Things are looking up for Big E of The New Day, but they’re not looking so far up that he’ll be returning to the ring anytime soon — if ever again. Roundly missed by the WWE Universe as far as in-ring action goes, along with his hilarious demeanor in the locker room and ringside, Big E has been out of action for roughly two years now due to injury.
Having been literally dropped on his head outside of the ring during a botched maneuver, he suffered a life-threatening injury to his vertebrae that he’s been recovering from ever since.
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Thankfully, Big E wasn’t paralyzed or worse, but he’s still far from being cleared medically for the rigors of wrestling. He recently gave an update on his situation that is both promising and humbling.
"Now, we're at two years and running since I broke my neck,” he told Chris Vannini on the “Getting Over” podcast . “I broke my C1 in two places, and my C6 as well. I feel great. I have no issues with pain, no issues with discomfort, weakness, any of those things. My strength is great.”
Let us pause for a moment to give the latter part of that update a standing ovation, all things considered.
And now more from Big E:
“The only issue is my C1 is healing fibrously, which is great for normal day-to-day life, but it's not turning into new bone and ossifying yet,” he explained. “They're not going to clear me until that happens. It's obviously a very important bone. Right now, that is the waiting game.
“I did go to Cancun about a month ago for stem cells. We'll see if that changes anything. Right now, I feel great, I'm just not in a position to be cleared quite yet."
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The trip to Mexico for stem cell therapy was accompanied by WWE superstar manager MVP at his side, and Big E looked in great spirits before and after undergoing the procedure.
The WWE has done an amazing job at keeping him in the spotlight when they can, using his magnetic personality and insanely high wrestling IQ (along with the fact he’s exceptionally well-spoken and excels at broadcasting) for commentary ahead of and after premium live events.
For now, that’s all the WWE Universe can have of him, but at least he’s still around for us to keep asking when he’ll be able to lace ‘em back up.
That injury could’ve ended in tragedy, instead it’s ended in a “waiting game”.
Thank goodness for that.
