WRESTLING
Former WWE champion will not be able to wrestle again after suffering career-ending injury
Former powerlifter Big E may be forced to retire after breaking his neck during a SmackDown match against Ridge Holland and Sheamus.
Wrestler Big E may never return to the ring after suffering a serious neck injury during a SmackDown match against Ridge Holland and Sheamus in March 2022.
The Florida-born wrestler had only moved back to SmackDown in January 2022 but disaster struck soon after his return. In the match Ridge Holland delivered an overhead belly-to-belly suplex that saw Big E land on his head, fracturing his C1 and C6 vertebrae.
He revealed last year that doctors had advised him not to wrestle again but he has not issued a definitive decision on his pro wrestling career. The strongest signal yet came this week when analyst Jonathan Coachman told Tommy Carlucci that Big E is unlikely to wrestle again.
“Tommy, he [Big E] is never wrestling again,” Coachman said on Behind the Turnbuckle: The Last Word. “He’s never wrestling again. I know he wants to. I would never allow him to because he would take one bad, just a simple chokeslam or a bodyslam for him to be paralyzed forever.”
Big E’s days on The New Day may be over but he’s still keeping an eye on his old stable. Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston are currently leading the team but new boy Odyssey Jones made his debut on RAW this week and put on a show.
Big E was full of praise for the 30-year-old, who could be a big part of The New Day going forward. The three-person stable has been performing as a standard tag team since Big E’s injury back in 2022 but Odyssey could be the long-term replacement for the outgoing star.