Big E Langston

Ettore Ewen (born March 1, 1986 in Tampa, Florida) better known by his ring names Big E (formerly Big E Langston), is an American retired professional wrestler, powerlifter and former American football player currently signed to WWE. He was a part of The New Day, but ended his career after his neck was broken in a match in March 2022.

Big E
Ring name(s)Big E[1]
Big E Langston[2][3]
Billed height5 ft 11 in[4]
Billed weight285 lb[4]
BornMarch 1, 1986 (aged 40)
Tampa, Florida, United States
Billed fromTampa, Florida[4]
Trained byFlorida Championship Wrestling[2]
NXT[2]
DebutDecember 17, 2009[2]
RetiredOctober 9, 2025[5]

He played college football at the University of Iowa. He is also a National Powerlifting Champion and has set multiple national and state records in the raw division.

In WWE, Big E is a former one-time WWE Champion, one-time NXT Champion, two-time Intercontinental Champion, eight-time tag team champion, and the winner of the 2021 men's Money in the Bank ladder match

Career

In 2009, Ewen signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). He made his debut for their developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) on December 17, under the ring name Big E Langston.[6] In August 2012, FCW became NXT.[7] On December 6, 2012 (aired as the January 9, 2013 episode of NXT), he defeated Seth Rollins to win the NXT Championship.[8] He lost it to Bo Dallas on May 13 (aired June 12).[9]

On the December 17, 2012 episode of Raw, he made his WWE main roster debut when he attacked John Cena after AJ Lee ordered him to.[10] He then teamed with Dolph Ziggler and AJ Lee but started a feud with Ziggler after he ended his relationship with AJ on Raw.[11] He had several matches with Ziggler and eventually lost a mixed tag team match with AJ against Ziggler and Kaitlyn at SummerSlam which ended their feud.[12]

On the October 18 episode of SmackDown, he turned face after his match with CM Punk when he helped Punk fending off an attack by Ryback and Curtis Axel.[13] Langston defeated Curtis Axel on the November 18, 2013 edition of Raw titled Raw Country to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship and his first championship on WWE's main roster.[14] In February 2014, his ring name was made shorter to Big E.[1] On May 4, at Extreme Rules, Big E lost the title to Bad News Barrett.[15]

In November, Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods created the stable The New Day.[16] At Extreme Rules on April 26, 2015, Big E and Kingston defeated Tyson Kidd and Cesaro to win the WWE Tag Team Championships for the first time together.[17] On June 14 at Money in the Bank, they lost the titles against The Prime Time Players (Darren Young and Titus O'Neil),[18] but won it back at SummerSlam on August 23 in a fatal four-way tag team match, also including the Lucha Dragons (Kalisto and Sin Cara) and Los Matadores (Diego and Fernando).[19] During their record-breaking reign, they were drafted to Raw in the 2016 WWE Draft, and the championship was renamed the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship. At Roadblock: End of the Line on December 18, 2016, they lost the titles to Cesaro and Sheamus. This ended their reign at 483 days, which so far is the longest of that title and the third longest of any tag team championship in WWE.[20] On February 20, 2017, The New Day were announced as the hosts of WrestleMania 33.[21] On April 11, 2017, they moved to the SmackDown brand as part of the Superstar Shake-up.[22] As part of the brand, they became six-time SmackDown Tag Team Champions.

Big E became a singles competitor again in 2020, when Kingston and Woods were drafted to Raw brand as part of the 2020 Draft, while Big E stayed on SmackDown.[23] On SmackDown's holiday episode on December 22 (aired on December 25), Big E defeated Sami Zayn in a lumberjack match to win his second Intercontinental Championship.[24] At Night 2 of WrestleMania 37 on April 11, 2021, Big E lost the title to Apollo Crews in a Nigerian Drum Fight.[25] On June 25 , Big E defeated Crews to qualify for the men's Money in the Bank ladder match. At Money in the Bank on July 18, he became the first African American to win that kind of match.[26]

