Sami Zayn Responds To Idea Fans Could Revolt For Him

Sami Zayn has discussed the possibility that WWE fans could do what they did in 2014 and revolt massively if he doesn’t win the Royal Rumble.

In 2014, the WWE Universe was in open revolt against the company when it looked like Daniel Bryan wasn’t on his way to becoming WWE World Champion at WrestleMania 30. The backlash against WWE could be heard at the 2014 Royal Rumble with the fans openly jeering everyone in the match when it became clear that Daniel Bryan wasn’t even in the match never mind winning it. Instead, WWE had plans for the returning Batista to win the Rumble and headline WrestleMania once again.

In the end, Daniel Bryan did end up in that main event at WrestleMania 30 – alongside Batista and Randy Orton – and left New Orleans as the WWE World Champion.

Now with the 2023 Royal Rumble on the horizon, many fans feel that there is a parallel between Bryan’s story and that of Sami Zayn. Zayn is a hugely popular figure with WWE fans and his story with Roman Reigns and The Bloodline could be perfect for a one-on-one match between Zayn and Reigns on The Grandest Stage of Them All.

A returning star could again put a spanner in the works with Cody Rhodes returning to action after missing over six months due to an injury. There are murmurings that if WWE’s plan is to have Rhodes win and eventually face Reigns, the fans could revolt again in favour of Sami Zayn.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani for BT Sport, Zayn has given his thoughts on those suggestions but doesn’t think the strength of feeling among fans is quite the same:

“I don’t know, I don’t know if that’s true or not. I don’t know that. I don’t know that’s in the fans’ minds. Maybe me and you are looking at a certain point a certain way, because we’re kind of like diehards, you know, but I think there’s a lot of casual fans who are just kind of along for the ride. And I don’t think the fans are kind of where they were five, six years ago, where they kind of would like revolt. And were like, no, Daniel Bryan’s the guy, you’re trying to give us Batista. No! We’ll force you!”

“Well, I don’t feel that level of like, I don’t know borderline contempt from the audience towards the creative direction. I think because the story has been so interesting, there’s a little bit of trust, and that it’ll go where it goes, and it will still be fine.”

“I’m sure there are a lot of people who are pulling for me, that’s great, it’s nice to be that guy. But I don’t think it’s at a place where Daniel Bryan was, I believe, in 2014, where it’s like anybody but him is going to be a disaster. And actually, it was, so they had to fix it. They had to play clean up. So I don’t think that it’s necessarily the same.”

Sami Zayn continued and said he could see any fan backlash potentially hurting another Royal Rumble winner if that happens:

“[…] Whether it’s Cody, whether it’s anybody, it could be anybody. If it’s not done right, it could kind of hurt that person. But you know, we work with a lot of people who know how to do things right. So if I’m not the guy, and I genuinely as of this exact conversation, one day before the Royal Rumble, I have no idea what the plan is.”

“I don’t know, I don’t know if it just doesn’t feel that way. And now like, I don’t know, I try to listen to the fans. I try not to pay too much stock in the online kind of thing. But I’m sure there’s a good percentage, again, if you follow nothing else but the storyline. The storyline, it’s a layup that I would be in that conversation. What actually ends up happening is again, it’s not my control.”

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