Big E is thankful he won the Money in the Bank match.
In 2021, Big E defeated seven other men by capturing the Money in the Bank briefcase and two months later, he cashed in on Bobby Lashley to win his first major championship on the main roster with the WWE Championship.
During an interview with Adrian Hernandez, Big E spoke about how much it meant to him to win the match and how it helped his future.
“I always think ladder matches are the scariest matches. They are the most high-stakes matches. I mentioned it on the [Money in the Bank] Countdown, but I think it of Joey Mercury and his nose exploding. Those are things, they’re real dangers in ladder matches, and we’re all trying to put on these memorable performances. So it’s one of those matches, I love the Money in the Bank match because it really can take someone who might be kind of middling in their career or someone who’s on the rise, and you kind of skip the line. You get to go tight to the top, and it changed so much for me. I spent so much of my career in the midcard, in tag teams, and I’m so proud of what we did as a tag team with the New Day. But winning the Money in the Bank really just changed things for me. It really catapulted my singles run. I got to be a world champion-because of it. What really makes our business so special is the moments that fans create, and when I got to the top of that ladder and looked out and saw that love that reaction, I’m getting chills again thinking about it because for me, stats are one thing, length of title reigns and all those things, those are important, but it’s about the moments. It’s about the moments with fans and how the fans take to you, and that’s what I’m always so appreciative of. I think so often of that moment. It’s crystallized in my mind, of being on top of that ladder. The first thing, when I got up there, I always think of Jack Swagger when he was up there, and Swagger was fumbling with that carabiner, and that was the last thing you want. You don’t want to be up there fumbling with it. So I was like, ‘Just make sure you get it cleanly.’ I was able to get it fairly smoothly. I’m not great with heights, either, so I’m also trying to make sure. That’s the last thing you want, god forbid that thing teeters on you and I’m falling off, and you climb back up. No, the moment is ruined. So I’m so thankful that I was able to unhook the carabiners fairly smoothly. But being up there on that ladder, filled with adrenaline and looking out, man, that is special. I always tell people I wish I could bottle that moment, what it feels like, and give it to everybody because it is special, and that’s what that match means, man. It has meant so much to my career.”
This past year’s winner, Drew McIntyre was almost successful until he was screwed over by his archnemesis, CM Punk at Money in the Bank this past July.
h/t to Fightful for the transcription.
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