Sami Zayn On Main Eventing WrestleMania 39, GUNTHER On Comedy Wrestling
Sami Zayn had a sensational run at the beginning of the year against Roman Reigns following the implosion of The Bloodline, and he acknowledged that it wasn’t easy to lose to The Tribal Chief at Elimination Chamber in Montreal.
On a recent edition of the “Out Of Character” podcast, Zayn discussed his storyline with The Bloodline, his loss to Reigns at Elimination Chamber, and main eventing WrestleMania 39 (Night One).
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On how he felt after losing at Elimination Chamber: “If you want the truth, it was a little hard. I don’t think I’m being controversial in saying this, but I’m not the chosen guy — obviously. I’ve been handed a lot of opportunities, and I’ve delivered on a lot of those opportunities throughout my time with the company, and I’m grateful for all of it. But, I don’t think anyone would say, ‘Oh clearly, he was being positioned to be the top guy or be the most popular guy on the show.’ Obviously, that’s not the case, and that’s fine.”
On his underdog story at the start of the year: “It’s like a lighting-in-the-bottle type of a thing,” Zayn said of his run earlier this year. “You don’t get it very often. And then when you kinda get it, you’re like, ‘Well, you almost feel like the story, the audience, your performance, all of it … it’s gotten you to the exact place you dreamed you’d be. And then when you get there, you just kinda fall short, and you don’t know if you’ll ever get it back. So, for sure it’s hard. You don’t know if you can do it again — and like I said, it’s only happened a handful of times in the last 10 years.”
On the story arc as a whole: “I don’t have any bad things to say about anything involving that story,” Zayn admitted. “But if you’re asking me … was it a tough pill to swallow to come that close and not quite make it? I’d be lying if I said ‘No, it didn’t bother me at all.’ For sure, there was a part of me that had problems digesting that.”
On main eventing WrestleMania helping soften that blow: “Greatly! {laughs] Let me tell you, that softened the blow — a lot. … At the time, I also didn’t even know it. I only found out a little bit after that, and I was like ‘Oh, okay. It’s fine.’ To be honest, even that night, by the end of the night, I was like, ‘No, that’s not true [that I lost at Elimination Chamber].’ I didn’t bounce back and kick out of it right away. It still lingered a little bit … this feeling of whatever you want to call it, disappointment. I’d be lying if I said that went away overnight… It was the story that did that, so that’s very, very special. It still ended in triumph for me as a character, which is very, very special. So, for sure, I can’t tell you how much that [win] eased the sting of losing in Montreal.
On saying he felt like he let Montreal down in the post-show press event: “I believe in just not BS-ing and just answering truthfully. That’s my interview style — for better, for worse, that’s what I went with this long in my career, and that’s what I continue to do…. [A few days later, Triple H] was like, ‘Dude, what was with you in that press conference? You were such a downer. You gotta think of what those people saw. Those people just saw the culmination of this amazing story for the last year, and they saw one of the most electric crowds ever, and the whole night was amazing. You brought it down with that interview.’ I kind of saw his point, actually, because I was looking at it through my lens,” Zayn added. The talk with Triple H put things into perspective for Zayn, who realized that he had to start looking at the bigger picture rather than just a solitary win or loss. “Again, what Hunter said was true. If you’re just a fan, you got to see something incredible! So, that also helped me alter my state a little bit. That, in conjunction, with main-eventing WrestleMania [laughs].”
Speaking with Sam Roberts, WWE Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER stated that he isn’t opposed to comedy wrestling provided it’s executed in a proper manner.
You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On comedy wrestling: “It’s how you use the things you do. That’s the most important thing. I think a lot of wrestlers think about it too much as like, ‘I got to do this spectacular stuff, or this crazy maneuver to impress everybody,’ like a regular strike won’t get you that reaction or something like that. If you treat it like that from the beginning, and if you don’t present it in a way that it’s as important, it’s never going to be received. Think back, Santino Marella got a hand in a sock over. It was a deadly weapon back then. He just used it like that. So I think that goes with a lot of things in wrestling. If you look at Sami Zayn’s match with the Jackass crew, right? He just used whatever the Jackass crew had to offer. He just treated it as, ‘Okay, that’s their offense.’”
On if he would be open to a comedy match: “I mean, we’ll see what the future brings. I had a few occasions where I did something in my career that was a little bit out of this serious competitive wrestling stuff, and it usually worked really well. If it’s done the right way, there’s a place in time for almost everything in wrestling. Look at DDT in Japan; that promotion is a good example. They have all that goofy stuff happening throughout the show. Then, to finish off the show is a super serious World Championship match, and everybody treats it [properly]. Because it’s just different styles and different forms of entertainment, really.”
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