Sami Zayn Received “Unfavourable” Reaction For Mentioning AEW

Sami Zayn has discussed the short-lived electric chair segment on Raw and how his mentioning of AEW might have brought about its demise.

Speaking to Sportskeeda, Zayn discussed the segment that would see him take unvetted questions from members of the WWE Universe in 2019.

The electric chair segment took place two days after AEW’s first-ever pay-per-view Double Or Nothing in May 2019. With the upstart company at the forefront of the wrestling world’s mind, Zayn was expecting to be asked about All Elite Wrestling.

Zayn explains:

“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.”

However, no questions about AEW were forthcoming from the WWE audience. Zayn then took it upon himself to mention the company, a decision that wasn’t looked upon too positively backstage.

Zayn comments:

“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.”

Looking back, Zayn suggests that despite not getting the best reaction backstage, in the long run, he was possibly right to try and liven the segment up:

“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 Zayn took part in the Elimination Chamber match for a chance to compete for the WWE Universal Championship. Full results from the Elimination Chamber event can be found here.

Credit: Sportskeeda