What killed Big E's momentum?

[MartialHorror]

So I tuned into wrestling (again) in November of last year, when Big E was the IC Champ. He seemed to get pretty good crowd reactions (although maybe I wasn't paying attention) and got plenty of face time. He was used whenever a good guy was needed, like when he walked past the various wrestling legends on Old school Raw. He was placed in high profile matches, often teaming up with John Cena and CM Punk.

He had a lot of energy in the ring, a decent amount of charisma and while he's no Daniel Bryan, he had some skill in the ring. But near the end of his reign as IC Champ, it seemed like the fans lost interest. When Bad News Barrett won the belt, fans seemed to turn against him. After that, it was like no one cared about Big E. He barely got any response from the crowd, his TV time diminished and even a feud with Rusev didn't re-ignite their interest.

During one match (which I honestly thought wasn't bad), fans started chanting for Ziggler. It started to get awkward when his attempts to get cheap face pops were met with no response. Afterwards, he got some wins against Cesaro, rescuing Kofi but once again, fans didn't care. When he apparently formed a new stable, the internet became excited, but then he practically dropped off of TV. Seriously, when was the last time he was on air?

So...what happened? WWE probably gave up on him due to a lack of fan reaction, but when and why did the fans turn on him? I always felt his big problem was that he was pandering to the crowd too much and it didn't fit with his in-ring persona. He always acted too nice, too friendly and too passive. But when he was in a match, he's suddenly aggressive and intense. Cena and Sheamus are also blatant faces, but even they have characterizations which are mostly consistent in and out of the ring. It was almost like whenever he was interviewed, he'd break kayfabe and act like his normal self when he should've been putting on a performance. But what are your thoughts?

 

[laodaron]

Honestly, I feel that the problem is the way that the WWE treats most black wrestlers. If they are faces, they are either dancers/hip hop angles or stoic and emotionless. If they are heels, they double up on slang, and they are still dancers/rappers/hip hop stars that are stoic and emotionless.

Plus, Big E isn't very talented. He's nearly a zero on the mic, he's only very mediocre in the ring, and his finisher is balls. I think that's a big part of it.

 

[MCMG]

He was NXT champion and given the champ before him was Seth Rollins it is very curious to see how Big E has done. The IC title is a problem and has been for a while. Barrett and now Ziggler are doing a good job but there was no chance it was going to work for someone like Big E.

Big E can still get on the right track. His stuff in NXT was of a decent quality. He is a big guy who is clearly a likeable character. There is definitely a chance he can be a success but there needs to be more work done from those in power. The problem is finding a successful feud/gimmick that will help him get over. There aren't many options which is why a potential stable with Woods and Kofi would be a good idea. Kofi, Big E and Woods as a trio has a serious amount of potential. Big E and Kofi could be a wonderful tag-team that would give both these guys an actual purpose or Big E as a singles with Woods as his mouthpiece. Indeed, it might be enough to kickstart Big E's career.

Ultimately, Big E probably wasn't ready to carry the IC belt and the lack of long-term planning fucked him over. Going from random heel mid-card opponent to another was never going to get him over as a face and his association with Punk/Cena was smart, but not done effectively. Look at how well Reigns, Ambrose and Rollins have been booked. Sure Big E isn't in their league but he is still someone that could be relied upon in the future if he gets given the chance to show what he can do.

 

[Softcore Holly]

Lack of character really. He never really broke away from the huge silent guy that followed blindly AJ and Dolph around, ok maybe he smiled and talked a little bit more but that was pretty much it. He needed some sort of personality to run with but for whatever reasons he never got it. Him being ok at best in the ring doesn't help either.

The good news for him is he's still really young so he has a lot of time to improve. He's also a big, insanely buff guy and that's always a good thing in the WWE, plus he doesn't have the alleged bad attitude/heat Ryback does. IMO he's not ready for a major role yet, tagging and hopefully improving with a established vet like Kofi is perfect for him. He's not going to be a quick payoff like the Shield guys but he might be big(pun intended)a few years down the line.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

If you look at how Big E was used in NXT as a character and how he was used on the main roster, it's like two completely different men. I'm not trying to lay all the blame on Vince and while I've no way of knowing if this is true or not, it struck me as an example of Vince & Triple H being miles apart on their vision for Big E.

In NXT, Big E showed a good amount of energy and a surprising level of personality. On the main roster, he was transformed into a one dimensional, stereotypical powerhouse wrestler. There are times in which Vince feels that a certain wrestler with a certain look MUST be booked a very certain way. Big E is a 285 pounds slab of muscle with legit accomplishments as a powerlifter, so Vince thinks he should be this silent, one dimensional guy who lets his muscles do the talking for him. Allegedly, Vince changed Antonio Cesaro's name to just Cesaro because he felt that Antonio isn't the name of a "tough guy" and I have no earthly idea what kind of logic that is.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

The problem with Big E is that he's a dime a dozen in wrestling.

