“I was really unhappy here” - Sami Zayn opens up about the toughest times in his WWE career
WWE Superstar Sami Zayn has detailed his experience of sitting on the sidelines at times in the company.
The former NXT Champion has been a prominent figure on WWE programming ever since making his main roster debut in 2015. However, it hasn't always been smooth sailing for the Conspiracy Theorist, as he's spent a fair amount of time without an active storyline.
Speaking about his main roster run on this week's Out of Character podcast with Ryan Satin, Sami Zayn stated that although he has featured regularly on TV Shows, the time he spent sitting in catering made him feel unappreciated:
"I've been pretty prominently featured since coming up on the main roster,"- said Sami. "It happened once or twice where I was just sitting on the sidelines and those are the only times I was really unhappy here. It would only last maybe two or three weeks, but nothing is worse than feeling unappreciated and unvalued."
The Conspiracy Theorist added that it isn't usually the company's fault and these things happen to everyone due to the large roster size.
"It's not like they're [WWE] outwardly trying to spite you and say, 'We don't care about you, go sit in catering.' They're not saying that. There's just so much talent and television time, and sometimes the dominoes stack a certain way, and you're just on the sidelines. That happens to almost everybody,"- Sami added. [19:00 to 19:35]
Sami Zayn is enjoying more creative input in his WWE storylines
Sami Zayn is currently doing some of his most unique character work in Vince McMahon's company. The Underdog from the Underground recently renewed his contract for an additional three years.
Zayn explained on the same podcast that one of the main reasons he re-signed with WWE is that he's allowed to have more significant creative input in his feuds than he used to:
"Having even a little bit of creative input, I think that's really what's taken my appreciation and my enjoyment of being here in WWE to another level. I'll say, 'Hey, I really wish we would kind of do this.' And when some version of it happens, I'm thrilled, I'm over the moon, what more could you ask for? That's it."
Sami also detailed that while he doesn't always get everything he wants in the exact way he wants it, the creative team is always open to his suggestions.
The SmackDown Superstar recently battled Jackass star Johnny Knoxville at WrestleMania 38 in one of the most entertaining matches of the year. The bout had numerous memorable moments and helped Sami showcase his talent on the Grandest Stage of Them All.
If you use any quotes from the article, please credit the Out of Character podcast with H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for transcription.