“The more work you put in, and the more you constantly and consistently give good performances against good opponents and constantly exceed people’s expectations, the more you really endear yourself to the crowd. That’s how your career takes off – it’s just consistency and time.”
― Sami Zayn
“The thing, in general, about being a good person is just do the right thing as often as possible.”
― Sami Zayn
“I want to leave a legacy behind that is undeniable.”
― Sami Zayn
“I’m an idealist. You do things your way well enough, for long enough, you’ll get rewarded.”
― Sami Zayn
“I do feel, in a lot of ways, that I’m living proof that anything is possible.”
― Sami Zayn
“If I can be a positive Arab figure on such a large platform such as the WWE, and become some sort of an inspiration to an Arab kid in Lebanon, Egypt, or Jordan, then that’s amazing.”
― Sami Zayn
“Everyone’s the hero in their own story. You’ve lived your life. You’re the good guy of your life, the protagonist of your own movie. Everyone knows that they have more in them to offer than they sometimes show.”
― Sami Zayn
“I think you’ve still got to try to be good, day-to-day. You see a granny, you hold the door open for her. You just try to do the right thing. I don’t know if that makes you a saint or the greatest guy in the world, but trying is a start.”
― Sami Zayn
“Not every magical moment in your career is going to happen on the biggest stage of the year.”
― Sami Zayn
“When I signed with WWE, a lot of people, even close friends, told me that this place was going to chew me up and spit me out, just because of the way my personality is. It’s been an adjustment for me as a human being.”
― Sami Zayn
“It’s a slow process, getting hired by WWE. First, you get noticed; you’re on their radar. Then you come for a tryout. Then you wait to hear back. There’s the physical. It’s a very long process.”
― Sami Zayn
“I don’t think it really serves to make the world a better place, when you’re only concerned about yourself.”
― Sami Zayn
“I’m very proud that I can be myself. I’m not trying to be Arabic, I’m just being me, and I happen to be Arabic. I think that might be refreshing to some people, and it’s a bit more realistic than these pantomime villains we’ve seen before.”
― Sami Zayn
“I’m very much an Arab, although I need to practise my Arabic more.”
― Sami Zayn
“The Full Sail crowd, it’s a pretty unique and a pretty distinct environment. It’s very close quarters and a bit more of what I’m used to from my days on the independents. But the truth is, I sometimes think that it’s harder to win over a small crowd sometimes than it is to win over a big crowd.”
― Sami Zayn
“I’m a Canadian citizen, but I do have a green card.”
― Sami Zayn
“I always consider myself Syrian. I just happen to be born in Canada.”
― Sami Zayn
“Any time I’m donating to charity, I feel it’s very daunting.”
― Sami Zayn
“It’s just so weird how you get so used to what we do: I could go in there and wrestle main events on Live Events for 25-30 minutes, but I couldn’t really get the sheets off me in bed. It’s weird how that works. Your body just adapts.”
― Sami Zayn
“The Hardys were a huge influence on me becoming a wrestler. Not so much the moves themselves, but the concepts behind the moves: trying to be innovative and just being exciting.”
― Sami Zayn
“I don’t ever want to be boring.”
― Sami Zayn
“Sitting on the sidelines is so painful because it’s very difficult for me to watch wrestling and not be a participant in the ring, since that’s just where I belong.”
― Sami Zayn
“I belong in the ring.”
― Sami Zayn
“I want to do something that has never been done, and that’s become the first two-time NXT Champion. In a sense, that’s a strange distinction to want, but that has to be my goal while I’m in NXT.”
― Sami Zayn
“A lot of people think I reacted a little too emotionally when I said, ‘If I can’t beat Adrian Neville, I’m done.’ But the truth is, my whole life, I’ve always followed my heart and my emotions.”
― Sami Zayn
“I don’t know if it’s a male thing, but a lot of our emotions end up manifesting themselves in the form of anger.”
― Sami Zayn
“Feeling stupid is a terrible feeling.”
― Sami Zayn
“I am very privileged. I have everything I want and more.”
― Sami Zayn
“It’s definitely a sensitive topic to discuss, but I have felt, since I signed with the WWE, I was in a unique position to reestablish how Arabs were perceived in the WWE and western media.”
― Sami Zayn
“Ever since I was a kid and growing up and watching things like the ‘Naked Gun’ movies, there was always this stereotype about how Arabs were perceived and portrayed. I’ve never watched those Arab villains in the movie and felt like that was me.”
― Sami Zayn
“I think it’s important for youngsters from all walks of life to have some sort of representative that they can look up to and aspire to be and let them know there’s a chance for anybody from any background.”
― Sami Zayn
“That’s the spirit of America, right? Anybody from any background can make it anywhere with enough hard work.”
― Sami Zayn
“If you work really hard at something for a really, really long time, you do it well. Eventually, somebody will notice.”
― Sami Zayn
“I was born in Canada, but both my parents are Syrian – they moved to Canada in the ’70s, and I was born in a 100-percent-Arab house.”
