WWE superstar Sami Zayn recently appeared on the After The Bell podcast to discuss a wide range of topics, including his thoughts on what it takes to be a big-time player in WWE, something he and Chris Hero, formerly known as Kassius Ohno, would break down all the time. Highlights from the interview can be found below.
On what it takes to make it in WWE:
It’s putting your heart into whatever you’re doing, it’s full commitment to whatever you’re doing. Again, going back to the [Johnny] Knoxville thing, it’s one of those things where maybe you could have put someone else in the role, I don’t know. I kind of like to think that it had to be me for it to work the way it did but it’s putting 100 percent commitment into it that that’s what makes it work.
Recalls having a conversation with Chris Hero about the work ethic it takes to succeed:
I remember Chris Hero, years ago, years ago, for some reason, this stuck in my head. We were talking about the idea of maybe one day getting to WWE when we were both on the independents and he said — and this applies to Kevin [Owens] too because we were talking about, ‘Yeah, you need these qualities and you need to possess this and this and this to make it in WWE.’ He’s like, ‘Well here’s the thing, up until this point in your career, you have been the exception, not the rule and so there’s no reason to think that won’t carry on. That you won’t continue to be an exception rather than the rule.
(H/T and transcribed by Post Wrestling)