Big E Interview with Mean Jean
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00:00All right, my man that I got here with me is a former Intercontinental Champion,
00:05former WWE Tag Team Champion many times over,
00:08former Mr. Money in the Bank, former WWE Champion,
00:12and he's going to add a little something extra to the list.
00:15He's the new in-game host for football.
00:18It's back at Ford Field over the summer.
00:21How excited are you about this new opportunity, man?
00:23Man, I'm really excited about it, man.
00:25Football, as much as I credit wrestling,
00:27everything good in my life is because of wrestling in WWE.
00:30But football was my first love, man.
00:32Football truly was.
00:33So getting to play at Iowa, you know, my time in the Midwest has been beautiful.
00:38And just Detroit, man, the passion that people in Detroit have for their teams
00:42is special for their city, special.
00:45So I'm really excited.
00:46I got to do a bunch of things with a big new kickoff for Fox Sports
00:49and really developed this relationship over the last couple of years.
00:52So as soon as they brought this to me, I was like, man, this makes perfect sense.
00:56SummerSlam will be at Ford Field on August 5th.
00:59The Michigan Panthers will be coming back to be playing in Detroit for the first time in 40 years.
01:04They'll be playing all their home games at Ford Field as well.
01:08So obviously, you know, it just made perfect sense building up to the Michigan Panthers-USFL season
01:14all being at Ford Field.
01:16And then shortly thereafter, SummerSlam also being at Ford Field.
01:20A lot of synergy there, right?
01:22A lot of synergy, yes.
01:23Absolutely.
01:23So of course, I have to ask, man, it's been a little bit over a year since the injury.
01:28You've been in great spirits throughout the whole situation.
01:31How are you feeling and how's, you know, everything progressing with on that end?
01:34I feel really great, man.
01:35Right now, it's just unfortunately, it's a difficult fracture.
01:38So I broke my C1.
01:39I broke my C6 as well.
01:41But I broke my C1 in two places.
01:42And it's called a Jefferson fracture.
01:44So because of the nature of that fracture, sometimes it doesn't heal as well.
01:49So it had been healing fibrously at the six-month mark, which means everything's like still in place.
01:54But it hadn't ossified.
01:56It hadn't completely turned into bone yet.
01:58Okay.
01:58So, you know, obviously, to do what we do, the rigors of WWE and being in the ring,
02:04they want to make sure that my neck is as rock solid as possible to be going back out there.
02:08So I'm so fortunate.
02:10I have no nerve issues, no pain issues, no strength issues.
02:13I feel great.
02:14I feel normal.
02:15And I'm really grateful to all the EMTs, everyone in Birmingham that took such great care of me,
02:20my PTs in Tampa.
02:22Everyone's been great.
02:23So I'm really fortunate to feel so good.
02:24That's awesome.
02:25I'm glad to hear that, man.
02:26So with the new gig, man, what are you most excited about hosting Michigan Panther football here at Fort Field?
02:32Well, I'm excited.
02:33You know, I, especially being a part of WWE the last several years, what we do is so based on fan interaction.
02:39And that's something that I've really grown to love.
02:42You know, when I first started wrestling, it was all about the athletic side.
02:45But as I, you know, progressed in my career, I really love the connection with fans and being able to give them the best experience possible.
02:51And so to bring that energy in a different format, you know, to take that from wrestling and to bring it to these USFL games,
03:00that's something that I'm really excited about.
03:01So that's what it's really all about, is making sure that fans have the most fun possible,
03:04that they're as engaged as possible, that they're really enjoying their time being at Fort Field and watching the Panthers play.
03:10Yeah, that's dope.
03:11And with, you know, all of the people in the world, essentially, how dope is it, you know,
03:16that the Panthers and the USFL reached out to you to do this, you know, where they're playing at Fort Field
03:22and in Detroit for the first time in 40 years?
03:25No, it's amazing, man.
03:26I found myself really blessed to have an opportunity like this.
03:29I, you know, there are a lot of other people that they could have gone to and asked to do something like this,
03:35but I'm glad that I was the one that they came knocking for.
03:38Yeah, that's dope.
03:39And then I see that on June 18th is going to be WWE Superstar Night with the Panthers.
03:45Talk to me a little bit about more of that and, you know, what fans can expect at Fort Field on that date.
03:49Yeah, so right now we don't have anything announced per se, but for WWE Night, the cool thing is we might have other talent come in, do things.
03:58I'm sure we'll do some, you know, fan giveaways and whatnot, but being able to bring in WWE talent,
04:05to bring in the WWE side to promote as well.
04:07So, again, such a natural tie-in with the Panthers, with Fort Field, and with the WWE.
04:12Yeah, that's dope.
04:13Come on, man.
04:13Give me a little scoop.
04:14What do we got?
04:14Give me something.
04:15I got any scoop.
04:16I got any scoop.
04:16I got any scoop.
04:16I got any scoop.
04:17We always say, like, why do you want us to ruin the surprise?
04:21You know, that's the beauty of showing up there.
04:22And how about you get something that you never expected, man?
04:24I don't want to ruin that for you.
04:25I'm looking out for you, my brother.
04:27All right.
04:27All right.
04:28That's fair enough.
04:29Fair enough.
04:30Fair enough.
04:30All right.
04:30So, one of the things, you know, I posted that I was going to be talking to you today,
04:35and probably, I got to ask you, there's two things that I feel like always come up when
04:40people talk about you, and I want to know which one people ask you about more.
