After losing out to Johnny Knoxville at WrestleMania 38, and just generally not having things not go his way, Sami Zayn sought some friendship with Roman Reigns and The Bloodline.
What began with Zayn helping The Usos in matches, and playing the role of annoying little brother, led to him becoming the ‘Honorary Uce’ in September. Although Jey Uso still had his doubts, Zayn pledged his allegiance to the faction, finally gaining acceptance at Survivor Series. At the event Zayn turned his back on Kevin Owens to lead the group to victory. After the match he was embraced by both Jey Uso and Roman Reigns.
Sami Zayn On What Impresses Him About Roman Reigns
As a result of his on-screen connection with The Bloodline, Zayn has had the chance to work closely with Roman Reigns. The Undisputed WWE Universal Champion is currently in the midst of the best run of his career, gathering acclaim for his performances at every turn.
Speaking in a new interview with Peter Rosenberg, Zayn explained what it’s like to work so closely with the Tribal Chief.
“Getting to work with him, I learned a little bit more about his process at work. I’ve known him as a guy for many years and it’s always been very amicable, but it’s the first time I get to really work with him especially now when he’s elevated his game to a whole other stratosphere. One of the things that has impressed me the most is his poise,”
“There’s kind of no way to learn that but to go through it and get it, kind of like wisdom. The only way to be wise is to live and learn. He’s lived and learned in this business. It’s reflected in some of those on-screen interactions.”
Continuing on, Zayn cited one segment in particular where these things came to the fore.
“For example, the one we had at Survivor Series, which I kind of wish that backstage that we had done was on television because I think it would have gotten…people would have been able to sit in it a little longer, whereas, as part of the thread at Survivor Series, it was a great piece of the totality of the night, but it got us to where we needed to go. If it was on TV, it could sit and breathe for a week, people could talk and dissect it.
I was really pleased with that backstage interview where he would look me in the eyes to figure out if he could trust me. If you watch that back, as I did, he sat in silence in a way that is very difficult to do, especially in a pro wrestling backstage. You don’t get 45 seconds of silence in a backstage, but he did it and it played very well. Each second made it more agonizing and more intense.
Obviously, it’s not something you talk about like, ‘Okay, sit there for 45 seconds.’ His poise, ability, and confidence to hold that moment was very impressive to me.”
Following their victory at Survivor Series all is well with The Bloodline, but recent reports suggest that the harmony won’t last. It has been reported that Roman Reigns will put his Undisputed WWE Universal Title on the line against Kevin Owens at the Royal Rumble before facing Sami Zayn a month later. This will then lead to a huge match with Dwayne Johnson at WrestleMania 39.
H/t to Fightful