Sami Zayn admits ‘first time my faith was shook’ before WWE Championship win
Newly crowned Undisputed WWE Champion Sami Zayn reflected on moments in his wrestling career when he was filled with doubts about being good enough to reach the top.
Speaking with Sam Roberts and Megan Morant on Raw Recap, Zayn reflected on his sentiments and determination after the Undisputed WWE Title match against Roman Reigns in 2023.
“I’ll be honest, I didn’t lose the faith. I certainly didn’t lose the faith after the match in Montreal. It was a heartbreaker, no doubt, okay. But I thought, ‘This is the closest I’ve come, so I’ll just get closer and closer until I get there.’”
“The one that really did my head in a little bit was coming up short against Drew this past January at the Royal Rumble because after that one, that’s when I was already starting to feel like maybe I had missed my window. And I couldn’t give up faith, but it was the first time my faith was shook, if I’m being totally honest.”
“I knew I had the talent. I knew I had everything, I knew I was just as good as any of these guys. Drew, Roman, Cody, Seth. And the proof is you’ve seen me mix it up in the ring with all of them. You’ve seen my body of work. There’s no question in my mind. These are my peers and that’s almost what made it more maddening. ‘Why them and why not me? Why is it so close and I just can’t get my hands on it?’”
Zayn reflected on his mindset when he was first breaking into the wrestling business, explaining how he didn’t fit the traditional mold of wrestler’s physiques and personas.
“When I was breaking into wrestling, people that looked like me, it did not exist in the wrestling business. So I can’t even pretend to say like, ‘Yeah, I’ll get there.’ It didn’t exist. It wasn’t a possibility. If I just made it to WWE, I kid you not, at one point, I remember when I was starting, I said to myself, ‘If I just set my foot in a WWE ring, then I’ll have lived the dream. I’ll have done it.’ That was the extent of my goal.”
“Of course there was this other stuff, but it was so fantastical. It was so unfathomable that I don’t even say dream. I say fantasy. It’s beyond reality. It was not something that was like an available option to even dream about, to even put yourself in those shoes. That’s how unattainable it seemed.”
“So to come here and do what I’ve done, just from an achievement perspective, is absolutely mind boggling.”
At Night of Champions last weekend, Zayn pinned Cody Rhodes in the triple threat match also featuring Gunther to win his first reign as Undisputed WWE Champion.
Rosanne Raphael is a wrestling writer with over three and a half years of experience covering all things related to the industry. From a kindergarten teacher to PR Associate to turning her lifelong passion for the industry into a career, Rosanne is currently writing for F4W Online where she focuses on wrestling news, analysis, and storytelling.
Rosanne previously contributed to Sportskeeda as an Assistant Content Manager.
When not consumed by wrestling, Rosanne is a musician and an aspiring artist.