Big E Reflects on WWE Survivor Series Match With Roman Reigns

WWE Champion Big E was on the losing end of a Champion vs. Champion match with Universal Champion Roman Reigns in the main event of Survivor Series on Sunday night. Though he managed to endure Reigns' offensive flurry — which included a Rock Bottom — Reigns finally took him down by escaping a Big Ending attempt, kicking E's injured knee and nailing him with his second Spear of the match for the pin. Though the two were positioned as bitter rivals on TV, E had nothing but positive things to say about Reigns in a post-match interview with Sports Illustrated. 

"This was my first singles main event on a pay-per-view, and to do it with Roman means even more," E said. "Our paths were different, but after the match, we reflected on spending our days, circa 2010, together in that FCW warehouse. We were not making much money but we were very hungry."

"His strength and athleticism are real," he continued. "He even got me up in that powerbomb. I thought he was going to bail on it, but he had that second surge to get me up. Until you're in the ring with him, people just don't fully realize how good he is. He's an incredible performer on an incredible run, and you can't take away anything from him."

While reflecting on his own career, E noted, "I can't say that I'm a guy that's always fought from underneath —I debuted as Dolph Ziggler's bodyguard and I dropped John Cena, so I can't pretend that I was never given anything. But I'm a guy that is barely 5′ 11″; I didn't have all these accolades coming into the business, and even though I'm not the Roman type, it's all about that fight for me. My life has been filled with learning how to get up after getting knocked down."

Both the Raw and SmackDown rosters will be at tonight's episode of Raw inside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The only match that has been confirmed so far is Rey & Dominik Mysterio vs. Bobby Lashley, while the angle of Vince McMahon's stolen golden egg will also be followed up on.