WWE is a wrestling promotion that is all about making legendary characters and big moments. They will always utilize the greats of yesteryear for the sake of nostalgia and ratings pops, and are always looking for key moments to add to the highlight reel for years to come. Sami Zayn, in particular, seems to understand the importance of doing things that people will remember, and has always tries to make the most out of what he’s given.

Most recently, Zayn took part in the extremely well-received “Honorary Uce” segment on SmackDown, where Zayn is stripped of his self-imposed Bloodline title – by literally having a Bloodline shirt stripped off of him – and instead given the official title of “Honorary Uce” by the Tribal Chief himself with a new shirt to make it official.

The bait-and-switch pulled by Reigns – and Zayn’s reaction to it all – was priceless, the crowd went wild at the new shirt reveal, and the segment is guaranteed to be included in any discussion or replaying of this era of Reigns and The Bloodline for the rest of time.

But what does Zayn himself think of the segment, and how it fits into his still-building WWE legacy? Well, Zayn was able to shoot about that very thing, and needless to say, he is right there with the rest of the WWE Universe when it comes to his love of the segment.

Zayn hopes his WWE run with The Bloodline is talked about for years to come.

Speaking with BT Sport, Zayn was asked about if he anticipated the overwhelming reaction to the segment, which the interviewer felt had a “classic WWE segment” feel, as transcribed by Fightful.

“When we did that whole segment, I guess the nicer answer would be to say that, ‘No, I didn’t expect that at all.’ But actually I knew that if we did it right, this would be a very, very memorable segment. I think when it’s all said and done, I think people will remember that segment for many many years to come, which is the hardest thing to do, in my opinion at this stage in the industry. We have a lot of content, and we have a lot of great performers. So it used to be hard to just do something good. Now it’s even harder to do something memorable because there’s so much good stuff and not a lot of it sticks out, which is a good problem to have. When there’s so much good content that you have to be exceptional to be remembered for years to come,” Zayn said.

Wow, that’s a very insightful way of looking at things from a famously silent luchador.

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It is fair to say that a lot of moments and performances do get lost in the shuffle, thanks to the quantity and quality of wrestling content. Five-plus star Meltzer ranked matches are quickly moved on from, funny segments are buried within YouTube and Twitter algorithms, and the need for constant surprises can cause diminishing returns.

The fact that the “Honorary Uce” segment caused such a big reaction and is still being talked about now is a testament to the uniqueness of the angle and its great execution. However, Zayn is far from done with making memorable moments with The Bloodline.

“I think this segment was one of those things that people will remember, hopefully the way they remember what you were talking about, Batista and Orton and The Rock and Sock and all that kind of stuff. I hope it goes down like that. I hope before this is all said and done that we got a couple more segments like that, that people will remember for years to come. But you know what, it might have been the best in-ring kind of segment in terms of memorability that I might have done, actually. Just the ride that it took people on is what I’m so happy about,” Zayn said.

Considering the quality of matches Zayn has had both on the indies and at Takeovers, calling a speaking segment the best in-ring work he has ever done is interesting, to say the least, but it also makes sense. Great wrestling on its own often does get lost in the shuffle in the long run, whereas storyline investment is what sticks in people’s heads and turns superstars into legends in WWE.

As noted by the interviewer, a big part of what made the “Honorary Uce” segment so successful was the surprise swerve from Zayne being torn down by Reigns to him being officially welcomed into the faction. Zayn himself was fully aware that the “roller coaster” nature made the segment what is was, and is what makes wrestling so great in general.

“Everybody has said that to me, that it took them on this emotional roller coaster and they didn’t know where it’s going. That’s wrestling at it’s best. When it takes you on a left turn and a right turn and you think it’s going one way and it goes another, that’s what I think we all love about wrestling. When wrestling’s at its best, that’s what it’s doing to you, and that was kind of encapsulated in this one promo, so that’s why I think it was so special and so memorable, and I got a great piece of merchandise out of it, too,” he said.

Of course, is any wrestling moment truly great if there isn’t merch to commemorate it?

While the segment itself was a treat to watch on SmackDown, one can only hope that the momentum can lead into some equally memorable matches down the line. Between the star power of Reigns and Zayn’s clear commitment to keep moving forward, fans across the WWE Universe should be excited to see what’s to come.