10 Biggest Wrestling Hometown Pops EVER
6. Sami Zayn In Montreal - SmackDown 2023
When Sami Zayn answered John Cena’s United States title open challenge in 2015 in his home province, the ovation was massive. Furthermore, Zayn put in an incredible showing despite blowing out his shoulder soaking in the atmosphere before the bell.
Sadly, in the years since then his WWE career has tended to be rather up and down, as it can be in the company’s mid-card. However, starting from April 2022, Zayn began to align himself with Roman Reigns and the Bloodline, bringing us eventually to our most recent moment on this list.
Sami Zayn on SmackDown in Montreal wasn’t a revolutionary moment. This was not a debut, a return or even a great match. He cut a simple promo. That is, after 5 minutes of constant crowd noise.
However, it was the wider context. Just a few weeks previous, Zayn had finally turned on his supposed allies by intervening on their attack on Kevin Owen, putting the target on himself. In the weeks leading to this moment, he had minimal TV time but the year-long story was so well-built that it was all anyone could talk about.
As such, walking out in front of a raucous Montreal crowd just 24 hours before Elimination Chamber and the biggest match of his career against Roman Reigns, Zayn was vindicated. For a moment, the Underdog from the Underground was the hottest commodity in wrestling and Montreal made sure he felt that way.