Big, strong guy who can't talk. Great...here...you can be the bodyguard for this guy for awhile.

It's the same way for the spot monkeys. Great...you're 180 pounds and can do flips all over the place. Big whoopdedoo. Wrestling is all about the story you tell...not how strong you are, not what moves you can do.

 

[Pedigree1]

I have no earthly idea why Big E seems to be stuck in Neutral.. He is okay on the mic not the greatest but decent nonetheless. He is still a little green in the ring,not as bad as Roman Reigns but still a little raw.. That much you can totally work around.. He was a beast in NXT but when he came up on the main roster,like JH said,its like night and day..

It goes to show you Vince does treat or seems to,powerhouses like one trick ponies.. Grunt,make power moves leave. Triple H when he takes over to me,actually appreciates adn will give talent more opportunity to show what they have than vince does.. Big E storytelling in the ring,is not bad either.. He can tell a great story.. Big E is a legit powerlifter with some pretty amazing lifts in his career.. All hope is not lost on Big E,he just needs to be involved in something

 

[Richard Blonoff]

Once he got to the main roster and moved out of the bodyguard role for Ziggler and AJ, he was pretty much stripped of his personality. It didn't help things that he pretty much was just dropped from that role with little fan fair either.

Not once since he got called up have they used his five count, rarely have they let his actual personality show through, and like some have mentioned, its as if they expect him to be this stoic muscle bound hard ass. The guy has the potential to be a unique character, he has a fun sense of humor, read his Twitter or watch some of his in character interviews when he first got called up as proof.

 

[ADLegend21]

He's black. Big E is incredibly entertaining, just look at his instagram vids that he puts together with his friends and he's athletic and talented in the ring. He and other superstars don't really get to evolve and expand. Kofi "lost his accent" in 2009 but still has his jamacain theme and mannerisms that he's had since he debuted in 2008. He doesn't get to cut promos, neither does Big E, or Xavier Woods any more, even though he had some good things on the App. Everyone you see with Mic time now is white since they let Del Rio go and WWE puts a lot of investment in people who can talk well. Even the Undertaker had to cut good promos.

Big E, Kofi, and Woods have all the talent in the world, no one believes in them in management apparently.

 

[Slash-LN]

It's kind of like with the Prime Time Players.

On the YouTube shows like Inbox and the backstage stuff they're allowed to show personality.

I know there's enough "comedy" characters but they really don't need to cut out their personalities altogether.

I don't really see why they can't let them have personality in promos and then be serious in the ring.

 

[Garfan]

he can talk. And I think he talks plenty for a mid card wrestler

 

[capnwillie]

There are times in which Vince feels that a certain wrestler with a certain look MUST be booked a very certain way.

*nods head*

The most feasible options for Big E: Wait for Vince to retire or wait for Henry to retire and keep his fingers crossed that one or both happens before the end of his contract period. Smart money would be on Mizark retiring first. It'll take death or a hostile takeover/family meltdown/complete stock collapse (circle one) to put Vince out.

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

He has a good build, but he can't connect with audiences in any meaningful way. It's not because he's black, it's because he's boring.

1. He can't talk
2. He has a dumb name
3. The most interesting thing he's done was being Ziggler's bodyguard
4. Even Ziggler was barely over during this time period as a heel and needed AJ
5. He wore stupid tights for the longest time

His entire feud with Rusev and his weird America power testify schtick was awkward and didn't get over.

 

[Creepy Old Man]

He comes off as lacking confidence on the mic. Fans want to live vicariously, and when they detect fear in your performances, you're dead in the water.

 

[Mustang Sally]

As big and strong as they might be, pro wrestlers need inspiring qualities to make it in a big way. These characteristics take many forms: impressive physiques, compelling wrestling styles, great gimmicks.....even big mouths can sometimes get it done, although some combination of the other elements are needed to get a loud-mouthed performer over.

Big Show can't wrestle, but he's got a body larger than anyone else. Ric Flair sure can talk and wrestle; that's how he made it so big with that unimpressive body. Randy Orton can wrestle and looks good, yet his personality is bland and the writers have to work overtime to give him situations in which he can shine.

In all this, where does Big E fit? He has a bodybuilder's physique, yet it isn't really a body suited to wrestling. Honestly, he does what he can with it and probably gets better results than others with his body type, yet he'll never be a fluid performer. His personality is almost non-existent. Yes, he talks, but he's not at all inspiring when he does. I liked him best as a bodyguard for little AJ Lee. As a strong, silent type, he was effective as a supporting player.....but guys like that don't feature as main event performers.

