, the first Black student to be integrated into an all-white school in the 1960s?
It was a real labor of love for us. It’s called Bridges. We got an NAACP nomination for it. It’s on YouTube right now, if you Google, Our Heroes Rock, but it’s something that we’re really proud of. We wanna tell more of these stories. Rapsody did an incredible job. She recorded an original song for us and we made a music video as well. It tells the story of Ruby Bridges in a way that I think is more engaging. I think for a lot of people, history can be heavy and can be dry, but we wanted to make it more engaging. So I voice this nine-foot tall robot who takes you through this futuristic museum and shows you all the myriad of Black leaders, politicians, and writers from all different backgrounds who have helped shape our history.
We just felt the first story we wanted to lead with was Ruby’s story because it’s a six-year-old Black girl simply trying to go to school in 1960 and being integrated in an all-white school for the first time. Seeing the type of vitriol, the anger and nastiness that this little girl who was simply trying to go school was met with — if you can’t emphasize, do you really have a heart at all?
One of the great things that I love about her story too is that there was one teacher who decided to stay. Parents were pulling their kids out of school, teachers were refusing to teach Ruby, but one teacher who was named Barbara Henry — still alive and with us — was able to say that something was wrong and did the right thing. I think there’s so many stories of Black heroes and we’re so often taught as young people MLK, Rosa Parks, slavery and that’s about it, but our history is so much deeper. The Black men and women who have contributed to this country, to our legacy as Black Men and women have been incredible. We just wanna continue to tell these stories because there’s so many out there and we wanna do it in a fun way.
