10 Wrestling Facts We Didn't Know Last Week (April 19)

5. Daniel Bryan Inspired Sami Zayn's New Gimmick

Daniel Bryan may have started something special with his eco-friendly WWE Champion character that judged fans for their behaviour. He has some of his peers thinking outside the norm about how they can provoke hatred from audiences without relying on age-old tropes like bashing local sports teams.

Sami Zayn is one of those who was paying close attention.

In an interview with TVA Sports that Zayn conducted in French, the Canadian revealed that Bryan's ranting promos and genius decision to turn the heat onto fans inspired him. That's why, when Sami returned from an injury lay off and continued the heel run he'd started before surgery, he mixed it up a bit by infusing his chat with some reality.

To Zayn, what he's doing now is more "creative and intelligent" than what he was doing beforehand. No arguments here. Sami's rivalry with Bobby Lashley last year was so bad that it almost single-handedly killed any hopes of Zayn getting over on his own as a heel.