Sami Zayn believed the interest in his ongoing rivalry with Kevin Owens is unprecedented.
The two Canadians have been battling out for the past two decades, with no signs of stopping. Their matches in ROH and WWE have always excited fans, finding new ways to inflict an increasing amount of pain on one another.
Their saga continues at Elimination Chamber in an unsanctioned match, but Sami Zayn is still amazed at how much the fans still enjoy their matches.
Speaking with Flamesnation, Sami Zayn spoke about the unprecedented nature of his feud with Kevin Owen.
“I agree, and honestly, I don’t even know if there’s a precedent for this. I don’t know if there’s anything to really compare it to—just in terms of sheer time, the amount of time we’ve put into it,” Sami Zayn said.
“Like, I don’t know… Cena and Orton, for example. That was a great rivalry. They ran it a million times, and it was always great, even up until the very last one. And yeah, maybe there were pockets of people who thought, Oh, this again? But by and large, those arenas were packed. People wanted to see that match between two megastars.”
“But I don’t know if they ran it back as many times as we did—or for as long, in total, as we have. So I don’t really know if there’s a precedent for something like this, where you have a match that was a big money draw 15 years ago, and then, 15 years later, it’s still a big-money match. I’m sure there are examples, but nothing comes to mind immediately.”
“And that’s why I feel like this thing between Kevin and me—it’s kind of unprecedented. And honestly, it’s shocking to me, too. Even after the promo I did last week with Adam Pearce, when the match got made. The crowd was chanting, Let them fight! People wanted to see it.”
“You could feel it—like, I need this match, and he doesn’t want to give it to me. But then, when we do get it, everyone’s thrilled. And they’re like, Oh my God, I can’t wait to see this match,”” added Sami Zayn.
Sami Zayn: We Have A Proven Track Record, We Deliver
Sami Zayn continued, noting that he is still excited to wrestle Kevin Owens, mentioning the work that goes into not making their matches feel stale. He added that they have a proven track record in their matches, which allows them to run the match back as often as they do.
“There’s a lot to it. One thing is, I think we’ve built a proven track record—we deliver. But now, you add all these extra variables: it’s an unsanctioned match, it’s in Canada, it’s at the SkyDome—well, the Rogers Centre now.”
“And the story going into it this time is different from the last time we wrestled. So there are all these factors that make it unique. But it’s not some freak occurrence. A lot of work goes into making sure it doesn’t get stale.”
“At the same time, I don’t want to sound boastful, but I take a lot of pride in the fact that people are excited for this match. And even for me—I can’t speak for Kevin—but I’m really excited for it.”
“And that’s wild to say, considering how many times I’ve wrestled Kevin. Maybe a thousand times? Or if we’re going by the old-timer scale, maybe 5,000. However many times we’ve been in the ring together, the fact that I’m still excited for a big match with him—that’s kind of crazy.”