In truth, I don't know that his momentum was killed, because he never really had any. Yes, Creative was instructed to write stuff for him; it's apparently true that Vince McMahon likes those big bodies so much that he's sometimes tried to push those guys too hard, resulting in some crashing failures.

As is often the case, a big body just isn't enough. That's Big E.

 

[MC_Live]

The Intercontinental Championship. Up until Barrett won it from Big E, that belt was a career killer. Look at the recent history. For a period of years every guy that held the belt lost every non title match and received no legitimate push outside of them winning the title. Since Cody Rhodes lost the belt in 2012 it went to Christian, Miz, Kofi, Barrett, Miz, Barrett, Curtis Axel, and Big E before going back to Barrett. And all the time in between time, the IC champ got treated like nothing. So I don't think Big E is at fault. I think he's actually very entertaining. He just needs the right platform to perform, and the right booking to back it up. He may not want to be, but personally I think he should be a heel. At least until he gets over enough to make the fans care. But until then, he's just another victim of the McMahon-Dunn desiease. "He's not John Cena or Randy Orton? We don't care."

 

[Good Golly It's Ollie]

This is one of those cases where I can really see the "scripted promos hold certain guys back" angle, something that usually I'm not sold on.

As Yaz mentioned, the guy's a hoot. But why can't we see that on screen? 'Cause he's not allowed to be. He has to fall into the typical big guy criteria. Same applies to Ryback and a whole bunch of guys.

Take someone like Slater, consider that he's actually quite lucky with regard to how he seems to be allowed to cut loose with the humour more.

 

[Aquaman6686]

Big E's lack of talent killed his momentum. He's absolutely HORRID in the ring and couldn't cut a promo to save his life. He's completely worthless, and that's why his push was stopped, end of story. It's just too bad it went on so long, his squashing of Dolph Ziggler early this year stunted Ziggler's momentum horribly.

 

[HBKistheHOF]

I really like Ahmed Johnson. He has some charisma & talent in the ring. Also Ahmed really does... what? Biggy who? OH..... BIG E! Like Big E Langdon... Big E Lando... Whatever

But in all seriousness I do think Big E has talent & I enjoy his work but I think it was a combination of several factors that has halted his growth/push & left him on the back burner for now.

For one, the first time he ever spoke on TV/PPV was at the 2013 Royal Rumble I believe & he did some goofy voice & I think a lot of people either didn't know what to make of it or couldn't tell he was joking. & while I liked him with Dolph & the initial reveal was pretty good, he never really did anything. He just followed around Dolph & AJ & watched them make out all the time. Then he made his Mania debut in tag team match that was literally about everyone else involved but him. Also that was the same night The Shield, Ryback & Fandango all made their offical Mania debuts, so that didn't exactly do him any favors. Then Big E basically just road the Dolph coaster for the next several months after that until ending up in a mixed tag match at Summerlsam 2013, which once again he was more or less the least important part of the entire match. Then Big E turned face & broke away from Ziggler & was really starting to get a solid reaction. He even received his first main roster title opportunity against Dean Ambrose at HiaC 2013 & had what I thought was his best singles match to date in the WWE. But almost immediately after that Big E was thrown into the IC Title picture & beat Curtis Axel for the title. Not only was it too soon IMO for Big E to hold the IC title but the IC strap was basically a death sentence at that point. It had bounced around countless mid-carders prior to Axel & while I personally enjoyed Axel's reign, most people hated it & ridiculed it for being a low point in the title's history. So after that it was just all downhill from there.

Big E had a decent IC Title reign & I enjoyed his PPV matches with Sandow & Swagger but it just wasn't enough. Big E was having matches with the likes of 3MB on Main Event during his title reign & was a complete after thought come WM XXX. I think after that anyone who cared about Big E to begin with long since lost their interest.

But if Big E can break away from the 1 dimensional character he has been portrayed as thus far & start over fresh, I think he could go back to being a solid upper mid-carder like he once was.

 

[Navi]

How killed Big E's momentum? Well my first answer to that would be the Bunny from the Exotic Express. That bloody bunny has it's paws in everything.

On a serious note, he killed his own momentum, the guy is as boring as watching paint dry. Horrible on the mic and his feud with Rusev was enough to put you to sleep, not that Rusev is any better mind you.

He's just one of those guys that you go "Oh is he still around?" when they announce him. And that's a terrible thing to say about anyone who is in the performing industry. Obviously the WWE lost faith in him and he didn't help himself. Shame really, because with the proper gimmick he could have gone quite far. Although I don't really know what that gimmick would have been.