Fans were shocked earlier this month when The New Day were officially split in the 2020 WWE Draft with Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods placed on Monday Night Raw and Big E left behind on Friday Night SmackDown.
However, shortly after their final farewell on the October 16 blue brand when they went over Sheamus, Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro, reports began to explode around the internet that the former NXT Champion was in for a major main event push.
Now, the man himself has spoken to The Gorilla Position podcast and revealed that while Vince McMahon had the final decision, it was Daniel Bryan who pushed for him to be placed front and centre and be made into the next main event star.
Speaking on how Daniel Bryan pushed him forward and the former WWE Champion’s involvement in WWE’s creative process, the man once known as Big E Langston had this to say:
“With the Sheamus program, we talked about ideas like new music and new presentation for me and we talked about ‘when is the right time to play it?’ and we never got around to it because I hadn’t been in the arena for a few months because a lot of our stuff happened backstage until we had the match. With SmackDown, we don’t have as many segments to fill. We’re afforded the luxury of being able to do a little more creative stuff. I’m not entirely sure the differences between the Raw and SmackDown creative team, but the nice part is I feel like I have a voice with the SmackDown creative team. We’re able to go back and forth with ideas and they’re actually listening. Also, I have to give credit to Daniel Bryan. The idea for the solo run was from him. He’s the reason. Not just, ‘Hey, Big E…’ he’s actually part of the process and he’s the one who said, ‘This is what we should do with Big E.’ It feels like an environment where I do have a voice and I get to do what I want by any means.”
As per their contracts and their standing backstage, Daniel Bryan along with Edge have a huge creative input behind the scenes of both SmackDown and Raw respectively.
It will now be fascinating to see how WWE handle Big E’s push to the top of the card and whether or not he’ll main event WrestleMania 37 with WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, should the roadblock of insurance prevent The Rock from lacing up his boots one last time.
Credit for the interview: The Gorilla Position Podcast
h/t for the transcript: Fightful