Sami Zayn has revealed that he was recently on their receiving end of some pretty forceful criticism from Vince McMahon.
No matter who you are, no one in WWE is safe from a telling off from Chairman Vince McMahon. Even if your name is Sami Zayn.
Despite establishing himself as one of the strongest promo guys and best talkers in the modern WWE, Zayn has revealed that he recently found himself on the wrong side of Vince McMahon following a backstage interview.
During an appearance on Out of Character with Ryan Satin, Zayn explained that McMahon ended up screaming at him, after he himself had gotten too loud during an interview. The former Intercontinental Champion said that while he initially wanted to bite back, he knew McMahon was right.
“A few weeks ago, I don’t remember what it was, I did a pretty good job with a backstage interview, and then I saw Vince, like, screaming at me! He was just screaming at me! I’m like, ‘Man, he’s right, though.’ You know, you want to kind of say, I wasn’t really screaming, but then if you take a second and think, I’m like, ‘Yeah, yeah, I am screaming, aren’t I?'”
Continuing on, Zayn discussed his own style of cutting promos compared to wrestlers of the past, explaining that it’s easy to fall back into a style that has previously been successful.
“We still revert sometimes to what we know, and we all grew up on, you know, the 80s and 90s wrestling. If you watch some of those backstage interviews, especially like, you know, Survivor Series 89 or 91 or something. You listen to the words; it’s absolute gibberish. It’s just big crazy men screaming at you. And when you’re young, you’re like, ‘This is going to rule!’ If you actually listen to the words, it’s just nothing. So, sometimes, I think there is the inclination to revert to just being angry; I’m a bad guy, so I’m angry. But that’s not where my bread is buttered, but I do venture on those waters again,”
At WrestleMania 38 Sami Zayn was defeated by his long-time rival Jackass star Johnny Knoxville who pinned him with the aid of a giant mousetrap. On the following episode of SmackDown, he was thrown into a match against Drew McIntyre which he eventually escaped through the crowd.
H/t to Sportskeeda for the transcription.