Sami Zayn believes that his work as an antagonist is his best work thus far in WWE.
When Sami Zayn arrived in NXT, he helped set the pace for that brand. During his time there and his subsequent move to the main roster, it appeared as though he was going to be similar to Ricky Steamboat or Rob Van Dam and permanently stay babyface throughout his time in WWE.
Over the last three years, Sami has been tweaking his heel persona and perhaps thanks to the unfortunate circumstances of the pandemic, his return in September of 2020 has seen entertaining character work as he continues to combat the conspiracies against him, even if they are all in his mind.
Speaking with Ryan Satin of FOX Sports, Zayn would say that this is his best work and that he is 100% behind this character.
“I feel like this is definitely me at my best right now,” Zayn stated. “In that time, where I was off because of the beginning of the pandemic and not really having any certainty of what was coming next, I was off for a couple of months, and to be honest with you – and I’ve said this in other interviews – when I’m away from wrestling, I’m pretty away from wrestling, you know? I tend to compartmentalize it.
“When I’m in it, I’m in it 100% and when I’m out, I don’t want to say I’m out 100%, but pretty close, you know? Of course, the bug bites me a little bit, every now and again, and I get flowing with some creative ideas and, "Oh, man. I can’t wait to do this and do that. But, for the most part, I didn’t necessarily think of what I would do differently when I came back.”
Continuing on, Sami would say that the character and his disheveled looks and paranoid demeanor almost represent a step backward in the evolutionary process for his character and that is what makes it fun.
“I kind of had an idea because of the way things left off, how I would return and what kind of story I’d be plugged into, but, from there, things have just kind of spiraled organically into this, I’d say, evolution … but it’s almost like a de-evolution.
“I’m just coming undone. I’m looking shaggy and frantic and narcissistic, a conspiracy theorist who is deranged that thinks everyone is out to get him. It kind of happened organically over this time, ever since I've been back, but I’ve really been enjoying it.”
Sami Zayn will enter the Elimination Chamber, a structure he is not too familiar with, on Sunday, February 21. Should he win the match, he will challenge Roman Reigns later that same evening for the WWE Universal Championship.