Before he was hiding pancakes in his singlet and drenching members of the WWE Universe in Booty-Os cereal, Big E was keeping his opponents down for a five count in NXT.
As even he admits, it was a gimmick ripped straight from King Kong Bundy. However, it was originally intended to get him over as a heel, and when it endeared him to the audience instead, he ran with it and became one of the biggest breakout stars the black-and-gold brand had seen up to that point.
Oddly enough, he wasn’t allowed to do the five count gimmick on the main roster after turning face in the summer of 2013. Despite the lyrics of his entrance theme saying “Three ain’t enough, man, I need five,” he remained a bland babyface and wasn’t given the green light to bring back what worked for him in NXT.
That NXT tenure holds a very special place in Big E’s heart as it set the stage for the successful main roster career he went on to have.
“NXT didn’t have the same amount of eyes on it, but that was also huge for my career,” he said. “I don’t get to the main roster if it wasn’t for the five count and the way people connected with it, but it was so much fun. It allowed me to show some personality in a different way.”
The Big E we already see every week on TV is entertaining as is, but he’d love to resurrect the five count gimmick more than anyone. He isn’t hopeful WWE will let him use it again, and even if he did, he realizes it wouldn’t be the same without fans in attendance.
“If it was up to me, of course, I’d love the five count again and bring it back. That would be a lot of fun,” he said. “It would definitely be different without a crowd. If I were you, I would keep my hopes low. I haven’t had any conversations, it’s out of my hands. I would love to do it, but don’t hold your breath.”
In the meantime, there’s nothing holding him back from reaching the apex of WWE with the talent he possesses and the WWE Universe in his corner.
Catch Big E in action Friday nights on WWE SmackDown at 8/7c, only on Fox.
Graham Mirmina, aka Graham “GSM” Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, Next Era Wrestling, and “like” his official Facebook page to continue the conversation on all things wrestling.read more
Exclusive: Big E on WWE SmackDown Singles Run, Booker T, New Day’s Success, More
