Ranking EVERY WWE Champion From Worst To Best
39. Big E
2021 WWE was the last full calendar year with Vince McMahon still in complete control of the company's creative direction. Ergo, not a particularly nice place, not a place that made sense, and not a place where anything remotely good was guaranteed.
"Big E: WWE Champion" was the earnestly magic rule-proving exception.
A wonderful person reaching the pinnacle of their career, and sharing that moment with their best friends and the fans that love them. Strip away critical analysis and it's as simplistically brilliant as the entire wrestling business gets. And the feeling was, until a few weeks into the run when it became clear that the company hadn't really thought much about everything after the win itself. A Survivor Series Champion Vs Champion match summed up the malaise - a well-established Roman Reigns ate E up in a poor match that played mostly to indifference. 'The Tribal Chief' was the top guy, but Big E didn't look close to being a worthy possible replacement.
Even his cash-in - promoted in advance as it was - still booked one of the most beloved babyfaces to take advantage of a wounded tweener Bobby Lashley. There's an injustice to E potentially never locking up again thanks to the serious neck injury he suffered in early-2022. Not that anybody wants him to take a risk with his health, but he swam through rivers of manure to live his best life as one of the the 2010s only shining lights. Life in WWE's "New Era" but be the smoother ride he always deserved.