10 Wrestling Facts We Didn't Know Last Week

4. Sami Zayn Was Heartbroken When WWE Turned Down El Generico

Sami Zayn wasn't too thrilled with the prospect of turning heel at Hell In A Cell, because he had always viewed himself as a career babyface. Being involved in the main event of a pay-per-view was the furthest thing from Sami's mind when he first signed with WWE though. His main concern was coming up with a workable character the company liked.

On the E&C Pod Of Awesomeness, Zayn told fellow Canadians Edge and Christian that he came up with several personas he could play in WWE. One would have a mask, just like his then-current guise El Generico, and the other wouldn't. Sami was much more interested in the masked idea, because it was what he was used to.

He was left heartbroken when WWE told him that they weren't into the Generico idea at all. That forced Zayn to come up with something new, and led him to the energetic babyface role he played on NXT. This wasn't Sami's plan. He fancied sticking to what had peaked WWE's interest in the first place.