To some, landing in WWE is just the next logical step after a successful career doing something else; Top Dolla signed with WWE after his time as a journeyman defensive tackle in the NFL, the Cavinder twins have effectively left their basketball-playing careers in the past in favor of two one-way tickets to Orlando, and the Performance Center is jam-packed with former college athletes who signed NIL deals over the past few years.
But what about performers who didn't want to be a basketball player, a football player, or a model, but instead a professional wrestler? How does it feel for a performer to work their way from hot dogs and handshakes to a spot at SoFi Stadium in front of 80,000-plus fans? Well, Sami Zayn, one of the current Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions, commented on that journey to WWE and explained the blueprint performers like himself and Kevin Owens followed to “The Show” in an interview with Andrew Santino on Whiskey Ginger.
“Yeah, I was like, ‘Oh my god, that’s right. There’s a possibility of making really good money here one day,” Zayn said via Fightful. “That’s why I’m here.’ But that’s not really why I’m here. I’m just chasing the blueprint, where you start here and you get here, and you get there, and one day you get on the big stage, and that’s just the blueprint. That’s just what you do. It’s like chasing, and I don’t know what you’re chasing, to be honest.”
Asked what he's specifically been chasing, Zayn wasn't sure, but that drive has been what's kept him going.
“I don’t know. I say that now because I’m at the pinnacle of it in a way, where I’m like, ‘Yeah, what are we even doing here?’ But I don’t know,” Zayn added. “You’re chasing where I’m at right now, which is to be on television every week, doing your art on the highest level for the highest emotional connection. You’re doing your best for the best, and getting the best out of it.”
In a way, it's hard to argue with what Zayn noted; he's sitting at the top of the WWE Universe right now as one-half of the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship with his best friend KO and outside of unseating Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship or becoming a “Champ Champ” with the new WWE World Heavyweight Championship too, there really isn't much more he can accomplish in The Fed right now. Still, Zayn isn't completely satisfied, as there's still plenty of hunger left in his belly to achieve more.
For Sami Zayn, his WWE journey is the reward.
Discussing his WWE journey further, Sami Zayn was asked if he's still hungry after all of these years in the WWE Universe, and unsurprisingly, he said yes, but to a degree.
“Absolutely. I’m hungry for…yes. I’m hungry for more, but within reason. I try not to let it, anyway, every now and again, some shallow stuff, you contend with that a little bit. You get caught up in the BS and you’re on the hamster wheel, and you get tunnel vision sometimes. But really, I just see the whole thing as a privilege. If it ended tomorrow, I’d be like, ‘Hey, man. Good run? I got to do more than most people ever get to do,'” he said.
So if Zayn isn't deep in the trenches and has instead popped up for air to appreciate everything he's accomplished so far, what keeps him motivated to keep pushing for more? Well, after clearing the Mount Everest-sized goal of even getting to WWE, he's appreciating everything else the journey has along the way.
“Making it to WWE, in theory, when you’re starting, it seems like Mount Everest. It seems like an unattainable goal. I suppose you wouldn’t call it a dream, but a goal as well. So you kind of just preoccupy yourself with the immediate goals like getting booked in Montana or wherever it is. You have these immediate goals, and they’re so satisfying, and they lead to these slightly bigger goals, and it’s just this incremental growth,” Zaun said. “But if you enjoy the process along the way, and you’re not just fixated on getting to the peak, then the whole thing’s just gonna rule, and it has. That’s my thing. The whole thing has ruled.”
At 38, Sami Zayn has accomplished a lot in his 21-year professional wrestling career; he's dominated in WWE, holds legendary status for his time on the indies, and might just go down as one of the funniest performers of his generation for angles like his feud with Johnny Knoxville and his decision to bring out Trae Young at MSG. If he's starting to think about his career retrospectively, at least he can appreciate the road ahead of him and the opportunities presented during this up period of his career, instead of taking it for granted.
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