On his FTR podcast, Dax Harwood recently talked Sami Zayn, recalling why he didn’t like Zayn when they first met and discussing Zayn’s enthusiasm for pro wrestling and his current run in WWE. According to Harwood:
“It’s crazy but also it’s not because Sami, unapologetically, Sami is very detail oriented and he’s a stickler for the things he does, the same as me, but he’s just less abrasive than I am. Sometimes he can get a reputation because of that, because some people are like, oh, it’s not that important, don’t think about it, but to him it is important. So in his mind, he could have always been there, you know, and I think as well. Sami and I, we were really good friends and he traveled with us a few times, one of my favorite traveling partners, too. I knew the drive and determination he had from the beginning, I mean, I did not like him when I first met him. We had our tryout together in June of 2012 and I told him this story. But some issues happened and we were all in a hotel together and cops came and started knocking on all of our doors, and he and I almost saw me simultaneously opened the door at the same time. And he said, do you know where this guy is? And I said, no, I don’t know where this guy is. He said, well, you need to find out where he is and he slammed the door.
“And I’m like, this motherfucker, you know what I mean? You don’t tell me what to do, I don’t care if you’ve been a ROH Champion or whatever you are, you don’t tell me what to do. So I had a bad taste in my mouth. When we both got hired, we were all out to lunch with a couple of other people, and we were talking or whatever and he’s like, you know who really surprised me that they got hired? Everybody’s like, who, and he looked right at me and he said, you, I’m really surprised you got hired. And I was like, this guy, he doesn’t have a fucking filter, so we had words there or whatever. But he does have a bit of a reputation when you first meet him, I think, but that’s because he’s so passionate, man. Just like me, he’s so passionate about it. I think he’s finally been given the opportunity to do what he’s always been able to do. That’s, you know, above talent, is the opportunity, as long as you get that opportunity, man and you believe in yourself and you’ve got the talents to do it, you can do it and if he wants to main event WrestleMania and make these people believe, if there’s one person in this world who can do that, it’s him.”
You can check out the podcast below:
(H/T to Joshie Lopez and WrestlingHeadlines.com for the transcription)
