Sami Zayn tried his best to have "The Electric Chair" live up to its billing.
Speaking with Rick Ucchino of Sportskeeda Wrestling, the former Intercontinental Champion was asked about the one-time segment in which he fielded and answered audience questions live on Monday Night Raw. Although Sami spent the majority of it berating the fans, he did make headlines when he advised those in attendance that they could even ask about AEW, who had just held their inaugural Double or Nothing PPV.
According to Zayn, the decision to mention AEW wasn't entirely off the cuff, but it also wasn't met with the warmest reception backstage.
"So it wasn't entirely, entirely off the cuff but it was off the cuff to a certain degree, and the reaction was, uh, let's say unfavorable (laughs) since the electric chair met its demise that very same week."
WWE wanted to create a new and exciting segment and understood that they would likely get asked about their newfound competitors. Much to their surprise, however, no one brought them up. Sami then took it upon himself to try and deliver on what was advertised.
"So it was right on everybody's mind. It was super, super fresh and I think they had just announced this TV deal. They had just announced that this wasn't just going to be a pay-per-view. This is going to be a competitor and all this sort of stuff. And they tell me that we're doing this segment where it's legitimately, you know, unplanned questions and anybody could ask anything. So at the time, this was the number one topic in the wrestling world. So you kind of expected to be asked about it.
What they were going for was that it had a very risky, unpredictable feel to it... As I was out there, I was like, this doesn't have these vibes, these questions are too sterile. So I felt like it was upon me, it was incumbent upon me, to sort of make it controversial. And the fact that we're talking about it now, all this time later, you know I hate to say I was right, but I kind of think I was right to do it."
Sami still believes in the idea and its potential, but at the end of the day, chalks it up as a failed experiment.
The full interview with SK Wrestling can be seen below:
Sami Zayn will be taking part in the SmackDown Elimination Chamber match on Sunday, February 21, 2021. Fightful will have live coverage of the event beginning at 3:00 PM PST.