Current Star Says WrestleMania 38 Match Was Never WWE's Plan

This current WWE wrestler says fan responses changed WrestleMania 38 plans.

by Jamie Kennedy
WWE WrestleMania 38 Sami Zayn Johnny Knoxville
WWE.com

Sami Zayn vs. Johnny Knoxville was never WWE's original plan for the former at WrestleMania 38.

SmackDown star Zayn told The Dallas Morning News that the creative team only started to think about asking Knoxville back for a match at 'Mania when fans treated him like a big deal - Sami told the site that JK got some of the loudest pops of the night whenever he'd show up ("I know because I was in the ring for all of them").

Originally, Knoxville was only supposed to work a guest spot in January's Royal Rumble match as a means to co-promote his upcoming Jackass Forever movie. WWE enjoyed the celeb's work so much, and Johnny was having so much fun himself, that they decided to turn it into a longer story.

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Zayn was right up for that, because he could see the potential in a singles match against the actor.

WWE announced that the 'Mania bout pitting Sami vs. Knoxville would be an "Anything Goes" scrap on the latest episode of SmackDown. Zayn fired out the challenge for that in a quick promo, then Johnny accepted later on.

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Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.