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Big E Was Almost in the Shield; Ric Flair Talks Lacey Evans Angle; RVD-WWE HOF
March 1, 2021
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.
Big E Was Almost in The Shield
The words "Sierra, Hotel, India, Echo, Lima, Delta" almost included a big meaty man known for slapping meat.
Big E recently revealed that the original plan for his call-up would have had him, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose in a stable together.
"My first feeling of getting called up was 2012. I was doing loops. Any collective period of days is a loop," Big E said on a WWE Network special. "It's Roman [Reigns], Seth [Rollins], Dean [Ambrose] and me. There was some thought of bringing all four of us in together as a group. Obviously, that changes; they go on to international fame as The Shield. I was told, 'You're going to be with Dolph and AJ; on your very first night, you're going to attack John Cena. I'm thinking, 'Man, this is it.'"
While there is an alternate universe when Big E in The Shield could have worked, this is a case when WWE made the best decision for all involved. Big E's journey to stardom was more circuitous than Reigns, Rollins or Ambrose, but it's possible (even likely) that WWE wouldn't have put him in The New Day stable if he were once part of The Shield.
It's more likely that The New Day would have never existed at all, and no one knows what that would have meant for the careers of Big E, Xavier Woods or Kofi Kingston, all of whom were sputtering on the lower midcard before debuting together.
Ric Flair Talks Lacey Evans vs. Charlotte Storyline
With the Lacey Evans vs. Charlotte Flair storyline ending due to Evans' pregnancy, Ric Flair opened up on how the story came about and his daughter's reaction in an interview on Busted Open Radio (via Wrestling Inc):
"It caught us off guard. It was presented to me. I think it was just a trial run and nobody really understood for sure exactly what was going to go. I would be remiss if I thought [Charlotte] was crazy about it. For me, I pretty much can pull off anything I want. I'm really good at doing things if I like the program and understand it, but, at the same time, it's hard to be in a program against someone in your family, especially your daughter when everybody knows you're so proud of her and you've been so positive towards her in you're thinking and you're so happy for her success.
"It kind of caught me off guard, but, on one side of me, I'm flattered they gave me the opportunity to even be on TV. Number two, it started out a little rough and I think it was smoothing out. [Lacey Evans] got pregnant. She's a beautiful girl. I don't know her that well, but what I know of her, she's just a genuinely nice person. I've met her husband. I've met her daughter who they had on TV a little bit over on SmackDown, but, it happened and I'm sure we were just at the point we were really going to make it work."
The storyline was polarizing to most fans, with some cringing at the insinuation that Flair and Evans were dating—even though WWE attempted to clear that up by stating it was a mentor-mentee situation.
It's unclear what WWE has in store for Ric moving forward, as Charlotte seemed to try to blow off the storyline with an emotional talk with her father last week on Raw.
RVD Wants Heyman to Induct Him into HOF
Rob Van Dam hasn't been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame yet, but he knows who should induct him if that day comes.
"Kinda has to be Paul [Heyman], doesn't it? I think it has to be Paul," Van Dam said on That 90's Wrestling Podcast. "Sabu doesn't talk very good [laughs], On the real, Paul is the only producer/agent that's ever had my best interests at heart and understood me, you know and because of that, ya know it has to be him as predictable as it is."
Van Dam had two stints in WWE from 2001-07 and 2013-14 and was beloved during his time in ECW during the 1990s. He's undoubtedly someday going to see himself at the podium, and Heyman, the previous owner of ECW, is a natural choice—and perhaps the best orator in the entire business.