WWE: Big E Gives Update on Neck Injury Recovery

Big E has been out of action for nearly a year. The former WWE Champion suffered a broken neck this past March during a tag bout against Ridge Holland and Sheamus on WWE SmackDown. The injury was specifically to his C1 and C6 vertebrae, as both were fractured, but there was no damage done to his ligaments or spinal cord. Since then, Big E has spent months in recovery but has emphasized that even when his neck fully heals, it's unclear if he will ever be cleared to wrestle again. Even though he's been away from active competition, Big E has kept busy within WWE by helping with college athlete tryouts.

Speaking to the media via These Urban Times, Big E revealed that his next steps will come at the one-year mark of his injury.

"I have to get some more scans at the one-year mark in March and we'll see how everything is looking. We'll see from there," Big E said. "My C1 is broken in two spots, so we obviously have to be very smart about that. I was very fortunate. I want to make sure I'm making the best decision for myself. We'll see in March. I feel great, I'm really thankful for that. I don't have any nerve issues, no strength issues, no impairment whatsoever. Obviously, to get back in the ring to do what we do, I want to make sure my C1 is rock solid. Other than that, I'm very blessed. I feel great."

While an in-ring return is in the back of his mind, Big E has been focused on working with the WWE NIL program at the time being.

"It's been fun for me because I resonate with it," Big E said. "Because I was a football player at Iowa with a bunch of injuries, my career was over, and I'm thinking now, 'What do I do with my life?' I was going to grad school, but I didn't really feel fulfilled. I feel I can go back in time to 13 years ago and look at young men and women in a very similar position as me who are seeing the end of their college career."

Many collegiate athletes don't think of going into professional wrestling, but Big E emphasized that the competition of the WWE helps scratch that athletic itch.

"You spend so much of your time invested in your sport. So many of us, we play our sport since four, five, six years old. It's all we know," Big E continued. "You're in school and working hard at that, but it's something you love, and then it's gone. For me, being in the ring wasn't the same as playing football and having my hand in the dirt, but it still filled that athletic void. The ability to go out there and hit people and run and jump, I felt like a kid again, I felt free."