Sami Zayn was a big fan of the Thunderdome era but wishes WWE took more advantage of the situation they were in.
SmackDown star Sami Zayn recently appeared on Out of Character with Ryan Satin and offered up a bit of a hot take. The former Intercontinental Champion explains that while he loves the fans, he was also a fan of WWE’s Thunderdome era. Despite that, Zayn believes that the company could’ve taken advantage of the unique opportunity and presented the product in a different manner.
“I loved the Thunderdome era…it’s an unpopular opinion, I know. It’s no secret that I love the fans and I’m not gonna say that all the time, but I really do, I have a deep love for all of you, very profound, It means so much to me and I know how lucky we are just to all be sharing this time together, it’s a miracle that we’re all here, it really is,” Zayn noted. “So, I don’t take that lightly, however, not having you guys there in the Thunderdome, opened the door for some new, creative ways to do things, which, for me, personally, in my opinion, isn’t something that I think we, as a company, took full advantage of.
“Because we still tried to present the show as if fans were there, but they weren’t there. Especially before the Thunderdome when it was in an empty PC, that’s why some of it felt so weird. Part of the reason that I’m such a fan of my match with Daniel Bryan, I know it’s not exactly what you’d expect to see on paper, Sami Zayn versus Daniel Bryan, Intercontinental Championship. You’re expecting one thing and I know it wasn’t that and I would’ve loved to have that,” Zayn explained, “but the thing that I’m so proud about that match is, when you go back and watch it, it doesn’t feel weird that it’s in an empty arena…never. And when you watch the rest of WrestleMania, a lot of the matches feel really weird that it’s in an empty arena.”
Zayn went on to explain that the fans are a huge part of the presentation and although his own character took advantage of the situation, he wonders how it would have played out if certain things were different.
“So again, that’s part of, in my opinion, missed opportunity to present the show in a slightly different way, a different context. Now that the biggest piece of the set, which is the fans, the most interactive, the most unique part of the show aren’t there, it really could’ve put us in a different perspective on how we present the product. I personally don’t think we took full advantage of it, but for me and my character, I think it gave me room to do more things. And saying all that, I do still wonder in the back of my head, because I loved the stuff that I was doing with the documentary,” Zayn said, “I wonder how the fans would’ve reacted if there were fans at the time. I wonder if they would’ve cheered some of it or turn on me a little bit. Even the stuff where I handcuffed myself to the barricade all night with the protest, like how would that have been if fans were at the show, ya know?”
Related: Sami Zayn Credits Dusty Rhodes With Helping Him Discover His ‘Subdued’ Promo Style
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