Big E sees the New Day as being very different than The Shield.
Joining Sportskeeda Wrestling's Riju Dasgupta, Big E was asked about remarks made by Roman Reigns where he suggested that you need to focus on yourself in order to climb the ladder in WWE. The New Day member proceeded to explain what he sees as the differences between New Day and The Shield and how he's not willing to compromise his sense of self or his loyalty to Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods just to be someone he's really not. He said the following:
"I think what separates us from a lot of other groups is, you know, The Shield, I feel like those guys were always meant to be -- they're a supergroup. That's how I viewed them. They were all guys who were all destined to be stars. They were already stars and they were going to be big stars. I think the three of us -- The New Day to me is so different as a trio because we needed each other to get to this point. I think there's so much in my career that I wasn't going to be able to do if it wasn't for the New Day. Whereas I think Roman Reigns was always going to be Roman Reigns. Same with all the members of The Shield.
I feel like there's a lot of, you know, the old pro wrestling mantra is, 'you get with a faction, your guys all get elevated, then you kind of turn on those other guys, and you move past them and use them as a stepping stone to get where you need to go. I want to do something different. I really truly believe in our brotherhood. I believe in the bond between us. Kofi was able to become a world champion without ever turning his back on his brothers and I feel like I can still do so many of the same things. I don't want to change who I am, fundamentally, in order to fit the mould of what people think a top guy or World Champion is. I have no interest in changing myself to become what people want or expect. So, you know, I have a ton of respect for what [Roman's] done and also this recent run, too. But, you know, if there's any allusion to like, 'hey I need to turn on those others, or forget Kofi and Woods to get where I need to be, that's not happening. That's not anything that's even remotely interesting to me."
Though they compete on different brands now, Big E remains firmly aligned with Kofi and Xavier. Now on SmackDown, Big E holds the Money in the Bank contract. He competed last night on SummerSlam, defeating Baron Corbin and reclaiming the briefcase that was stolen from him two weeks prior.
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