Ettore Ewen, better known as Big E in the pro wrestling world, reminisced about one of the defining moments of his early wrestling career at John Cena's gym.

Everyone around that day witnessed a 575-lb bench press by Big E, years before he became a WWE Champion. The story crossed Big E's mind during a conversation with Chris Van Vliet. Vliet asked Big E whether he had ever lifted that much weight before that day, and Big E made clear it was no fluke.

"No, that was my best bench ever," Big E said. "That day was really cool cuz I was a nobody. I was in FCW, and it's a nice little screenshot of where we were at that time because Roman was spotting me, Roman, not on the main roster yet. We are all these hungry guys trying to get more TV time, trying to get more opportunities."

The WWE star also had a very special person who witnessed it, and that is Cena himself. At that time, Cena was deep in preparation for his WrestleMania showdown with The Rock and used the moment to motivate himself.

Big E powerlifting past adds new meaning to that bench press moment

The memory of the gym session now, when thought of, looks way more significant in hindsight, given how far Big E's career has traveled since.

Having emerged through the developmental ranks next to other future greats such as Roman Reigns, Ewen has since won the WWE Championship, multiple Intercontinental Championships, and become a WWE Tag Team Champion twice as a member of The New Day, one of the best faction in the history of WWE.

From 2010 to 2011, Big E was a dominant force in powerlifting. Competing in the USAPL raw division, he broke several Florida state records in the bench press, deadlift, and overall total, per Bar Bend.

In 2011, he won the USAPL Raw Nationals super heavyweight title and set a national record with an impressive 362.5 kg (800 lb) deadlift.

Think Big E tops the list among WWE's strongest performers ever, or does the conversation belong elsewhere?

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Written by

Proma Chatterjee

Edited by

Zaid Quraishi