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John Cena Comments on Sami Zayn’s Incredible Journey From a Struggler to a Fan Favorite: “It Has Taken Him Three and a Half Years”

Published Mar 25, 2023 | 12:00 PM EDT

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Today, just a few days away from this year’s biggest night in WWE, fans are eagerly waiting for the great matches at the SoFi Stadium. When WWE creatives are busy building hype around the main event between Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes, the former ‘Bloodline’ member Sami Zayn is shining like venus among the fans. 

Since the Royal Rumble 2023, Sami’s popularity has been increasing. While many are busy praising his ‘fortune‘, the 16-time WWE world champion, John Cena, unfolded the unread pages of Zayn’s career. Recently, Andrew Santino hosted the latest episode of ‘Whiskey Ginger’ with John Cena. The two talked about several things including Cena’s WWE career, and also his OG in-ring gimmick.

The ‘Cenation Leader’ put a light on Zayn’s struggle 

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During the interview, Sami Zayn’s name came up and the ‘Cenation Leader’ took a minute to praise his hard work. John Cena said that Sami has been in the wrestling business for a very long time. Before WWE, Sami worked very hard and earned a good name in the independent circuit. Moreover, when he got into WWE, he once again grabbed the limelight. However, with his main roster debut, came some struggles in connecting with the audience. 

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While talking to the host, John Cena said, “I got to give Sammy his comeuppance. He is a guy who’s been in the business a long time and worked really hard in circuits outside the WWE and made a great name for himself. Then got in WWE in the NXT program and made a great name for himself. And then got into WWE and kind of struggled to connect with the audience.”

Cena praised Sami’s determination and hard work

The 16-time WWE world champion further elaborated that people think that Zayn’s current run in WWE is fortunate. Cena mentioned that the former ‘Honorary Uce’ reconstructed his character for more than three years, he added, “And everyone now, because he’s very popular now thinks it’s like ‘all right, it clicked’. His character went through a major reconstruction just about three years ago. Maybe even a little bit more than that. It has taken him….you know three and a half years and now it’s all that hard work. And I can see it. I see how hard he works and I see how he’s invested in connecting with the audience and it’s paid off everybody loves him because they know who he is.”

Read More:- “I Allowed WWE to…”: Sami Zayn Lets WWE Cameras Into His Personal Life Seven Years After Main Roster Debut

John Cena has always praised Sami Zayn for his hard work. The one reason why Cena finds Zayn so relatable could be the similarity between the two.

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The connection between John Cena and Sami Zayn

The former ‘Honorary Uce’ made his main roster debut in WWE against John Cena in May 2015. Although Zayn lost the match, he performed phenomenally and then he slowly carved his niche in WWE. 

Similarly, the ‘Cenation Leader’, also made his debut against a big name, Kurt Angle, in 2002. Even though he failed to pin Angle in that match, he soon conquered the entire locker room.

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What is your take on Sami Zayn’s journey in the WWE? 

Watch This Story:-  The Evolution of Dwayne Johnson

Written by:

Manjot Kaur

418Articles

One take at a time

Manjot is a WWE writer at EssentiallySports. Being a Martial Artist herself, she is a huge WWE fan since high school. She completed her bachelors in computer science but writing gave her joy rather than programming.
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Edited by:

Jayant Chhabra