Big E is the fourth black WWE Champion in history and the first black wrestler to win the title from another black wrestler.
WWE has often been criticized for their lack of representation, though things have improved in that area in the eyes of many fans in more recent years. That doesn't excuse the history of the company, which has Roddy Piper painting his body half black during a feud with Bad News Brown, Vince McMahon using the N word on television, and McMahon's ties to Donald Trump.
Appearing on The Breakfast Club, Big E discussed how he navigates those criticisms as a performer and now champion.
"I see myself as...I don't want to say I'm 'light in an area of darkness,' but sometimes you have you to work from within. We all work for these massive systems and there are beliefs and views that I don't necessarily agree with or feel, but my presence in WWE, I feel like I can reach people, I can motivate people and I can still show, 'this is how I feel, this is how I see the world.' I feel like, within the system, it's a massive platform and I don't want to lose that," he said.
Big E continued, "I haven't necessarily asked Vince about his political views or donations or whatnot, but there are things that I have wanted to do like, smaller gestures but things that matter to me, after George Floyd (died), Kofi [Kingston] and I decided, 'we need to show people we're with you, we feel the same pain, we're crying the same tears.' I went up to Vince and said, 'Hey, we want to kneel and throw a fist up. Is that cool? I wanted to run it by you.' He said, 'Yeah, no problem,' and that's what we did. I'm not saying we changed the world by any means, but a lot of things that I felt were important to me, this past year especially, George Floyd's death touched me. There are things that I wanted to accomplish and I wanted to do, especially when you see these black kids at shows. We're here to entertain everyone from all backgrounds and ethnicities, but when you look out and see a young black girl or boy, they remind you of yourself or my sisters when I was young. To let them know, just because we're on TV or have money or fame, that doesn't make us above feeling the way you feel."
On the June 12, 2020 episode of SmackDown, Big E and Kofi Kingston took a knee and raised a fist in the middle of the ring, supporting Black Lives Matter following the murder of George Floyd.
When asked if he's ever dealt with racism in WWE, Big E replied, "No, honestly, I haven't. I will say, I feel like, as far as our representation on TV, we're getting to where we need to be. It's still always a work in progress. Oftentimes, if there are issues, it would present themselves as people seeing you a certain way and they want you to, as a character, 'Oh, you're a big black man, this is the role you need to play.' Our goal as 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 sister-necking and doing certain things. I look at someone like Bianca Belair and she is 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. I think we're getting more of those black characters on TV who are authentic."
Bianca Belair is set to challenge Becky Lynch for the Raw Women's Championship on Monday's WWE Raw.
Big E will soon be challenged by Seth Rollins for the WWE Championship after Rollins won a ladder match to earn a shot at the belt.
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