Jason Burgos
This week, Big E went into detail about his decades-long battle with depression and having thoughts of suicide during a peak period in his WWE career.
Big E was part of one of the most beloved teams in company history, the New Day. Not only was he the trio’s powerhouse, but he was also a powerhouse of energy and enthusiasm for their legendary run from 2014 to 2021. However, despite being the spark plug of the team, he was often battling through a serious fight mentally.
“I still struggled with suicidal thoughts, even at the height of The New Day, when we’re taking off,” Big E admitted during a new chat on Stephanie McMahon’s “What’s Your Story.” “So many times, I didn’t know why I was here. I didn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
The multi-time tag champion and former WWE champ revealed he has been dealing with depression for much of his life. Going all the way back to when he was a child.
Big E has dealt with bouts of depression since he was 9 years old
“My first memory of struggling with depression was nine years old,” he said. “Looking in the mirror and just crying and thinking, ‘I want to be anyone but me,’ just feeling very much alone, feeling like truly anyone else but who I was, and I just was not comfortable in my skin.”
“… My journey in therapy was not a smooth one. I had many, many struggles. I was on antidepressants… I was on antipsychotic medicine as well,” Big E said. “It got to a point, too, where I was even in a psych ward at the University of Iowa.”
The long-time New Day member has been sidelined for the last three years after breaking his neck during a March 2022 episode of SmackDown. He is still recovering from the injury and has an outside chance of eventually returning to the ring one day.
To keep himself busy, Big E has served as a key member of the WWE broadcast team for the pre- and post-shows for the company’s premium live events.
