If Big E was still following his original career plan, he’d be retiring now

Big E will turn 36 before WrestleMania 38. And if he was still sticking to the blueprint he drafted for his career after signing with WWE in 2009, he’d be hanging up his boots right now.

That’s what the WWE champion told The Sun — along with the fact he’s redrawn that blueprint because he still feels pretty, pretty, pretty good:

“I’ve got a few more years left in me. I don’t really know when that time will be… but when you’re 23, 35 feels like it’s ages from now and that you’ll be an old man and beat up. So 35 felt like at the time a good time to get out and I don’t want to overstay my welcome...

“I think, in many ways, a lot of wrestlers’ primes are like 35, 40… We’re seeing Bobby Lashley now having his best run in his mid-40s. We have so many guys now… Randy Orton, AJ Styles, Kofi Kingston, Bobby Roode, Dolph Ziggler - so many guys in their 40s performing at such a high level. They look great and are aging well.

“So, I don’t know if I’m going to wrestle into my forties as I always told myself that I would make sure I was out before then, but my body feels great. In the ring, I feel leaner and my cardio is getting better. There’s so much about where I’m at physically that I’m really appreciating. So, if my body holds up, I’m feeling good and it makes sense, then we’ll keep going for a few more years.”

Whenever his body tells him to stop, E says he’s be open to another role (The Sun asks if he might follow in MVP’s footsteps as a manager). He’s not ruling anything out:

“If it makes sense and feels right then I think I’d be open to something like that.

“For me, I try not to make any solid plans because I’ve learned that life has a way of throwing detours in your path that you never, ever would have expected. If you asked me at 22 what I’d be doing with my life and asked me to list 200 things then being a WWE superstar would not be on that list. Then this really incredible thing came along and 12 years later I’m still doing it. So I just try to be open for whatever may come.

“I really love the craft, I love being in the ring and entertaining people and if there are other ways to do that when I’m done falling down for a living then maybe I’d be open to it. It is an incredible business and I’d love to find some way to stay involved but maybe life takes me in another direction. I just want to be open to everything.”

Even though I’ve been pretty disappointed in how WWE’s booked his title run, Large Epsilon remains one of my favorite performers. I won’t be sour about him staying in the game in any capacity for as long as he wants to.

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