10 Best Wrestling Talkers Of 2019 (So Far)

7. Sami Zayn

Jon Moxley NJPW
WWE.com

Sami Zayn is as irritating as your ar*e when you don't wipe it properly. He is a just magnificently annoying heel who has mastered the most teeth-gnashing method of expression.

The rising inflection at the end of sentences, just to make sure us thickets are really getting what it is he's trying to say; the constant, constant questions, as if he finds the idea of the audience holding any power some awful, impenetrable mystery; his impersonations of that audience as braying, braindead, dumbasses: it is scorching.

It's not clear what Sami is channelling - frustrations at WWE, who will use the Ultimate Warrior as a progressive symbol, but will not publicly back his relationship with the Syrian American Medical Society? - but the material resonates with such heft that it's as if he really believes it. Maybe he does. It certainly feels enough like that to almost involuntarily reject the material as bullsh*t he can't possibly believe, which is what I've just done.

This new gimmick has been deemphasised of late, sadly, giving way to another retread of his partnership with Kevin Owens. And it's a shame: had WWE exercised the discipline to twin it with a gloating winning streak, he'd have made a significantly better PPV headliner than Baron Corbin.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!