04:44Is it big, meaty men slapping meat, or is it you and the popcorn in the front row?
04:51Because I see those everywhere, from people that aren't wrestling fans as well.
04:54You know what?
04:55I did not realize that would be my legacy in wrestling, would be those.
04:59The popcorn gif and the big, meaty men.
05:03But look, man, I am incredibly proud of both.
05:07Yeah.
05:07I will say, I think the popcorn gif, I still see it widely used.
05:11I feel like, at least in my mentions on Twitter and in day-to-day, big, meaty men, I thought
05:19might have, like, it's time in the sun and then fade out.
05:23This is years later.
05:25I want to say we did this in, like, either 2020 or 2019.
05:27This is at least three years later.
05:28It might have picked up steam for some reason.
05:31I see, like, people in different companies use it, on the independent scene use it, in
05:35WWE.
05:36I've seen it in non-wrestling contexts, in other sports as well.
05:40Look, I am incredibly proud.
05:43I would say that's the one.
05:44Big, meaty men is the one that has followed me.
05:46I feel like it's not even close to dying down.
05:48I get to do something about every single day.
05:51Yeah.
05:51It's kind of ridiculous, but in the very best way.
05:53In the best way.
05:54I know.
05:54I was watching Raw last night, and, you know, I heard Corey Graves mention, this is the Big
05:59E special.
06:00Big, meaty men.
06:03It's so absurd, man.
06:04It really is so absurd.
06:05But I love it, man.
06:06Anytime.
06:07We've seen so many Haas battles, too.
06:08Even, like, Gunther's in a lot of those big, meaty men matches.
06:12Bobby Lashley, Brock.
06:14So, it's a good time.
06:15Bronson Reed, too.
06:16He got a lot of big boys.
06:18Yeah.
06:18And we need, like, I haven't thought of, we need a good version for the women, too.
06:22We can't leave the Haas and women out of it, too.
06:25I don't have a good version for it.
06:26If someone comes up with something, let me know.
06:28But, yes, big, meaty men and big, meaty women as well.
06:30We'll have to workshop that one.
06:32Yes.
06:33We'll have to workshop.
06:33So, honestly, was that just, like, a spur of the moment?
06:36It just came out?
06:37Or was that something that you've said in the past when you talk about, you know,
06:39big guys wrestling?
06:40No, no.
06:41It's just something that kind of, you know, was spur of the moment at the time.
06:44I think it's a thought I've had in my mind many times because I think, so, the interesting
06:48thing is when you go to Japan, for some reason, I love working.
06:51Tokyo is my favorite city to visit.
06:52But we used to wrestle and go to our shows in Tokyo.
06:55Every time, like, I would be in the ring with guys like Rowan or my good buddy, rest in
07:01peace, Luke Harper.
07:02Yeah.
07:02And in Japan, you, for some reason, in the States, two guys who just take off and give,
07:08you know, the old tackle spot where two big men running each other, you tackle, no one
07:12bumps, and they stand strong.
07:14You can do that, like, one or two times in the U.S. and get reactions.
07:18But in Japan, for some reason, you can do it over and over.
07:22So, it was like, we would always, like, when we were putting our matches together, that
07:25was the thing, is Rowan and I would be like, hey, you and I, we could just hit the ropes
07:28and take off and hit each other, like, five or six times.
07:31And the reactions just grow more and more.
07:33So, that's something that I've always had in my mind.
07:35And for me, like, it always sounds best when you get the pop of the meat.
07:39That's what it is.
07:40That meat slapping against each other.
07:42When the chest hit each other.
07:44That noise.
07:45Oh, that's how fans write.
07:46So, that's always something that I've had in my mind, is just that meat slapping.
07:50And that's what you're looking for with two big men.
07:52So, it's something I've thought about for a while, but I never really put it into words
07:57until that podcast.
07:58And I can't even just take sole credit for it.
08:01Because Woods, Woods dying laughing, that really makes that video so much better.
08:08It really does.
08:09And we're going to get to see some big meaty men slapping meat at Ford Field with the
08:13Michigan Panthers all season long.
08:15Big E is going to be the in arena host.
08:19I got to make it down to some games.
08:20If you ever, you know, you get sick or you can't make a game, you need someone to fill
08:23in for you, hit me up, my brother.
08:25I got you, okay?
08:26Or a good tag teamer, too.
08:28Come on now.
08:28Hey, let's do it.
08:31I'm not a big meaty man, but I'll, you know, do what I got to do.
08:34We'll get you a body suit.
08:35One of those muscle suits.
08:36Yeah, yeah, yeah.
08:37There we go.
08:39April 30th is when the season kicks off.
08:41And June 28th, I believe, is WWE night down at Ford Field.
08:46The USFL is back in Detroit for the first time in 40 years.
08:50If you go to some games, you'll be able to see my man, Big E.
08:52Big E, thank you so much for your time.
08:54Continued success.
08:56And hopefully, you know, everything goes well with that injury and we can add to that accolades
09:00list.
09:00So the next time I talk to you, I can start with like five minutes of, you know, universal
09:04champion, WrestleMania main event, a Royal Rumble winner, and on and on and on.
09:09I appreciate your time, my brother.
09:11Thank you so much.
09:12I appreciate it.
09:12Go Panthers.
09:13Go Panthers, baby.
09:14Let's go.
09:15Let's go.