"I think they just appreciate it more" - Sami Zayn comments on WWE Universe comparing his current run to Daniel Bryan's WrestleMania 30 storyline
WWE WrestleMania is known for creating some of the most memorable moments in all of pro wrestling. Over the past few years, Daniel Bryan's (Bryan Danielson in AEW) WrestleMania 30 performance has been a popular moment, and some believe Sami Zayn could follow in his shoes.
While Bryan Danielson is a far more heelish character in AEW, during his run in WWE, the star was largely a babyface underdog except for his "No" run. Similarly, Sami Zayn has been both a devious heel, as well as a babyface, and with his upcoming Elimination Chamber bout coming up, he could walk into WrestleMania as a champion.
During his appearance on The Sick Podcast, Zayn commented on the organic nature of Danielson's popularity in WWE leading up to WrestleMania 30.
"I think the commonality there is just that it's something that the audience kind of did on their own," Zayn said. "I think any time you have the audience driving the emotion, it's just a much deeper connection when they're the ones choosing it and not being told ‘hey, choose this’. I think they just appreciate it more and get into it more." [H/T: WrestlingInc.]
"It looks more and more like at #WrestleMania, it's going to be me standing there challenging for the championship against @SamiZayn." - @CodyRhodes
#WWERaw https://t.co/rovIo6kqIh
Dustin Rhodes recently compared Sami Zayn's popularity in Montreal to CM Punk's overwhelming fanbase in Chicago, which notably still has chants for the star even when WWE has shows in the city.
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Bryan Danielson's original WWE WrestleMania story didn't have the same storybook ending
One of the most well-received things about Bryan Danielson's WrestleMania 30 bout was that he not only beat both Randy Orton and Batista, but also took on Triple H earlier in the card.
Wrestlemania 30. Daniel Bryan beats Batista and Randy Orton to become WWE World Heavyweight Champion. https://t.co/B4HEgoc81K
During a recent Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer revealed that Vince McMahon had initially planned to have Danielson lose the WWE Championship soon after WrestleMania 30.
"With Danielson that’s what he was going to do, but Danielson got hurt first. With Kofi [Kingston] that’s what he did. If Zayn goes in there and it’s Roman [Reigns] or Brock Lesnar or Bobby Lashley, they’re just going to kill this guy at SummerSlam if he gets over. That’s where it differs because I don’t know if [Triple H] will do it that way," said Meltzer. [From 12:09 to 12:49]
As Meltzer points out, it's not clear if Triple H would go the same route that McMahon might have if he was still running Creative in the promotion. With the amount of fans behind Zayn, squashing the star might just result in some serious backlash.