"He's done in my book" - Ric Flair on his "heat" with WWE SmackDown Superstar
Ric Flair has fallen out with two-time Intercontinental Champion and current WWE SmackDown Superstar Sami Zayn.
Zayn has been in a feud with Jackass star Johnny Knoxville over the last month, with the WWE Superstar even being kicked out of Knoxville's movie premiere.
On the Wooooo Nation Uncensored podcast, host Mark Madden discussed Sami Zayn with Ric Flair and stated that he wasn't a fan of him even in his previous incarnation as El Generico. Flair opened up about his relationship with Zayn and said that actor Johnny Knoxville is the only person the Canadian star could possibly beat.
"That's (Knoxville) the only guy on the roster that Zayn could probably beat. If he (Zayn) gets heat with me, he's got to get heat with the marks," said Flair. (From 14:50 to 15:01)
The Hall of Famer then said that he found it tough to have conversations with Zayn backstage in the company, and compared him to the likes of Kevin Owens.
"For me, personally, when I got to make small talk to get along with Sami Zayn... that's all I've got to say. When I got to walk through to make small talk... with Kevin Owens — who is 10 times the performer and a great guy - who understands and respects who I am; and Sami Zayn kind of easing around in the hallway and I got to make small talk to connect with him, he's done in my book," said the pro wrestling legend. (From 15:29 to 15:58)
It’s go time!!!
Headed to the #jackassforever world premiere!
See you soon, Johnny Knoxville :) https://t.co/uF5G92hMTL
Madden added that he doesn't rate Zayn highly as a performer.
Sami Zayn admitted he rubbed people the wrong way backstage in WWE
I was warned by @WWE to curtail my “obsessive” behavior towards Knoxville.
So I flew myself to LA to attend the world premiere of his movie, #JackassForever .
At this point, I had calmed down a bit so I really went to LA to enjoy myself and show support.
I had an AMAZING day! https://t.co/YUnnTob4Cm
In an appearance on The New Day's podcast, Zayn agreed that he wasn't mature when he joined WWE and wasn't aware of how he was being perceived by his colleagues.
"WWE made me aware of some of my own actions. I came in and the big mantra was perception is reality. Even though I was 28 when I got there, I don't think I was a fully mature person in some ways," said Zayn.
He recognized that others around him felt he was annoying, which he realized late on and looked at him through their lens.