Big E "Wanted More" From His WWE Title Reign

After much campaigning from fans and a year-long singles run, Big E finally won the big one in August 2021 when he cashed in his Money in the Bank contract on Bobby Lashley to win the WWE Championship.

The New Day member would successfully defend the title against Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley in a rematch, and Austin Theory, but Big E very much found himself playing second fiddle to Universal Champion Roman Reigns, even losing to The Tribal Chief at the 2021 Survivor Series pay-per-view.

Big E's title reign then suddenly came to an end at the Day 1 pay-per-view on January 1, 2022 after he was pinned by Brock Lesnar in a Fatal 5-Way.

Big E's reign didn't live up to fans' expectations overall and the man himself has admitted that he "wanted more" from his time with the WWE Championship.

"It was a great learning experience for me (being WWE Champion). It was one of those things where, you know, if I'm being honest, I wanted more. I didn't feel like I had the best reign. I feel like there was a lot of meat left on the bone, a lot more that we could have done there so yeah, for me, I was really fortunate and really blessed to have that opportunity and really grateful for it as well but you know, the one thing, I felt like I was proud of myself in that, the demands with that title are real," Big E told PopCulture (H/T POST Wrestling).

"There are times where when I had the title, in a week, I might be in seven different cities. Going from not just Raw and SmackDown, also going to live events and then having to do conferences in Vegas and then going to New York to do media. It was a constant grind but I really embraced the grind, I really loved it and one of the things I got to do too outside of the ring. I had just a myriad of things I got to do outside of the ring, even getting to do intros for Fury-Wilder 3, getting to do boxing walkouts, The Breakfast Club, so many of the things that went on outside of the ring during that time and really feeling like, man, I have the confidence and oh, I can go on these big platforms and I can crush it," he continued.

"Really feeling like, yeah, I'm meant to do this so, for me, in many ways, even though I wanted more out of the reign and felt like a lot more could have been accomplished in-ring and on TV, on SmackDown, on Raw. As much as I have those feelings, I'm also so grateful for the opportunity and so grateful for so many doors that have opened because of that run but yeah, it's definitely something that I'm incredibly proud of and grateful for and I can go on and on about it but honestly, truly, I don't get there without Kofi (Kingston) and (Xavier) Woods and just the experience with The New Day and really being able to open up and expand and grow as a performer because of those two."

Big E is currently out of action and has been on the shelf since he suffered a broken neck in March 2022. The former WWE Champion is set to undergo more scans ahead of a potential in-ring return later this month.