‘It’s tiring’ – Big E responds as WWE fans slam comedian for mocking career-threatening neck injury on Raw
Big E has responded to a controversial joke about his career-threatening neck injury that was made by Tony Hinchcliffe on this week's Raw.
WWE invited the comedian to join the commentary desk during the tag team title match between The War Raiders and The New Day on Monday night.
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Hinchcliffe's appearance came ahead of his already announced 'Roast of WrestleMania' show in Las Vegas later this month.
As the action unfolded in the ring, he made plenty of jokes, including one in which he compared the 'stiffness' of commentator Michael Cole's personality to Big E's neck.
Big E, real name Ettore Ewen, suffered a broken neck with fractures to his C1 and C6 vertebrae in 2022, and he has not wrestled since.
Hinchcliffe's comment, unsurprisingly, drew a negative reaction from wrestling fans watching, and was later addressed by the former champion on WWE's Raw Recap show.
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"I guess at my big age of 39 years old, people will say what they want about you," Big E began.
"It has nothing to do with me. It's not my business. Look, say what you want. He was given a mic. He was given an opportunity. People will feel how they want to."
The WWE fan favorite went on to admit he was 'tired' of having to weigh-in on people talking about him, but suggested that navigating those kinds of comments comes with being in the public eye.
"There's a lot of discourse, oftentimes as a public figure, people will say things about you," Big E continued.
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"Whether they're jokes, whether they're not, and that is their right.
"I get I'm on here. It was said on the show, I'm supposed to talk, especially when things are mentioned about me, I should have an opinion on them.
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"It's just, it is tiring to have to weigh in on everyone's opinion or whatever they say. Look, I'm not hurt. I'm good.
"I want the discourse to be had without me, honestly. I really have no desire to weigh in on this. I didn't sign up for this. I wasn't aware of this.
"He did what he wanted to. People signed off on it. It has nothing to do with me, truly."
While Big E took the high road and played down Hinchcliffe's tasteless joke, many fans took to social media to share their fury.
"What did Big E do to deserve that? What a loser,"; one person said.
"How is a professional comedian?" another asked.
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"I speak for everyone when I say never give this guy a headset again," a third wrote, while a fourth simply concluded: "That was terrible."
Big E suffered his neck injury in March 2022, when he accidentally landed on the top of his head after taking an overhead belly-to-belly suplex.
While he confirmed at the time he did not require surgery, he later revealed that doctors had advised him to never wrestle again.
Since making his recovery, the former New Day star has mostly served as a host, guest or panelist on various WWE shows.
He has also discussed battling through rigorous examinations and tests in the years since the accident.
In December last year, he returned to Raw and had an in-ring reunion with Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods for the first time since his injury, where he offered to manage the pair.
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However, things took a turn for the worse and instead, Woods and Kingston kicked Big E out of the New Day stable, blaming his absence for their issues in a segment that turned the pair heel for the first time since 2016.
Hinchcliffe, who has been described by WWE as 'one of the top roasters in the world,' will bring together other comics, entertainers and WWE stars for his non-televised WrestleMania roast on Sunday, April 20.
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