Big E On His Mt. Rushmore Of Tag Teams, Conor McGregor In WWE
WWE star Big E joined Vibe & Wrestling to talk about his old stable, The New Day, being named the greatest tag team in WWE history. Big E listed his Mt. Rushmore of tag teams and, while he's not sure the New Day is the greatest tag team ever, he's very thankful they are recognized as such to a degree.
"I'm very pretty self-deprecating so it's hard for me to put us as the greatest tag team of all time," Big E said. "I'm very thankful that a lot of people have. I'm very proud of our accolades, I think we're definitely worthy of being in the conversation. As far as the Mt. Rushmore of tag teams I would put the Road Warriors. Man, there's so many great ones. Let's go Road Warriors let's go Edge and Christian, let's go Dudley Boys and for my final tag team let's go Harlem Heat. I loved Harlem Heat as a kid, I thought they were very, they had a lot of swagger, they were very cool, they're were in the ring. There's definitely going to be a team that I've forgotten and I will feel bad about it but yeah those those are my choices.
"I think there are a ton of incredible tag teams and I think if you're around my age or a little older, if you're an adult wrestling fan and you grew up in the 90s or the 80s or even earlier, I think for a lot of people nostalgia is such a big part of their wrestling fandom and I think it's hard for a lot of people to select a more modern team a team that is currently on television. When you think of like the golden era, the golden age of wrestling, you think back to the 90s, you think back to the Attitude Era. There are so many teams who are so influential so I think that's it for a lot of fans. I think that's why they might struggle with The New Day choice, but honestly I've seen a lot of positive reception too, a lot of people who really appreciate all that we have done and given as well. So I'm very thankful. I'll just say that I'm thankful for the selection I'm thankful for all the time I've had with Kofi and Woods and I'm really proud of all we've done."
Right now Big E is separated from his New Day teammates, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, who compete on RAW while Big E remains on Smackdown. Big E would like to see the trio reunited and thinks there's a way to do so while making sure the three have their own individual goals.
"I think we can do both," Big E said. "I'd love to be on the same show together. I miss those guys a ton. Kofi was able to pursue his single stuff while the three of us were on the same show. I'd love to do that and I think the beautiful thing is it just gives us options. Like we can have, if we wanted to, we can have a backstage promo or segment where we say 'hey Kofi and Woods, I appreciate you guys but I'm gonna handle my business and you guys handle your business and when the time is right we'll come back together.'
"I think that's an easy way to separate us and still be on the same show. But then when you need to you can come back and you can do six-man tags, you can do tag team matches and we can all come back and be in the same storyline together. We can do something like work The Bloodline, like have a feud with Roman and The Usos you know? I think it just makes it so much better having all three of us on the same show. It just gives you so many opportunities to tell some unique stories and I think that's one thing that we've missed being on different shows. And I think if you look at it, if you're a fan of The New Day, as of now we're represented on both shows. But selfishly I would love for us to all be on the same show and that in my opinion should be SmackDown. I'd love for them to come back to SmackDown. I like being on SmackDown and I'd love to have them here back with me."
Big E was also asked about the idea of UFC fighter Conor McGregor leaving the Octagon behind to try his hand at pro wrestling. Big E first responded by saying he believes Conor will remain in MMA once he heals from his injuries. On the whole though Big E would be fine with a star like McGregor crossing over to wrestling, though McGregor's antics out of the cage don't have him clamoring for WWE to bring him in.
"I assume that Conor will continue to fight in the UFC," Big E said. "As far as his ability to crossover, I will never roll my eyes or be angry at a celebrity or an athlete from another sport getting opportunities in WWE. For one I realized from day one this is not my ball. I don't run this company you know what I mean and wasting any time or energy about who's brought in or who's hired, it's a waste, it really is a waste. I think Conor, if he does come to WWE, if he was brought in, how could I ever complain about that? He's a massive star. He was number one on Forbes list for athletes in the entire world this past year, he was the most paid athlete in the world and he's a huge star. He's a bigger name than I am, that's quite clear and a bigger name than pretty much just about everyone we have here. As well as far as his crossover ability, if you ask your neighbor down the street who this is there's a good chance they're gonna know Conor McGregor is. So yeah I would never have a problem with that. Not everyone would welcome him or feel the same but he's extremely entertaining. And I think if he did come to WWE I think he would get a lot of attention.
"I think he would be worth the investment I'm sure for a lot of people so yeah, I would not have a problem with it. Am I necessarily going to be beating the drum for him to come over? No I'm not. I'm not necessarily thrilled you know? It wouldn't bother me at all. it probably would have a lot of positives so yeah, if it's something that he wanted to do thumbs up I suppose. For me, I guess the only stuff that bothers me, and it's not my position to really judge him, but it's the legal stuff you know what I mean? I take some pride in when I look around our locker room, and I'm not saying things are perfect, but I want to be in a locker room with people who are good people who obey the law, you know what I mean? Who aren't getting in trouble and that's the only thing. There's some things that he's done that I wish he hadn't but again, who am I to cast the first stone? So if anything you know if he comes over and he represents himself well and carries himself in a way that's respectful, so be it."
You can watch the full interview below.