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Sami Zayn reflects on his proudest moments at WrestleMania

Originally posted on ClutchPoints | By Matty Breisch | Last updated 5/14/24

When you think of all-time great WrestleMania performers, you think of The Undertaker, Roman Reigns, Bret Hart, and… Sami Zayn?

Now, sure, technically, Zayn isn’t what you could call an attraction wrestler, as fans can more or less expect a match from the “Underdog from the Underground” on any episode of RAW or SmackDown he appears on. But when you look back on his time in The Fed, it’s hard not to be impressed with his efforts at the “Showcase of the Immortals,” with each passing year seemingly adding another highlight to his resume.

But which match is his favorite? Well, in a recent interview with The Daily Mail, the former PWG stalwart went down memory lane to discuss his favorite efforts and how they play into his career as a whole.

“I’ve had a pretty good track record at WrestleMania in general, even my first one, we had this ladder match that I was really proud of, the Daniel Bryan return match… I remember when we were doing that match, I couldn’t believe we had a match of that magnitude. It was probably a top five match on a WrestleMania card, you’re lucky to get that in your career. That was WrestleMania 34, who would have guessed that all those years later we are getting to do so many other great things?” Sami Zayn explained to The Daily Mail.

“I try to just appreciate things, especially when I’m in them. So if those were my last three ‘Manias, man, pretty good. There are Hall of Famers that never got those kind of stories or have those kind of matches at WrestleMania. That’s something to be proud of.

“Kevin and I were in a ladder match at our first WrestleManias together. We teamed at WrestleMania. We faced each other at WrestleMania. We won the Tag Team Titles in the main event of WrestleMania. Everything we could have ever dreamed. He actually said this, and it’s true, we couldn’t even have dreamt it up, because that dream just didn’t exist. The Tag Team titles have never main evented WrestleMania, ever. It just wasn’t even something you could dream about.”

Is it interesting that Zayn highlighted his match with the “American Dragon” over Gunther, his opponent from WrestleMania 40? Maybe so, but what isn’t surprising is all of the talk of Kevin Owens, the man he’s been working programs with since they were both in their early 20s, driving around Canada in the hopes of making it. While it will be hard for any match at Mania to overshadow his Undisputed Tag Team Championship win over The Usos, who knows, maybe the day will come when Zayn and Owens wrestle each other at the “Showcase of the Immortals” once more, maybe even with the Intercontinental Championship on the line next spring.

Sami Zayn is proud of his Undisputed Tag Team Championship run.

Elsewhere in his interview with The Daily Mail, Sami Zayn commented on his Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship run with Kevin Owens, which lasted from last April through Payback in Pittsburgh in September. While his reign with KO was anything but prolific, in the end, he was happy with their work, even if they didn’t accomplish everything he was hoping to do with the belts.

“In some respects, there were some things that I had pitched or things creatively that I thought we could have done, or even fun things, because we have a fun kind of relationship as friends. There were some things I would have loved to have done, but I think our actual reign, I don’t really have much negative to say about it, other than maybe the lack of diversity in opponents because we were really joined at the hip with Judgement Day. But I also don’t mind, because it was extremely challenging to wrestle them so much and to try to not get people to burn out on it, and to constantly have excellent matches,” Sami Zayn noted.

“I’m very, very, very proud. I almost feel like, because they saw so many of the matches, people kind of forgot how good those matches were. But if you go back and watch any match that we had with any combination of Judgement Day, we had people rocking and rolling in the main event of the third hour of RAW, and that’s always a hard thing to do, and we were doing that every single week, and I’m very, very proud of that.”

Could WWE have done more to play into the friendship between KO and Zayn? Sure, there are other friend pairings across the roster that could have challenged the duo for their belts, or they could have even had one of the pair’s former friends, partners, or even foes enter the storyline and try to drive a wedge into their relationship. Still, neither Owens nor Zayn are booking the shows, and considering they got to do hockey spots in their final street fight as champions, it’s safe to say they got to get in some of their choice spots before riding off into the sunset. Ultimately, their run was fun and memorable, which, at the end of the day, is better than most championship reigns can say.