15 Wrestlers Taught By Surprising Trainers

1. Sami Zayn: Savio Vega And The Wall

Team Uppercut Daniel Bryan Cesaro Dave Taylor Chikara
WWE.com

Sami Zayn is the truest babyface WWE has had since, like, Ricky Steamboat. Even Bayley has been turned into a jerk by the realities of the main roster, but Sami has remained as pure as driven snow. His entire persona is based on fighting from underneath, and using the support of the fans to fire up and win against all odds.

Aaaaaand his trainers were a Puerto Rican gangster and a goofy paramilitary monster. Sami studied under Attitude Era militant Latino shrug Savio Vega and The Wall, the Braun Strowman of 1999. Actually, you can kind of see flashes of Sami's righteous fire in the babyface version of Vega that feuded interminably with Stone Cold Steve Austin for most of 1996, but yeah, The Wall's influence is still a total mystery.

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Long-time fan (scholar?) of professional wrestling, kaiju films and comparative mythology. Aspiring two-fisted adventurer.