― Sami Zayn
“Sometimes you have to say what’s on your mind if it’s something that’s really important to you.”
― Sami Zayn
“I don’t want to tell fans what to think or what to believe or whatever, but at the same time, some things just hit you very personally.”
― Sami Zayn
“Selfishly, it feels great for me to do something that might put a smile on someone else’s face.”
― Sami Zayn
“Man, it feels great to do anything that might brighten someone else’s day.”
― Sami Zayn
“You have to stand by your beliefs.”
― Sami Zayn
“I was always a wrestling fan, and being an Arab kid who grew up in Canada, there was no representation for people like me.”
― Sami Zayn
“I think fans always felt that I try real hard and I am passionate about what I do.”
― Sami Zayn
“When I was a teenager, a friend of mine got a job on a wrestling radio show in Montreal, and he found a local professional wrestler who was able to train us.”
― Sami Zayn
“I have always loved wrestling and grew up watching it – my earliest memories include watching Hulk Hogan.”
― Sami Zayn
“I always wanted to be a wrestler when I grew up.”
― Sami Zayn
“I hate the word ‘annoying!’”
― Sami Zayn
“I have no pokerface.”
― Sami Zayn
“I’m bad at fishing for information.”
― Sami Zayn
“The heel I want to be is real mouthy, which is fine, but I want to be a guy that can be taken seriously to win the world title.”
― Sami Zayn
“I just want to win the world title; I don’t want to be a guy that Vince McMahon looks at and says, ‘Never. We can’t.’”
― Sami Zayn
“Neville and I are big fans of ska. He’s actually more into original, Jamaican, skinhead, two-tone ska from England, but I’m more into punk ska – Operation Ivy and stuff Rancid would do.”
― Sami Zayn
“The game has changed since the ’80s, where you could punch and kick and headlock and do one suplex, and that’s a 25 minute match.”
― Sami Zayn
“A crowd’s a crowd, and to me, it’s not so much about the size as much it is the energy we’re getting.”
― Sami Zayn
“I’ve worked in front of crowds of two hundred that sounded like a thousand, and I’ve worked in front of crowds of five thousand that sounded like two hundred. It really varies with the energy level with any given crowd on any given night.”
― Sami Zayn
“I have been in the ring with Kevin Owens for about 12 years; I’m used to getting beat up.”
― Sami Zayn
“I’ve been beat up pretty badly back in my day.”
― Sami Zayn
“I have that inherent performer personality.”
― Sami Zayn
“I feel like you almost have to have this mentality: wherever you are is the place to be, and any show you’re on is better because you are there.”
― Sami Zayn
“It’s got to be repetition of me over and over again, constantly delivering the goods every time I’m out there. And that’s how I’m going to get to where I need to be, which is in an important match at WrestleMania every year.”
― Sami Zayn
“I don’t think there’s anything that defines WrestleMania more than Hulk Hogan and The Rock standing across from each other and the crowd going ballistic.”
― Sami Zayn
“If I had to explain what WrestleMania was to someone who’s never seen wrestling, never seen WWE, never heard of the concept of WrestleMania, I would show them a five second video clip of The Rock and Hulk Hogan standing motionless in the ring while 70,000 people are jumping up and down.”
― Sami Zayn
“Montreal is my home town – I love it to death – but Toronto, I think, might have to be the best market in Canada. From a numbers perspective, it definitely is. The fans are incredible, and every time we go there, it sells out. It’s awesome, and the fans are incredible.”
― Sami Zayn
“Lifelong wrestling fans who are discovering NXT and being like, ‘Wait, this is the kind of wrestling I used to like,’ or, ‘I like this’ – it’s succinct. It’s an hour long. You’ve got some great wrestlers, and you’ve got great storytelling, and it’s simple, and it’s gritty.”
― Sami Zayn
“I love hearing positive things; somewhere, way deep down, I’m sure I’m an egomaniac. I guess all performers are, in a way.”
― Sami Zayn
“I believe in just being yourself, and the whole kit and caboodle comes with it.”
― Sami Zayn
“Even when you just hear the word ‘Syria,’ it packs a lot of political connotations.”
― Sami Zayn
“If there’s a cause you believe in, go out there, get active, and do it.”
― Sami Zayn
“If my parents didn’t come to Canada in the ’70s, I probably wouldn’t be living my dream to be a WWE superstar.”
― Sami Zayn
“Your priorities change when you get older.”
― Sami Zayn
“Russ Courtnall was my absolute favorite player. Patrick Roy was there, too, of course.”
― Sami Zayn
“When I was playing street hockey, I really thought that I had some skills!”
― Sami Zayn
“As a kid growing up in Montreal, I wanted to become either a hockey player or a wrestler. Since my family didn’t have a lot of money, my parents never put me in a hockey league because it was so expensive.”
― Sami Zayn
“When I was 17 years old, I was given the opportunity to be trained as a wrestler. At the time, I never really thought about making it a career. I only saw it as a chance to do something that I always wanted to do.”
― Sami Zayn
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