Sami Zayn will become the face of NXT.
Sami Zayn is the best thing about NXT every single week. Triple H praised him in his conference call as a guy the fans will emotionally invest in; a Daniel Bryan character of sorts, that people genuinely want to see succeed, and will morn when he loses. His promo this past week, finally flipping that switch and showing some “ruthless aggression” on Adrian Neville, was the best thing he’s done since arriving.
There’s a short list of people I would consider the best active pro wrestlers on the planet, just in terms of actual in-ring ability. Daniel Bryan is on that list. Okada and Tanahashi from New Japan Pro Wrestling. Ricochet is starting to invade on their territory. But Sami Zayn is definitely in the top ten, if not top five guys working anywhere.
Tonight’s match is going to be phenomenal. A possible match of the year candidate, perhaps. The story has been simple – Zayn wins enough to build up a groundswell of fan support, but loses “the big one” every time, usually because of matters outside of his control. That’s Daniel Bryan circa 2013, and tonight is WrestleMania 30 on a much smaller scale. I’m excited for Sami. If he doesn’t win, it will be a travesty to the art of storytelling.
