Big-E defeated The Miz this past Friday on SmackDown, kicking off what is expected to be a substantial push as a singles competitor. Most would agree that this is a long time coming, but should the flamboyant New Day member tone down or completely alter his current gimmick?
Booker T certainly believes so.
On his Hall of Fame podcast this week, the WWE Hall of Famer discussed E's potential singles run, and some of the things he feels the popular Superstar needs to do in order to find success with Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods both out of the picture.
“Big E. right now is looking to make a singles run. Xavier Woods of course, he’s finished. [laughs] Kofi Kingston’s supposed to be out for six weeks … I think Big E is going to have to shed a few things in order for people to look at him like the world champion. And I don’t know if his, you know, the gear maybe. Some forms of the gear, the colors as well..."
“But I just think Big E still trying to be the New Day is not going to work for him, as far as him working at the top of the card. I’m talking about being the main attraction. I’m talking about being the guy that the company has put in position to be the guy. I don’t think that’s gonna catapult him to that level as far as still trying to be the new day. And the thing is, you can’t rehash something that you’ve been doing for so long and think that’s what’s going to take you to the next level.”
A lot of people - including Xavier Woods - disagreed with Booker, feeling that Big-E should stick with his colorful outfits and more comedic character, but it's hard to argue with some of the Hall of Famer's points here.
Nobody is calling for a complete revamp of E's character, but how would stepping up his aggression and actually remembering that he's a 300 pound powerhouse hurt? Remember his 5-count gimmick in NXT? More of that please.