Kofi Kingston Calls Big E’s Neck Breaking “Scariest Night Of My Career”

Former WWE Champion Kofi Kingston joined Ebro Darden on Hot 97's Ebro in the Morning to preview WrestleMania 38 on April 2 and 3 and to discuss Big E's recent neck break on SmackDown.

Big E suffered the freak accident during the March 11 edition of the show after receiving a belly-to-belly suplex from Ridge Holland at ringside. The six-time SmackDown Tag Team Champion later confirmed that he had fractured his C1 vertebrae and his C6 vertebrae, but would not require surgery. Big E also acknowledged that he came close to a stroke, paralysis and even death because of the incident.

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Kofi Kingston revealed that March 11 was the scariest night of his career, and said that he, Xavier Woods, and others went to the hospital with Big E immediately after he was stretchered out.

"It was easily the scariest night of my career, you know?" Kofi explained. "Obviously, the injury didn't happen to me, but I was on the inside of the ring and I see – go for that, that spear that he does. Yeah, and he missed it and he was on the outside there and then him and Ridge go for that overhead suplex and I see them go up and it looked a little like, wonky, but I never saw the impact.

"So I didn't really, I didn't know, you know? I went over there and I was like, 'oh okay, everything looks like. You know, he's done and everything.' And then the match goes on and after everything went down, Jess, the ref, was like, 'yeah, I don't know if E's okay.' And I was like, 'what? Like what's going on?' And all of a sudden the paramedics and everything started coming out and yeah.

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"It was just, really, really scary because it's a reminder of how quick things can take a turn for the worst, you know? Everything that we do, every move that we execute, there's always an element of danger to it and luckily, for the most part, we come out unscathed. But in those moments, literally looking at my brother in the face as the people are putting, the paramedics are putting the neck braces and everything on.

"They're putting them on the stretcher. You know, it was very, very, very scary. Myself, Woods, and a bunch of the boys went to the hospital right after we were just waiting with like, the, like the COVID protocols, they don't really let a whole lotta people inside the emergency room. So we're literally outside, it's raining, we're outside the emergency room. We're just waiting for like, word."

The New Day member also talked about Big E lucking out because of how he has come out of the incident with recoverable injuries. However, he noted that the two-time Intercontinental Champion has been in great spirits throughout.

"It's so like, strange to say luckily he only broke two vertebrae," Kofi Kingston said. "You know what I'm saying? He put a pretty, pretty like, I don't know, just a tweet that put everything into perspective yesterday where he said he went into the doctor and the doctor said, if he had broken a millimeter in one direction, he would have had a stroke.

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"If he broke his neck in a millimeter in another direction, he would have died, you know? So really like, the fact that he was so strong and had so much just, muscle back there really, really saved him. And you know, again, like it could've been way, way worse and he's just been in great spirits the whole time.

"So many people have gone to visit him and just sent him like, so many positive messages, which he really, really appreciates for sure. And yeah, we really lucked out because like, I said it could have been a lot worse and we'd be having a different conversation right now. But, yeah, like you said, it's just rest and recovery and we're all kind of taking it one day at a time. We're obviously in contact with him every day and he's in really, really good spirit and he appreciates all the support he's gotten from everybody."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Hot 97's Ebro in the Morning with an h/t to Wrestling Inc for the transcription.

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