10 Fascinating Facts About WWE In 2013

5. WrestleMania 29 Was Big E’s In-Ring Debut

The Rock CM Punk 2013
WWE.com

Debut on the main roster, at least.

It's an incredible thought, but Big E hadn’t worked a match on mainline TV before teaming with Dolph Ziggler in a loss to Team Hell No duo Daniel Bryan and Kane at WrestleMania 29. He’d done NXT TV to death, but hadn’t wrestled on Raw or SmackDown yet. 'Mania was his in-ring bow at the highest level.

E was presented as more of an enforcer for Ziggler and AJ Lee before the ‘Mania match happened, which is crazy to think about. What a pressure spot. For reference, the biggest card of the year also marked Fandango’s first televised main roster bout too. He was another debutant on the 'Showcase' event.

Future New Day man Big E was still using his Langston surname at the time. WWE officials must've been impressed by him, because E was handed a lengthy Intercontinental Title reign later in the year. He'd hold that belt for a cool 167 days before dropping it to Wade Barrett in mid-2014.

"BOOM!". Sorry.

Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.