When Sami Zayn lost his match to Johnny Knoxville at WrestleMania 38, he knew his WWE career couldn't go on the same way without it having serious ramifications on his wrestling career.
A certified jack of all trades capable of being serious, funny, working in tag teams, or wrestling solo, Zayn didn't want to be trapped in the midcard wrestling celebrities and instead wanted to get serious, wrestling-certified stars and operate in the sort of long-term storytelling that is typically reserved for the top-of-the-card.
Fortunately, Zayn decided to do just that, turning a short-term opportunity with The Bloodline into a storyline that (probably) just came to an end at Night of Champions. Discussing the prospects of going from a mid-card stalwart to arguably the top babyface in the promotion a few months later in an appearance on After the Bell with Corey Graves and Kevin Patrick, Zayn explained how one decision by Roman Reigns cemented his place in WWE right now and set him up for a near-unimaginable future.
“Yeah, there were, and I can't mention names [laughs]. There were doubts as to whether it should even happen,” Sami Zayn said via Fightful. “Even in its early infancy stage of it all. Then, for me, going back to a question about impatience. There was a point when I was actually very impatient with the storyline and I was almost ready to abandon ship and say, ‘Okay, we need to start moving on in a different direction if this isn't going to go where it needs to go.' For me, it all hinged on me and Roman getting together finally and the swerve being, ‘Roman likes this guy.' You expect him to not like him, but he meets him, and he likes him. That was the money of the whole thing. He buys in. Roman drives the whole story, and it works very well, even if he's not there, but because he's the main antagonist, his decision at the next point in the story is going to drive and propel the story in whatever direction it's going. You needed him involved.”
Goodness, what would have happened if Reigns said no? What if he wasn't a huge fan of what Zayn brought to the table and instead wanted to take the story in another direction? Would Reigns be in a storyline with Seth Rollins right now? Would another performer have taken Zayn's place as the Honorary Uce? And what about Zayn? Where would he be right now? Goodness, that one decision changed the future of WWE, and everything is better off for it.
Sami Zayn knew he'd never be John Cena and was okay with that.
Elsewhere in his appearance on After the Bell, Sami Zayn discussed a very interesting speech given to NXT performers about wanting to become “the next John Cena” and how he really didn't think that was the correct approach.
“I remember when I got to WWE, it was NXT or something like that, it was very much the mentality of, ‘you should be furious that you're here. You should want to get out of here. You should want to get on the road. Everyone around you is your enemy, they are all vying for your spot. This is a competition. You have to be the best to get out of here. If you don't want to be the best, you shouldn't even work here.' I remember a line something to the extent of, ‘If you don't want to be the next John Cena, you shouldn't even be here.' I remember hearing that and being completely [mouth agape]. ‘What? This is insanity.' Let's just say we're in a room with 100 people, let's just say the next John Cena is in this room. There's only one, so the other 99 people in this room should be miserable at all times trying to aspire to be that person? What kind of insanity is that?” Zayn said via Fightful.
Fortunately, Zayn is correct; everyone can't be the next John Cena because – to this point, there still isn't another John Cena, sorry Austin Theory – but that doesn't mean there can't be multiple performers who elevate their games and become the sort of in-ring stars that put butts in seats and sell merch. Right now, there are about a half-dozen top babyfaces in WWE who are running the show, with Zayn sharing the spotlight with Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins, and Cody Rhodes opposite the likes of “Tribal Chief,” Gunther, and Austin Theory. If that isn't the key to WWE's longevity, then I don't know what is.
Follow Us
Subscribe