Big E Issues Classy Response To Tony Hinchcliffe's Raw "Joke" About His Broken Neck (WWE News)

Ahead of hosting the upcoming Roast of WrestleMania event after Night 2 of 'Mania 41 gets wrapped up, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe made a guest appearance at the WWE Raw announce desk this past Monday. And the result was... well, it was what it was.

As per Fightful Select, while Hinchcliffe was said to be respectful at Raw, those in WWE who the outlet spoke to were aware that his appearance "came across as a dud".

Hinchcliffe - whose own Kill Tony special premiered on Netflix on Monday - threw out jokes about Michael Cole's first commentary gig being David vs. Goliath, and how Cole started watching Raw in the Jurassic Era. While those jokes were flat and uninspired, one particular joke that got the attention of many came when Hinchcliffe called Cole "stiffer than Big E's neck".

Of course, a March 2022 episode of SmackDown saw Big E suffer a broken neck with fractures to his C1 and C6 vertebrae. The former WWE Champion has not wrestled since, and it remains to be seen whether E will ever be able to lace up his boots again. The hugely charismatic powerhouse has stated at several times how he's able to enjoy a good quality of life, how his neck has healed fibrously, but how doctors have advised him to never wrestle again and that he would also likely never be cleared to compete.

Now, by their trade, comedians are often there to make attention-grabbing quips that stir up controversy, and that was certainly the case with Tony Hinchcliffe's Big E reference on Raw.

As for Big E himself, Sam Roberts asked him about this "joke" during the Raw Recap podcast (via Cageside Seats), to which E described this situation as "tiring" and that he was seemingly unaware that Hinchcliffe would be making this remark.

"I guess, at my big age of 39 years old, people will say what they want about you. Their opinion of you is not, [it] has nothing to do with me. It's not my business. Look, say what you want. He was given a mic, he was given an opportunity. People will feel how they want to. It's just, you know, there's a lot of discourse. Oftentimes, as a public figure, people will say things about you. Whether they're jokes, whether they're not. And that is their right. I think the one thing is, and I get, like, I'm on here, it was said on the show, I'm supposed to talk [about it]. You know, especially when things are mentioned about me, I should have an opinion on them. It's just, it is tiring to have to weigh in on everyone's opinion or whatever they say. Look, I'm not hurt. I'm good. I want the discourse to be had without me, honestly. I really have no desire to weigh in on this. I didn't sign up for this, I wasn't aware of this. He did what he wanted to. People signed off on it. [It] has nothing to do with me, truly."

Big E's Current WWE Role

Big E is these days a regular presence on wider WWE programming, including appearing on the aforementioned Raw Recap podcast, where he gets to discuss the weekly goings-ons of the company's red brand. The eight-time Tag Team Champion and one-time Intercontinental Champion can also usually be found on PLE pre-shows and various specials produced for Netflix and Peacock.

Famously, Big E was part of the New Day's tenth anniversary celebrations last December, reuniting with Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods to share a moment of reflection and appreciation. Not just that, but Big E announced how he was going to manage Kofi and Woods in order to get them both on the same page after months of dissension between the two. Of course, E would indeed bring his New Day brothers together, but that was them coming together to dump Big E, formally kick him out of the group, and turning heel for the first time since 2016.