Add as a preferred source on Google Big E has revealed the original plans for his first WWE Championship reign. The former New Day member won the title in September 2021, cashing in his Money in the Bank contract on Bobby Lashley during an episode of Raw.
Speaking on NotSam Wrestling, Big E said the original plan was for him to face Seth Rollins at Day 1, where he would lose the title to “The Visionary.” Rollins had earned that opportunity by winning a Fatal 4-Way Ladder Match before Kevin Owens, Bobby Lashley and, eventually, Brock Lesnar were added to the match.
“It was supposed to be me and Seth in a singles at Day 1. I was gonna drop the title anyways. I was supposed to drop the title to Seth. We come back and at Mania, we do it again. I regain the title.
Things change all the time, so who knows what was meant?”
The final change came after Roman Reigns tested positive for COVID-19 and was pulled from his Universal Championship match against Lesnar. As a result, Lesnar was added to the WWE Championship match and defeated Big E, Rollins, Owens and Lashley in the main event of Day 1.
At the time, Dave Meltzer had already reported that Rollins was supposed to leave Day 1 as WWE Champion, while Lesnar would remain Universal Champion heading into WrestleMania 38. Big E’s new revelation adds the other side of the story: the idea was for him to regain the title at the biggest event of the year.
In the end, none of that happened. Rollins faced Cody Rhodes, who returned to WWE on the first night of WrestleMania 38, while Lesnar entered the event as WWE Champion and lost to Reigns in a Winner Take All Match.
Big E himself never got the chance to have that possible match. In March 2022, he suffered a serious neck injury during SmackDown and has not wrestled since.