Big E is at the top of the mountain in WWE having won the WWE Championship on Monday's Raw.
Big E has been with WWE for 12 years and is one of the most respected and beloved wrestlers in the locker room. Though WWE has plenty of veterans in the locker room, Big E relishes the role of being an OG and helping the younger talent.
"I hope to be able to do the same for others," Big E said on The Ringer Wrestler podcast when discussing people going to bat for him throughout his career. "I'm getting to that point where I look around the locker room and realize I'm one of the older guys. I relish the role a little bit of being one of the OGs. There are horror stories about what wrestling locker rooms were like 20-30 years ago and I'm hoping we can be parts of a locker room that is more encouraging and welcoming. I still have many years left, but I look at the Rhea Ripleys of the world, who are a decade younger, or the Austin Theorys. We have a lot of cats who are going to be around for a lot longer than I will. When my time is over, they'll still be around. I hope we can give them the support and love they need to be the next ones up and to continue to develop. I'm starting to relish the role of being one of the older guys."
Big E may not refer to himself as a locker room leader, but he saw how Kofi Kingston stepped up when he was WWE Champion in 2019 and he wants to be that same kind of leader.
"I will never refer to myself as a locker room leader of any sort. Kofi is not a vocal leader, he just leads by example. You look at him and see the way he carries himself. I remember when he won the title and how busy he was, but he never complained and was always professional. That's all I want to be and we should all do that, just lead by example, carry yourself in a way....I don't want to have this public image that I have to worry about upholding because I'm a fraud and I have to make sure everyone has to stay quiet because they know how I really am. I want to be transparent about who I am and how I carry myself. As far as my personal life is concerned, I don't want beef or smoke with a single person on this planet. I hope everyone does well and is successful. I don't intend on changing how I carry myself. I also realize that winning the title isn't where it stops, it's where it starts," he said.
Big E winning the WWE Title was celebrated across wrestling as wrestlers from all companies congratulated the new champion on Monday.
You can view reactions to Big E's WWE Title victory by clicking here.
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