Sami Zayn explains recent babyface/heel dynamic: ‘This one is kind of different’
Sami Zayn discussed his character’s recent heel/babyface dynamic in a new interview.
During an interview with The Toronto Sun, Zayn said that he doesn’t feel his character has fully turned heel. He said things are “organically unfolding” and there are still multiple places the story could go.
Zayn said:
“I’ll disagree with your statement that I’ve fully turned heel here. I don’t think I have. I think I’m trying to play this one a little different because this one is kind of different. We’re kind of riding these reactions which are kind of different week to week.
I had this idea for a slight character shift that would be a little outside the box, that would split the audience a little bit, but sometimes things just don’t work out exactly how you envision it. Sometimes you think you’re going to be somewhere on the timeline and you’re not.”
He said there are still multiple directions his character could take, but admitted his recent actions towards the Gingerbread Man on SmackDown were always going to get a negative reaction.
“I still think there’s a ways to go and it could still go in a number of different ways, which I find very interesting and refreshing. Although to be fair, if you kick a mannequin gingerbread man below the belt, I know that might upset some people because people want to have fun.”
Elsewhere during the interview, Zayn mentioned that he wouldn’t call Trick Williams a full-blown good guy, despite the positive reactions he gets from crowds.
“I don’t think Trick Williams is a full-blown (babyface), even though he’s getting really great reactions, I don’t know if I would call him a full-blown good guy or babyface or whatever. But certainly he’s getting these huge cheers and what’s gotten him cheered is maybe not the same thing that’s gotten me cheered in the past.”
Zayn also discussed his recent comments on SmackDown about his “ride or die” fans.
“I think this kind of polarizing thing and talking about my fans, like the ride or die fans that haven’t turned their back on me or whatever, that kind of stuff, I just think there’s something fun there. And I like giving fans a choice. You can be on either side of the fence a little bit, but again, we’ll kind of see because everything is organically unfolding. We’ll see where things land.
But I don’t think I’ve fully committed or fully embraced the dark side as you would maybe put it.”
Zayn’s full interview with The Toronto Sun is available below:
Ian Carey is a writer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, whose work has been featured in NOW Magazine, The Huffington Post, and more. A lifelong wrestling aficionado born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he has covered the industry for a decade and a half. He joined the f4wonline.com team in 2019.