When Big E nearly broke character and laughed during serious promo with forgotten WWE star

Big E is widely hailed as one of WWE's most entertaining wrestlers of the modern era. Despite his jovial character, he still knows when and how to intimidate his rivals inside the squared circle. However, this wasn't the case in 2021.

The New Day member engaged in interesting feuds during his reign as Intercontinental Champion in 2021, especially with Apollo Crews. The latter turned heel for the first time in his career in that said year and debuted a character that proclaimed himself as Nigerian royalty. One major aspect that Apollo changed during that run was his accent, and The New Day member found it quite entertaining.

In the lead-up to their Intercontinental Title match at Fastlane 2021, both men traded words on SmackDown. During their verbal exchange, Apollo's new Nigerian accent was highly noticeable. E visibly tried his best to hide his emotions and not break character. However, he couldn't help but chuckle at the accent.

The New Day member retained the IC Title in their match at Fastlane but faced each other again at WrestleMania 37 in a Nigerian Drum Fight. On The Show of Shows, Crews defeated the champion after some help from Commander Azeez (aka Dabba-Kato).

Apollo joined the NXT brand in 2022 but returned to RAW the following year. Azeez was released from the company last year as well. E hasn't competed in WWE since March 2022 after suffering a neck injury on SmackDown.

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Was Apollo Crews a fan of using a Nigerian accent for his character?

Apollo vs. Big E at WrestleMania 37

While speaking on Ryan Satin's Out of Character podcast, Apollo Crews revealed Big E was the person who pitched the Nigerian royalty gimmick to him as there was no African heritage representation at the time.

While Crews was interested in the character, he was worried that the company would make him use an accent, which is exactly what happened. Although Crews questioned the decision, it was his job, and he ensured he portrayed the character to the best of his ability.

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What happened to Big E?

As mentioned above, Big E hasn't competed in WWE since 2022 after fracturing his C1 and C6 vertebrae but fortunately did not sustain any ligament or spinal cord damage. As per the WWE star, there is no timeline for his return, and he continues talking to doctors. He added that since he was already 37, he also had to think about other things apart from wrestling.

It was interesting to see The New Day member almost break character during his 2021 feud. It remains to be seen if both men will ever face off again.