On September 13, Big E announced on Twitter that he was cashing in his Money in the Bank contract for a WWE Championship match on that night's Raw. After champion Bobby Lashley kept his title against Randy Orton, Big E directly cashed in his contract and pinned Lashley to win his first WWE Championship.[27] On October 1 at the 2021 WWE Draft, Big E was drafted to Raw.[28] At WWE Day 1 on January 1, he lost the title to Brock Lesnar in a fatal five-way match, also including Bobby Lashley, Kevin Owens, and Seth "Freakin" Rollins.[29] Later that month, Big E was moved back to SmackDown and reunited with The New Day.[30] In a match on the March 11 episode of SmackDown, his neck was broken after an overhead belly-to-belly suplex by Ridge Holland.[31] Big E has not wrestled since then.[32] On the December 2, 2024 episode of Raw, during the 10-year anniversary celebration of The New Day, he reunited with Kingston and Woods and announced that he would return as their manager. However, Kingston and Woods kicked him out of the stable and turned heel.[33]

On October 9, 2025, Big E announced his retirement from in-ring competition.[5]

Championships and accomplishments

Big E is a two-time and longest-reigning WWE (Raw) Tag Team Champion as part of The New Day

Big E Langston Media

Notes

  1. Big E, Kingston, and Woods defended the title under the Freebird Rule. On September 5, 2016, during the New Day's second reign, the titles were renamed the Raw Tag Team Championship after SmackDown established the SmackDown Tag Team Championship.
  2. Big E defended the title with Kingston and Woods under the Freebird Rule during his first three reigns. He defended the title with Woods in the fourth reign and with Kingston in the fifth.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Caldwell, James. Caldwell's WWE Main Event results 2/12: Big E. drops "Langston," then 3MB; Wyatts in six-man tag, Natalya, more. Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 ProfileOnline World of Wrestling. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  3. FCW ProfileFlorida Championship Wrestling. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Big E bioWWE. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Big E: My WWE “Career Is Kind Of Behind Me”. Wrestling News (October 9, 2025).
  6. Matches " Big E " Wrestlers Database " CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling DatabaseCagematch.net. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  7. WWE News: FCW name being phased outWrestling Observer. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  8. 8.0 8.1 Big E Langston's first NXT Championship reign. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
  9. JAMES'S WWE NXT REPORT 6/12: Bo Dallas captures NXT Title from Big E., outstanding Generico vs. Cesaro match, Women's Title tournament continues, WyattsPWTorch. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
  10. Raw results: Ryback wins big, Flair and Dreamer return, and Big E Langston arrives with a vengeance on Slammy nightWWE. Retrieved 2012-12-18.
  11. Raw results: Cena chooses his destiny, RVD takes flight and Lesnar returns to punish PunkWWE. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
  12. Dolph Ziggler & Kaitlyn def. Big E Langston & Divas Champion AJ LeeWWE. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
  13. 411's WWE Smackdown Report 10.04.13411mania. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
  14. Intercontinental Championship - Big E Langston (November 18, 2013 - Present)WWE. Retrieved 2013-11-18.
  15. Bad News Barrett def. Big E to become the new Intercontinental ChampionWWE. Retrieved 2014-05-05.
  16. SHOW RESULTS – 9/13 WWE in Springfield, Mass.: Cena returns to college in main event, Ushow vs. Wyatts, NXT Title, more. PWTorch.com. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
  17. 17.0 17.1 The New Day's first Tag Team Championship reign.
  18. Burdick, Michael. WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day vs. The Prime Time PlayersWWE. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  19. Caldwell, James. Caldwell's SummerSlam report 8/23: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of Lesnar vs. Taker, Title vs. Title, more matches. Pro Wrestling Torch (August 23, 2015). Retrieved August 23, 2015.
  20. Burdick, Michael. Cesaro & Sheamus win the Raw Tag Team Championships from The New Day. WWE (December 18, 2016). Retrieved December 18, 2016.
  21. WWE.com Staff. The New Day to host WrestleMania. WWE (February 20, 2017). Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  22. Rob Goldberg. The New Day sent to WWE SmackDown in Superstar Shake-up. Bleacher Report.
  23. WWE.com Staff. See all the results from the 2020 Draft. WWE (October 9, 2020). Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  24. Powell, Jason. 12/25 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Powell's review of Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens in a cage match for the WWE Universal Title, Sami Zayn vs. Big E for the IC Title, Charlotte Flair and Asuka vs. Carmella and Bayley vs. Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair for the WWE Women's Tag Titles, Daniel Bryan vs. Jey Uso. Pro Wrestling Dot Net (December 25, 2020). Retrieved December 25, 2020.
