Sami Zayn Explains Why He Re-Signed With WWE

The Great Liberator reveals the main driving factor behind his decision to remain #WWE.

by Andrew Pollard
Sami Zayn
WWE.com

Prior to his WWE contract expiring this past January, many thought it was a given that Sami Zayn would opt to walk away from WWE and head over to Tony Khan's All Elite Wrestling. Instead, the Great Liberator re-upped with Vince McMahon's sports entertainment juggernaut for several more years, and now he's given further insight into why exactly he made that choice.

Speaking on Out of Character, Zayn explained that one of the main reasons he re-signed with WWE is that he's allowed to have a significant creative input in what he does on our screens.

As Sami detailed, while he doesn't always get everything he wants in the exact way he wants it, the creative team is always receptive to his ideas.

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"I don't want to act like I'm booking my own stuff, because I am not. [I have] input, and for the creative team and whoever to be receptive to my ideas [is good]. I don't get all [of my ideas approved, though]. Trust me, I swing a lot. I don't think I swing a lot of duds, but sometimes I swing ideas that I don't know why they won't work, and sometimes they tell me that won't work because of XYZ. But a lot of things they'll take [an idea], it's not exactly how I envisioned it, but pieces of it get through. Like the documentary, for example. And they take on a life of their own."

The former Intercontinental Champion added how he feels respected and valued by WWE for how they listen to his ideas, and feeling like he has a voice and is heard is a significant part of making the decision to re-sign with the company an easy one.

Of course, Sami has just come off a WrestleMania 38 match against Jackass star Johnny Knoxville. While that contest clearly didn't make the most of the exceptional in-ring ability that Zayn has, there's no disputing the mainstream attention it's brought to the one-time NXT Champion.

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Prior to to his interactions with Knoxville, Sami also rubbed shoulders with heavy hitters such as Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns earlier this year, and it remains to be seen what's next for him now that his Jackass rivalry is seemingly in the rear-view mirror.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.