“This was not the plan" - Big E on winning the WWE Championship on RAW

Big E cashed in his Money in the Bank contract on Bobby Lashley several weeks ago to win the coveted WWE Championship for the first time in his career. According to the former New Day member, however, winning the title was not part of the plan he had heard of for his singles push.

Big E made the announcement on Twitter last month that he would show up to Monday Night RAW to cash in his contract, and he successfully did so following The Almighty's title bout with Randy Orton. He recently defended the WWE Championship in a rematch against Lashley on the red brand, which took place inside a steel cage.

During an interview with Daily Star, Big E revealed that there was talk about him becoming a world champion years ago, but it came and went every time.

“This was not the plan that I’d heard," said Big E. “I’m trying to remember what I was alluding to – [it was] maybe the Intercontinental Championship which was kind of in the works for a bit. But I had heard talks years ago about maybe putting the title on me – or possibly becoming a world champion – multiple times, but that kind of came and went every time. It’s kind of hard to fathom getting here, but in many ways it’s not. So many of my peers had been so kind, and so many people over the years had said ‘yeah, this is something that you’re ready for’ or ‘that you deserve these opportunities.’"

Big E says he doesn't want to be anyone else other than himself

Big E is a major star and a huge inspiration to many people around the globe. He was part of a popular tag team known as the New Day with Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, and they were referred to as the greatest tag team in WWE history by the company itself.

Speaking about maintaining his originality, the WWE Champion stated that he wants to be himself and not a John Cena or Roman Reigns copycat.

“I have no desire to be anyone else but me - I never want to be a Cena copycat or a Roman copycat," he said. "I feel like it’s very early in, but I feel like it is working and going well, and I want to keep it up. It’s interesting to reflect on the last year or 13 months, because I didn’t know if this is where the end game would be. It has been beautiful.”

Big E was drafted to RAW as part of the first round of the WWE Draft, and it's possible that we could see him feud with Drew McIntyre for the title before the draft comes into effect after Crown Jewel.