Big E has revealed that one of the most stressful moments of his WWE career wasn’t breaking his neck; it was accidentally hitting AJ Lee during a live episode of WWE RAW.
The former WWE Champion recently looked back on the incident while training with CM Punk ahead of SummerSlam. What started as a fun workout session briefly became a reminder of a moment Big E says he has never forgotten.
CM Punk reminds Big E about the AJ Lee accident
WWE recently shared a video of CM Punk training with Big E as Punk prepares to defend the Undisputed WWE Championship against Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam this weekend. During the workout, Punk joked about the old incident.
Both WWE superstars started doing back extensions in the middle of their training. After finishing his set, Punk turned to Big E and asked:
“Hey, remember when you hit my wife in the chest and shattered her sternum? You remember that?”
Big E laughed but admitted the memory still bothers him.
“I try to forget that. Probably the worst, honestly, worst moment of my career, even considering breaking the neck,” he replied.
CM Punk then doubled down on his previous comment against Big E and said, “Sent her to the shadow realm.”
“The thing is she ate it like it was nothing,” Big E replied to Punk.
His answer showed just how much that accident has stayed with him over the years.
The accident happened during an episode of WWE RAW in April 2013, shortly after Big E debuted on WWE’s main roster as Big E Langston. He was walking to the ring with Dolph Ziggler and AJ Lee.
At the time, Big E was used to making energetic entrances in NXT, where he would swing his arms as he walked to the ring. Normally, no one was walking directly behind him. On this night, AJ Lee was.
Without realizing she was so close, Big E swung his arm backward and hit her hard in the chest.
Even after taking the shot, AJ Lee stayed in character. She kept walking to the ring like nothing had happened and even helped calm Ziggler so the live segment could continue. Most fans watching at home didn’t even notice at the time.
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