When Big E took a particularly stiff suplex outside of the ring on the March 11th edition of SmackDown, few thought at the time that it would be the last time WWE fans would see the pancake-loving superstar in a professional ring for going on 16 months and counting.

Diagnosed with a broken neck later specified as fractures to the C1 and C6 vertebrates, Big E has been slowly but surely working his way back to action, even if fans are completely in the dark regarding when, let alone if, the former WWE Champion will ever get back into the ring again either as a solo act or as part of the New Day.

Stopping by After The Bell with Corey Graves and Kevin Patrick to discuss his career, the RAW commentary team decided to ask the 37-year-old the question everyone wanted to know: how is he feeling, and how close is he to a WWE return?

“I feel great,” Big E said via Fightful. “Unfortunately, I don't have a timetable. The great thing is, I feel 100%, I don't even feel like someone who broke their neck. My mobility is incredible and great. My strength is great, I have no issues whatsoever. I wish I had some answers on returning to the ring. I have nothing, unfortunately, but the beautiful thing is I feel great, my body feels great, I'm really thankful for that. Life is good. I'm blessed. I can walk around and touch my toes, go to the gym, all those things. Really grateful.”

“I want to say thank you to the EMTs who were there, very timely. I thought it was a contusion, I didn't think my neck was broken at all. Thankfully, people got to me before I could do that. So thankful for the people in Birmingham, Dr. (Jeffrey) Dugas, who took great care of me. Everyone who was just there for me. People texting me, emailed me, all the people who checked in. Fans, peers, family, loved ones. Oftentimes, we look at the internet and Twitter, we think of wrestling Twitter, the community, sometimes it can be a dark place and be less than ideal. For me, I just saw a very beautiful community that reached out, wanted to support me, that was there for me, not just the day of or the day after, but weeks and months after. I am so proud to be part of this community and part of this industry because of that. I'm really grateful for all those things. Thank to everyone, I love you guys. I appreciate the love and support. I am doing beautifully. Mind, body, soul, all those things are incredible. Fortunate and blessed to be alive. Tip your waiters. Pay your taxes.”

Splitting his time between WWE charity work, serving as a NIL Embassitor, and playing MC for the Michigan Panthers of the USFL, it's clear Big E isn't going away any time soon. If he can return to the WWE ring, he'll be a bonus.

Big E remains incredibly proud of his Intercontinental Championship run.

Elsewhere in his appearance on After The Bell, Big E was asked about his run with the Intercontinental Championship and all of the excellent matches he worked against Sami Zayn and Apollo Crews. Though Gunther's current run has put pretty much eclipsed every other IC Title, Big E remains proud of what he accomplished.

“We had the IC title stuff with Sami [Zayn] and then with Apollo [Crews] for a while, maybe a little bit too long. Apollo and I were back and forth for four months, but that is not at all an indictment of Apollo, I think he's so amazingly talented,” Big E said via Wrestling Inc. “And there are times where we thought things would go a certain way with our rivalry, and maybe it didn't conclude when we thought it would. But I would say that dude is so incredibly talented that if you're going to be in a program for too long with someone, you want it to be with someone of that caliber, who is just incredible at what they do.”

Would it have been cool for Big E to get varied opportunities during his IC Title reign? Yes, over his 110 days as the Intercontinental Champion, Big E defended his title on eight occasions, and all but one came against Either Crews or Zayn, but in the end, he got to do a Nigerian Drum Fight at WrestleMania 37, and that's a pretty cool experience that only one other performer can boast.