Sami Zayn: I’ve Never Seen Wrestling As A Sacrifice, I View It As A Privilege
Sami Zayn views wrestling as a privilege.
The commitment of professional wrestling will often cause performers to miss out on significant life events like birthdays and holidays. The schedule has gotten lighter in recent years, with certain companies giving their talent breaks for major holidays like Christmas.
Speaking with ESPN New York, Zayn said that he doesn’t look at his job like a sacrifice. Instead, he feels privileged to be doing it for a living.
“You know, I’ve never really looked at it that way. I know that’s like a prevailing narrative, a lot of people talk about that when they talk about our industry, talking about the sacrifices. Like, you know, if you ask my wife, for sure, she would consider them sacrifices. Leaving the family, leaving the kid, missing birthdays, anniversaries, everything like that. It’s been talked about, I’d say ad nauseam at this point. But the truth is, I’ve just never looked at it that way. It’s just a way of framing it. I’ve never seen it as a sacrifice, I really never have. I view it more of a privilege than anything, honest to god.”
Continuing on, Zayn reminded everyone that millions of people want to hold the WWE Championship.
“I say this without exaggeration, because right now there’s only one person holding this [title] and it’s me. I say this without any hyperbole or any exaggeration. There are millions of people in the world who want to be holding this right now, but there’s only one and it’s me. The odds of that are insane. So, to look at this as anything other than a remarkable experience and a remarkable privilege, I think you’re not seeing this for what it is.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Zayn pushed back on the notion that a world champion needs to fit a specific archetype. Check out his full comments here.
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