In an interview with Mid Day, Big E of The New Day spoke about the state of the WWE tag team division, as well as the New Day’s rocky start as a stable. Here are highlights:
On the tag team division: “I think it’s definitely heating up obviously with the addition of the Hardy Boyz… that’s huge for igniting people’s passion with WWE tag team wrestling again. Also, The Revival, dastardly as they maybe, I think they are very talented. They say ‘what’s old is made new’ so, they borrowing a lot of Brainbusters from the tag team and wrestling of that age has helped them feel new. On SmackDown Live, seeing The Usos with their latest turn as heel and reigniting their careers as well as seeing how much momentum they have. I am a big fan of Breezango as well. Those guys need to be given a chance which they are finally getting. I really feel they are gonna tear it up with the opportunity they have with The Usos. It’s exciting to sit back a bit, we are kind of forcibly before we eventually make our SmackDown Live debut. The tag team division is in pretty good hands. We also have an eye on what is going on at NXT. There’s a lot to like about tag team wrestling and we will see how things shape after the superstar shake up.”
On the success of the New Day: “Oh it is a very long story! Well, Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods (the third member of The New Day) and me noticed quite early that we shared chemistry and a bond that was uncommon. Regardless of what incarnation the group would take, the WWE universe would see our chemistry and that would be the selling point. We believe that energy attracts energy. When we have fun and enjoy each others company, people are drawn in. However, The New Day would have manifested, we would be fine. Initially, we had a rocky start with ‘The New Day sucks’ chants. I remember, Xavier Woods being really fired up in the ring a few times. Initially it just started with a ‘clap’ (The New Day’s gimmick) and no words and Xavier Woods came up with that. It was a way to give us a clap that was unique and one that fans register as The New Day. It was hard on us for months. I remember us working a lot of time outside of WWE, at home, writing texts and emails trying to get on the same page and going out of our way to get this off the ground. And for people to tell us we suck, I mean, we are working as hard as we can.
Most of WWE’s hardcore fan base wants to see underutilized wrestlers in better positions. And that was us. Kofi has been with WWE for a long time and never really had a world title opportunity and Woods never got to showcase his talents. We thought people would pull through for us, as underutilized guys, but it was not that way.
I think, the one beautiful thing is that the WWE universe demonstrated that they have a voice and that they matter. If it wasn’t for them being so vocal and if they were apathetic, The New Day would have been dead in the water. It was perseverance for us as we believed in each other and that is the biggest take-away from this for us. If the WWE universe believes, they can definitely change a lot – like with Daniel Bryan and his WrestleMania moment. That is what is unique about WWE, that the fans can change and alter careers of the very WWE superstars that they watch.”
