Sami Zayn feels confident that he could become WWE World Champion but doesn’t necessarily know if he could be the face of the company.
The Honorary Uce spoke on this topic during a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, which included him discussing why he knows fans won’t revolt for him the same way they did for Daniel Bryan in 2014. Highlights from the interview can be found below.
Doesn’t think fans will revolt if he doesn’t become world champion because the storyline with The Bloodline has been so compelling:
I don’t think the fans are kind of where they were five or six years ago, where they would revolt. Like, ‘No, Daniel Bryan is the guy! you’re trying to give us Batista?! No, we’ll force you!’ I don’t feel that level of borderline contempt from the audience toward the creative direction. I think because the story has been so interesting, there’s a little bit of trust in that it’ll go where it goes, and it’ll still be fine. I’m sure there are a lot of people who are pulling for me. That’s great. It’s nice to be that guy, but I don’t think it’s at a place where Daniel Bryan was in 2014 where, if it’s anybody but him, it’s going to be a disaster.
Says if the story is right fans will get behind whatever ends up happening:
I don’t think that it’s necessarily the same. Is there a possibility of whether it’s Cody [Rhodes], whether it’s anybody, if it’s done, right, you can do almost anything. It has to be done well. It has to be done just right. If it’s not done right, could there be some kind of backlash to, ‘Man, the story made the most sense. He was the guy that fans liked, everything was right there, but they went this way?’ If they don’t do it right, there is the possibility of contempt toward whoever that person [that wins the Royal Rumble] is. Whether it’s Cody, whether it’s anyone, it could be anybody. If it’s not done right, it could hurt that person. We work with a lot of people who know how to do things right. So if I’m not the guy, and I genuinely, as of this exact conversation, one day before the Royal Rumble, I have no idea what the plan is. I don’t know; it just doesn’t feel that way. I don’t know. I try to listen to the fans. I try not to put too much stock in the online kind of thing. But I’m sure there’s a good percentage like, again, if you follow nothing else but the storyline, the storyline, it’s a layup the I would be in that conversation. What actually ends up happening is, again, it’s not my control.
Thinks he could be world champion, but doesn’t know if he could necessarily be the face of WWE:
I could win the World Title. I could carry it for a while. I could do talk shows. I could do all that stuff. I don’t know if I’m the guy that you could necessarily hitch your wagon to for the next 5-10 years and be the face of the company. If nothing else, because I’m somewhat realistic about my physical — I’m not as big as Roman [Reigns] or [John] Cena or Brock [Lesnar], and that’s typically the guy who’s at the head of that scene because they want a certain projection,” said Sami. “I think for the long haul, could I win the World Title? I think especially because of the way the story is done. As I said a moment ago, if you do anything right, fans will buy it, and they’ll get into it. So I think at this point, the way things are built, and I’m not saying this is what’s going to happen if it was me and Roman at WrestleMania and I beat Roman, and we did it right, the way we’ve been doing it right the last nine months, No one’s going to go ‘Bogus. I’m out. I can’t take that,’ because we’ve done it right.
How being the world champion and the face of the company are two different things:
I could be a guy who could carry that title six months, go on Jimmy Fallon, give a couple of jokes, have him do his fake laugh that he does, all that good stuff. Sure I could do that. I could probably do it in my sleep, to be honest, but I understand the company’s projection of what they see as the like face of the company, not being the champion. The champion and the face are almost two different things. I feel like I could be the champion, no problem. As far as being the guy that they like, ‘Number one, He’s our guy. He’s the poster boy. He’s the ultimate representation of what our company is,’ I know physically, I don’t fit that mold. So I don’t know if that’s me, like, being self-deprecating or what it is, but I’m a realist when it comes to that.
(H/T and transcribed by Fightful)
The post Sami Zayn Thinks He Could Become World Champion In WWE But Doesn’t Know If He Could Be The Face Of The Company appeared first on Wrestling Headlines.
Sami Zayn feels confident that he could become WWE World Champion but doesn’t necessarily know if he could be the face of the company.
The Honorary Uce spoke on this topic during a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, which included him discussing why he knows fans won’t revolt for him the same way they did for Daniel Bryan in 2014. Highlights from the interview can be found below.
Doesn’t think fans will revolt if he doesn’t become world champion because the storyline with The Bloodline has been so compelling:
I don’t think the fans are kind of where they were five or six years ago, where they would revolt. Like, ‘No, Daniel Bryan is the guy! you’re trying to give us Batista?! No, we’ll force you!’ I don’t feel that level of borderline contempt from the audience toward the creative direction. I think because the story has been so interesting, there’s a little bit of trust in that it’ll go where it goes, and it’ll still be fine. I’m sure there are a lot of people who are pulling for me. That’s great. It’s nice to be that guy, but I don’t think it’s at a place where Daniel Bryan was in 2014 where, if it’s anybody but him, it’s going to be a disaster.
Says if the story is right fans will get behind whatever ends up happening:
I don’t think that it’s necessarily the same. Is there a possibility of whether it’s Cody [Rhodes], whether it’s anybody, if it’s done, right, you can do almost anything. It has to be done well. It has to be done just right. If it’s not done right, could there be some kind of backlash to, ‘Man, the story made the most sense. He was the guy that fans liked, everything was right there, but they went this way?’ If they don’t do it right, there is the possibility of contempt toward whoever that person [that wins the Royal Rumble] is. Whether it’s Cody, whether it’s anyone, it could be anybody. If it’s not done right, it could hurt that person. We work with a lot of people who know how to do things right. So if I’m not the guy, and I genuinely, as of this exact conversation, one day before the Royal Rumble, I have no idea what the plan is. I don’t know; it just doesn’t feel that way. I don’t know. I try to listen to the fans. I try not to put too much stock in the online kind of thing. But I’m sure there’s a good percentage like, again, if you follow nothing else but the storyline, the storyline, it’s a layup the I would be in that conversation. What actually ends up happening is, again, it’s not my control.
Thinks he could be world champion, but doesn’t know if he could necessarily be the face of WWE:
I could win the World Title. I could carry it for a while. I could do talk shows. I could do all that stuff. I don’t know if I’m the guy that you could necessarily hitch your wagon to for the next 5-10 years and be the face of the company. If nothing else, because I’m somewhat realistic about my physical — I’m not as big as Roman [Reigns] or [John] Cena or Brock [Lesnar], and that’s typically the guy who’s at the head of that scene because they want a certain projection,” said Sami. “I think for the long haul, could I win the World Title? I think especially because of the way the story is done. As I said a moment ago, if you do anything right, fans will buy it, and they’ll get into it. So I think at this point, the way things are built, and I’m not saying this is what’s going to happen if it was me and Roman at WrestleMania and I beat Roman, and we did it right, the way we’ve been doing it right the last nine months, No one’s going to go ‘Bogus. I’m out. I can’t take that,’ because we’ve done it right.
How being the world champion and the face of the company are two different things:
I could be a guy who could carry that title six months, go on Jimmy Fallon, give a couple of jokes, have him do his fake laugh that he does, all that good stuff. Sure I could do that. I could probably do it in my sleep, to be honest, but I understand the company’s projection of what they see as the like face of the company, not being the champion. The champion and the face are almost two different things. I feel like I could be the champion, no problem. As far as being the guy that they like, ‘Number one, He’s our guy. He’s the poster boy. He’s the ultimate representation of what our company is,’ I know physically, I don’t fit that mold. So I don’t know if that’s me, like, being self-deprecating or what it is, but I’m a realist when it comes to that.
(H/T and transcribed by Fightful)