ESPN recently did a feature piece on WWE WrestleMania 39, with Kevin Owens, Roman Reigns, and others praising the recent work of Sami Zayn.
You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
Kevin Owens on Sami Zayn’s work: “For the last two years. I’d be hard-pressed to find anybody else that could say they were the MVP of WWE as much as Sami.”
Sami Zayn on his match with Johnny Knoxville at last year’s WrestleMania: “My stuff with Knoxville had to happen to kind of be the linchpin, the launching pad for the whole thing [with the Bloodline]. My whole thing was like, man, I’ve been humiliated, and I need to recover. I need respect, and this is how I get respect. So that’s the logical direction — to go to The Bloodline.”
Paul Heyman on Sami’s ability as a performer: “You could tell from Sami’s in-ring work how talented he was and his understanding of telling a physical story to a large crowd. What caught everyone off guard was just how brilliant he could be in talking segments. This is a person that spent a decent portion of his career under a mask before he came to WWE. And to hide that face and his expressions is mind-boggling to me. I don’t think Sami knew; otherwise he wouldn’t have spent part of his career under a mask.”
Roman Reigns on Sami as the Honorary Uce: “I was entertained by him when he did the Jackass stuff and really respected the way he navigated that creative [process]. I believe I can do work of this level with… other guys, they’d just be different. It wouldn’t be the same. It would be a different character, a different angle, a different layer. Nobody would be able to be the ‘Honorary Uce’ other than Sami Zayn.”