Sami Zayn Says His Loss At Elimination Chamber Hurt, Main Eventing WrestleMania Softened The Blow

Sami Zayn had a big run at the start of the year against Roman Reigns, and he acknowledged that it wasn’t easy to lose to Reigns at Elimination Chamber in Montreal. Zayn talked about his storyline with The Bloodline, his loss to Reigns at Elimination Chamber and main eventing WrestleMania 39 night one on Out of Character with Ryan Satin. You can check out some highlights below, per Wrestling Inc:

On how he felt after losing at Elimination Chamber: “If you want the truth, it was a little hard. I don’t think I’m being controversial in saying this, but I’m not the chosen guy — obviously. I’ve been handed a lot of opportunities, and I’ve delivered on a lot of those opportunities throughout my time with the company, and I’m grateful for all of it. But, I don’t think anyone would say, ‘Oh clearly, he was being positioned to be the top guy or be the most popular guy on the show.’ Obviously, that’s not the case, and that’s fine.”

On his underdog story at the start of the year: “It’s like a lighting-in-the-bottle type of a thing,” Zayn said of his run earlier this year. “You don’t get it very often. And then when you kinda get it, you’re like, ‘Well, you almost feel like the story, the audience, your performance, all of it … it’s gotten you to the exact place you dreamed you’d be. And then when you get there, you just kinda fall short, and you don’t know if you’ll ever get it back. So, for sure it’s hard. You don’t know if you can do it again — and like I said, it’s only happened a handful of times in the last 10 years.”

On the story arc as a whole: “I don’t have any bad things to say about anything involving that story,” Zayn admitted. “But if you’re asking me … was it a tough pill to swallow to come that close and not quite make it? I’d be lying if I said ‘No, it didn’t bother me at all.’ For sure, there was a part of me that had problems digesting that.”

On main eventing WrestleMania helping soften that blow: “Greatly! {laughs] Let me tell you, that softened the blow — a lot. … At the time, I also didn’t even know it. I only found out a little bit after that, and I was like ‘Oh, okay. It’s fine.’ To be honest, even that night, by the end of the night, I was like, ‘No, that’s not true [that I lost at Elimination Chamber].’ I didn’t bounce back and kick out of it right away. It still lingered a little bit … this feeling of whatever you want to call it, disappointment. I’d be lying if I said that went away overnight… It was the story that did that, so that’s very, very special. It still ended in triumph for me as a character, which is very, very special. So, for sure, I can’t tell you how much that [win] eased the sting of losing in Montreal.

On saying he felt like he let Montreal down in the post-show press event: “I believe in just not BS-ing and just answering truthfully. That’s my interview style — for better, for worse, that’s what I went with this long in my career, and that’s what I continue to do…. [A few days later, Triple H] was like, ‘Dude, what was with you in that press conference? You were such a downer. You gotta think of what those people saw. Those people just saw the culmination of this amazing story for the last year, and they saw one of the most electric crowds ever, and the whole night was amazing. You brought it down with that interview.’ I kind of saw his point, actually, because I was looking at it through my lens,” Zayn added. The talk with Triple H put things into perspective for Zayn, who realized that he had to start looking at the bigger picture rather than just a solitary win or loss. “Again, what Hunter said was true. If you’re just a fan, you got to see something incredible! So, that also helped me alter my state a little bit. That, in conjunction, with main-eventing WrestleMania [laughs].”