Sami Zayn On Not Working During The Pandemic – “At The Time It Made Sense Not To Go In”

Former WWE Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn has revealed how he told Vince McMahon that he would not be working through the pandemic era of WWE.

After the professional wrestling world came to a standstill following the outbreak of COVID-19 and World Wrestling Entertainment were forced to move their biggest event of the year to the Performance Center, many of the company’s stars went missing from television including Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn.

While Roman Reigns had a legitimate excuse thanks to his previous history with illness, many in the industry didn’t understand why others would choose to miss work when so little was known about the virus at the very beginning.

As Sami Zayn explained in an interview with Sportskeeda, it was exactly for that reason that he decided it would not be safe for him to work post-WrestleMania 36 while he explained how he informed Vince McMahon that he would not be available for the foreseeable future:

“Now, we know so much more about COVID-19, we know so much more about the pandemic and everything. But at the time in March, there was a lot of uncertainty. We really didn’t know what the deal was, and I had some family circumstances that, at the time, it made sense to not go in.

Wrestlers are already hardwired not to say no, you give me a task and I’m gonna nail it, that sort of… there’s a pride to the performer in that. So, anytime, you opt out of something, it’s already difficult enough, and then on top of it, on the biggest stage imaginable.”

While not attending work through health fears was difficult for Sami Zayn, it turned out to be a walk in the park compared to telling Vince McMahon that he couldn’t work until everything had died down: