“The Great Liberator”, and current WWE Smackdown star, Sami Zayn recently appeared on Oral Sessions with Renee Paquette. During his conversation with Renee, the former Intercontinetal Champion revealed which segment he believes got him over with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon. Sami told Renee:
“You never know which segment is going to open their eyes. I think I was already doing pretty good work in the ring and had established myself as more than competent in the ring and holding my own on the microphone as a good guy, and especially, doing really good work as a bad guy. But then there was one day where I was a guest referee for Kevin [Owens] vs. Seth [Rollins]. I was just doing me. When I got back, they were all doubled over”.
Zayn continued to talk about the segment, and shared McMahon’s post match comments. Sami recalled:
"That's what i think that inspired the idea for me to be a mouthpiece for Shinsuke [Nakamura]. I came back and Vince is like, ‘You have the gift of gab.’ I wasn’t even cutting a promo, I was just being a ref, but they just started seeing me in a new light of, ‘This guy, he can be so much. He can do so much for other people.’ I think they saw a broader vision for me in that moment. Someone who can be a manager even 10-15 years down the road. They just started seeing me in that different light. There was a new trust.”
Sami, who will square off with Kevin Owens at Wrestlemania, continued the interview, and talked about WWE warming up to his ideas. The former NXT Champion mentioned:
“I’m one of the luckier guys. It took a while for my ideas to start getting through. I’m sure Jon had a million ideas he was pitching, and he was a top guy, he was a champion. Sometimes they just don’t get through. I just started getting lucky out of nowhere and because stuff was working and I had a good relationship with writers, I’m very lucky. I can’t complain as much as other guys when it comes to pitching things and getting them. I have gotten away with a lot more than most, so I don’t think I’m in a position to complain about that.”
(H/T and transcribed by 411Mania)
