WWE SmackDown star and a former three times WWE Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn who is also a former WWE NXT Champion recently talked about his current popularity among the WWE fans and compared it with the popularity of Daniel Bryan from 2014.
In 2014, WWE was planning a world championship match between Randy Orton and Batista at WrestleMania XXX. It was the time when WWE unified their two World titles and the Universal title was still not introduced. Batista went on to win the WWE Royal Rumble match of 2014 and WWE was expecting a huge support for the former World Champion.
Sami Zayn Compares His Current Popularity From Daniel Bryan In 2014
But that did not happen, in fact, he received terrible reactions from the fans. Daniel Bryan was on the height of popularity during the time and the fans wanted him to main event WrestleMania and to win the World title. WWE had no other option but to change their WrestleMania XXX main event and include Daniel Bryan in it.
WWE fans were expecting a similar situation for Sami Zayn after he became immensely popular among the WWE fans recently following his Bloodline storyline. He even went on to challenge Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal title at the Elimination Chamber pay per view event. But unfortunately that was pretty much it for him.
Sami Zayn who is also a former WWE NXT Champion recently spoke to Ariel Helwani where he talked about his current popularity among the WWE fans and compared it with the popularity of Daniel Bryan from 2014. He said;
“I don’t think the fans are kind of where they were five or six years ago, where they would revolt. Like, ‘No, Daniel Bryan is the guy! you’re trying to give us Batista?! No, we’ll force you!’ I don’t feel that level of borderline contempt from the audience toward the creative direction.
“I think because the story has been so interesting, there’s a little bit of trust in that it’ll go where it goes, and it’ll still be fine. I’m sure there are a lot of people who are pulling for me. That’s great. It’s nice to be that guy, but I don’t think it’s at a place where Daniel Bryan was in 2014 where, if it’s anybody but him, it’s going to be a disaster.
“I don’t think that it’s necessarily the same. Is there a possibility of whether it’s Cody [Rhodes], whether it’s anybody, if it’s done, right, you can do almost anything. It has to be done well. It has to be done just right. If it’s not done right, could there be some kind of backlash to, ‘Man, the story made the most sense. He was the guy that fans liked, everything was right there, but they went this way?’
“If they don’t do it right, there is the possibility of contempt toward whoever that person [that wins the Royal Rumble] is. Whether it’s Cody, whether it’s anyone, it could be anybody. If it’s not done right, it could hurt that person. We work with a lot of people who know how to do things right. So if I’m not the guy, and I genuinely, as of this exact conversation, one day before the Royal Rumble, I have no idea what the plan is.
“I don’t know; it just doesn’t feel that way. I don’t know. I try to listen to the fans. I try not to put too much stock in the online kind of thing. But I’m sure there’s a good percentage like, again, if you follow nothing else but the storyline, the storyline, it’s a layup the I would be in that conversation. What actually ends up happening is, again, it’s not my control.”
H/T and transcribed by Fightful