Sami Zayn has heard all the noise about him not looking like a “typical” WWE Champion, and he is not exactly losing sleep over it.
After Vince Russo and Jonathan Coachman ripped Zayn’s Undisputed WWE Title win on The Coach and Bro Show, Sami responded while speaking to Don, Hahn & Rosenberg on ESPN New York. Russo had compared Zayn’s win to a participation trophy and even brought up David Arquette’s infamous WCW Title run, but Sami’s answer was pretty simple: not every champion has to fit the same old mold. Zayn said fans are allowed to dislike him, but he pushed back hard on the idea that wrestling only works one way.
“Look, if you just don’t like me, that’s fine. You’re certainly allowed to not like me. But I think if you start getting married to an archetype of what you have been taught to like, ‘This is what you should want,’ and then that’s all you buy… I mean, without insulting anybody here, I just think that’s kind of like a lack of… well, I don’t know… free thought? Like a lack of intelligence?”
After Rosenberg joked that most haters lack intelligence, Zayn kept going. He said just because fans were sold one version of a champion for years does not mean that has to be the only version forever.
“Well, I mean, what I’m saying is, this isn’t the product I’ve always purchased, and that’s fair. But you’re allowed to want other products or enjoy other products. It shouldn’t be that one thing has been sold to you and you should come to accept that that is the only thing, the only way anything needs to be done.”
Then Sami took the bigger swing. He compared that narrow view of wrestling to someone staying in one place forever and never realizing how big the world actually is. Zayn made it clear he does not mind if someone simply is not a fan. What he does not accept is the argument that a WWE Champion has to look or act only one specific way.
“To me, I equate that with almost like staying in your hometown your whole life and never going to New York City, and then never realizing that there’s a whole planet out there and there’s billions of people out there and there’s billions of ways to do things and there’s billions of different cuisines and cultures and dances and whatever. There’s a whole universe out there, and you’ve got to broaden your horizons a little bit. Maybe I say this because traveling the world has been so important to me and it’s shaped my worldview.
If I’m just not your cup of tea, fair play. But the idea that a champion needs to be this or needs to be that… I’m like, all right, well… you’re an idiot.”
He added that good work should be the real measuring stick, not some outdated checklist: “Nothing needs to be anything. If it’s good, it’s good. I’ve always kind of subscribed to that. And I think the work I’ve been putting out over the last few years is good.”
So, while Russo and Coachman may see Sami’s title win as WWE lowering the bar, Zayn clearly sees the criticism as people being stuck on one old idea of what a champion should be. And judging by his response, he is not apologizing for being a different kind of top guy.
Do you agree with Sami Zayn’s response to his critics, or do you think a WWE Champion should still fit a certain mold? Drop your thoughts in the comments and let us know.
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