Big E competing for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 37: 5 steps to make that happen

In early 2019, the iron struck hot at the perfect time for Kofi Kingston. While the direction was looking like WWE was going to push Mustafa Ali, he was legitimately injured during a match against Randy Orton, sidelining him and squelching his push. Kofi was used as replacement for Ali, and although it seemed as just a fill-in during number one contender matches, the fans created an organic movement that not only led to a WWE Championship match against Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 35, but him being the first African-born WWE Champion after defeating Bryan at MetLife stadium. Kofi retained him momentum throughout 2019, having a six-month title reign before losing to Brock Lesnar. Kofi's New Day partner, Big E, has been someone for fans have been a big support of for quite some time.

In fact, there have been rumors swirling for years that Big E was receiving a singles push, but it never came to fruition. However, as seen on a recent episode of SmackDown, this push finally seems to a a reality.

Currently, both Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods are sidelined from in-ring action. This, by default, leaves Big E left alone to make an impression. Since Kofi gave him his blessing to commence the road to singles superstardom, Big E has been receiving support from the WWE Universe, which further solidifies that people have been waiting for this to happen for a long time. This momentum should continue through a main event push.

Big E has once had a singles push in the WWE. However, that was seven years ago, as he defeated Curtis Axel on the November 18, 2013 episode of RAW to become Intercontinental Champion. When he defeated Axel, Big E received a thunderous ovation, and the crowd was much behind his push. Now, for the first time, Big E should receive his long-anticipated main event push, all the way to the Universal Championship.

Here are 5 steps for Big E to compete for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 37.

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#1 Sheamus tries to derail Big E's push

Currently, WWE has been building Sheamus as one of the biggest heels on SmackDown. His feud with Jeff Hardy has further solidified his villainous ways, and his current character is easy to dislike from the WWE Universe. WWE should capitalize on this by having Big E as his next foe.

On the road to competing for the Universal Championship, it is necessary for Big E to gain more babyface steam by feuding with a heel who has a great deal of heat. Not only would this help Big E's impact as a singles competitor, but it would also cause fans to rally behind him, as he is competing against one of the strongest heels in the company.

A Sheamus vs. Big E feud would be ideal to commence after SummerSlam, since it would be somewhat of a fresh start for each superstar. Sheamus is seemingly done with Jeff Hardy, and Big E is further distancing himself from the feud with Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura after losing the SmackDown Tag Team Championships.

#2 Randy Orton gets drafted to SmackDown

Continuing Big E's quest to the Universal Championship, more venomous heels would be necessary for him to gain even more momentum. Randy Orton is the strongest heel in WWE right now, and his legendary status is necessary to push a new star into the next level of his career. Big E has put the mileage in to be that next star. As a result, Orton should be the one to capitalize on his heat in order to help insert Big E into the main event scene.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the current plan is to have another draft in October for both RAW and SmackDown. According to the WON, there were discussions to change it in August, but those plans were changed due to it potentially interfering with SummerSlam.

At SummerSlam, Drew McIntyre should defeat Randy Orton to continue his momentum as a new top babyface main-eventer. At the draft, Orton should defect to the Blue brand, with a new quest to win the Universal Championship for the first time.

#3 Randy Orton defeats Braun Strowman for the Universal Championship

At SummerSlam, Braun Strowman should defeat The Fiend to retain the Universal Championship. The feud with Bray Wyatt has been a good way to keep the intrigue for the title and help Strowman in his newly-minted main event role following his win against Goldberg at WrestleMania 36. This will also have a role in Big E competing for the title as well.

This feud also has enough steam to resume in September, with an interesting twist to it. At the September pay-per-view, Strowman should run the gauntlet throughout the event, having to face the three faces of Wyatt — Firefly Funhouse, Wyatt Family, and The Fiend. Strowman wins all three matches, further elevating his status as a main event babyface.

On the day of the SmackDown draft, Strowman should main event the show, defending the Universal Championship. At the end of winning the match, Orton should be dressed in a black hood, execute an RKO out of nowhere, which would set up a match between the two at Survivor Series. Orton wins the match at Survivor Series due to interference by The Fiend, making him Universal Champion.

#4 Big E wins No.1 contender's match at Elimination Chamber

Now with Orton as Universal Champion and Strowman continuing his feud with The Fiend as a result of costing him the title at Survivor Series, this opens up a path for Big E on his quest to compete for the Universal Championship. Since in a previous booking article I had Keith Lee winning the Royal Rumble and challenging Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship, the next best road would be the Elimination Chamber.

The Elimination Chamber match of the SmackDown brand should headline the February pay-per-view, with Big E winning the match. Since the draft is scheduled for October, the list of competitors is undetermined at this time, but at least three of them should be strong heels.

This would give Big E more steam heading into a title match at WrestleMania 37. Since Big E would be starting his main event journey, he would need as many strong heels as possible to rival with, which would bring and extra push to his role as a babyface.

#5 Big E vs. Randy Orton at WrestleMania 37

The stage is now set with Randy Orton defending the Universal Championship against Big E. At this point, Big E has gained a substantial amount of momentum as a babyface for several months and won the Elimination Chamber match to become the No.1 contender for the Universal Championship. Meanwhile, Orton has spent the past four months continuing his path of terror, remaining his venomous heel run and garnering heat to make Big E an even stronger babyface.

Jeff Hardy could be a good person in the fold to help Big E's quest. Prior to Big E winning the Elimination Chamber and commencing his feud with Orton, The Viper could be rivaling with Hardy over the Universal Championship. In fact, Orton vs. Hardy could be a featured match at the Royal Rumble for the title. The recovery from alcohol addiction could be a feature in Orton's feud with Hardy, which would make The Viper an even stronger heel.

At the Royal Rumble, Hardy could be on the top rope about to execute a Swanton Bomb for the win, but the lights flicker, and a bunch of voices are played. This distracts Hardy, which allows Orton to execute an RKO for the win. On SmackDown, the voices can be revealed to be The Fiend, which would start a feud between those two for WrestleMania. Wyatt could be continuing to use his ominous character in an attempt for Hardy to relapse.

Following the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, the path is now all set for Big E competing for the Universal Championship against Randy Orton. The end of the match should indeed have Big E win the match, hitting The Big Ending following a spear to Orton from a returning Edge. This would both resume Orton's feud with Edge, as well as commence the Universal Championship run for Big E.