  25. Powell, Jason. WrestleMania 37 results: Powell's live review of night two with Roman Reigns vs. Edge vs. Daniel Bryan in a Triple Threat for the WWE Universal Championship, Asuka vs. Rhea Ripley for the Raw Women's Championship, Big E vs. Apollo Crews in a Nigerian Drum Fight for the IC Title. Pro Wrestling Dot Net (April 11, 2021). Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  26. Powell, Jason. 6/25 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Powell's review of Roman Reigns' victory celebration, Apollo Crews vs. Big E in a Money in the Bank qualifier, Bianca Belair and Cesaro vs. Bayley and Seth Rollins in a mixed tag match. Pro Wrestling Dot Net (June 25, 2021). Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  27. Powell, Jason. 9/13 WWE Raw Results: Powell's live review of Bobby Lashley vs. Randy Orton for the WWE Championship following Big E's threat to cash in the MITB contract, Damian Priest vs. Jeff Hardy for the U.S. Title, Raw Women's Champion Charlotte Flair vs. Shayna Baszler in a non-title match, Rhea Ripley vs. Natalya. Pro Wrestling Dot Net (September 13, 2021). Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  28. Powell, Jason. 10/1 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Powell's review of the first night of the WWE Draft, Belair vs. Sasha Banks, Edge returns, fallout from Extreme Rules. Pro Wrestling Dot Net (October 1, 2021). Retrieved October 2, 2021.
  29. Bryant, Nathan. Brock Lesnar def. WWE Champion Big E, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens and Bobby Lashley. WWE (January 1, 2022). Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  30. Powell, Jason. 1/21 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Powell's review of The Bloodline celebrate Roman Reigns' record breaking WWE Universal Championship reign, Smackdown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair vs. Naomi in a non-title match, Kofi Kingston vs. Madcap Moss, the ongoing build to the Royal Rumble. Pro Wrestling Dot Net (January 21, 2022). Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  31. Raimondi, Marc (March 12, 2022). "Big E hospitalized for what he says was broken neck suffered during WWE SmackDown". ESPN. https://www.espn.com/wwe/story/_/id/33481028/big-e-hospitalized-says-was-broken-neck-suffered-wwe-smackdown. Retrieved March 13, 2022. 
  32. Chiari, Mike. Big E Says WWE Status Is Unchanged After Neck Injury, May Never Be Medically Cleared. Bleacher Report (2024-04-13). Retrieved 2024-04-19.
  33. Powell, Jason. WWE Raw results (12/2): Powell's live review of New Day's ten-year celebration, CM Punk's opening segment, Dakota Kai vs. Katana Chance vs. Shayna Baszler in a Women's Intercontinental Title tournament match. Pro Wrestling Dot Net (December 2, 2024). Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  34. FCW Championship histories.
  35. PWI Awards. Pro Wrestling IllustratedKappa Publishing Group. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  36. Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2021. The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  37. Middleton, Marc. FTR Takes Top Spot On The Inaugural PWI Tag Team 50 List. Wrestling Inc. (November 18, 2020). Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  38. Meltzer, Dave. January 25, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: 2015 Observer Awards Issue. Wrestling Observer Newsletter (January 25, 2016). Campbell, California. p. 46.
  39. Meltzer, Dave. MARCH 15, 2021 OBSERVER NEWSLETTER: AEW REVOLUTION, WRESTLEMANIA 37 TICKET DETAILS. Wrestling Observer Newsletter (March 12, 2021). Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  40. WWE ChampionshipWWE. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  41. Big E Langston's first Intercontinental Championship reignWWE. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
  42. WWE Intercontinental ChampionshipWorld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  43. Kreikenbohm, Philip. Matches « WWE SmackDown Tag Team Title #1 Contendership Tournament « Tournaments Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database. www.cagematch.net. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  44. Powell, Jason. WWE Money in the Bank results: Powell's review of the MITB ladder matches, Roman Reigns vs. Edge for the WWE Universal Championship, Bobby Lashley vs. Kofi Kingston for the WWE Championship, Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair for the Raw Women's Championship. Pro Wrestling Dot Net (July 18, 2020). Retrieved July 19, 2020.
  45. Mendhe, Abhilash (December 25, 2019). "WWE Year End Awards 2019: Analyzing each award category - Seth Rollins should have won Male Superstar of the Year". Sportskeeda. https://www.sportskeeda.com/wwe/wwe-year-end-awards-2019-analyzing-each-award-category-seth-rollins-should-have-won-male-superstar-of-the-year. Retrieved December 26, 2019. 

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