Sami Zayn isn’t backing down from the critics who question whether he fits the mold of a WWE Champion.
Since capturing the title, Zayn has been at the center of an ongoing debate about what a world champion should look like in the modern era. While a handful of voices have pushed back on his reign, the majority of fans have rallied behind him. In a new interview with ESPN New York, Zayn addressed that criticism head-on, making clear he has no issue with people simply not being fans of his.
“Look, if you just don’t like me, that’s fine. You’re certainly allowed to not like me,” Zayn said. “But I think it’s like, if you start getting married to an archetype of what you’ve been taught, like this is what you should want and then that’s all you buy, without insulting anybody here, I just think that’s kind of a lack of free thought.”
Zayn went on to encourage more close-minded fans to expand their expectations of what a champion can be, comparing a rigid view of the title to never leaving one’s hometown. “You’re allowed to want other products or enjoy other products. It shouldn’t be one thing has been sold to you and you should come to accept that it is the only way anything needs to be done,” Zayn said. “I would equate that with almost like staying in your hometown your whole life and never going to New York City and never realizing that there’s a whole planet out there, there’s billions of ways to do things.”
Zayn, a noted world traveler, credited his experiences abroad with shaping his outlook. “Maybe I say this because traveling the world has been so important to me and it’s shaped my worldview, but it’s like, man, broaden your horizons a little bit,” he said. Ultimately, he rejected the notion that a champion must adhere to any single template. “The idea that a champion needs to be this or needs to be that, I’m like, oh, well, you’re an idiot. Nothing needs to be anything, right? If it’s good, it’s good. I think the work I’ve been putting out over the last few years is good.”
