Current WWE Intercontinental champion, Sami Zayn, recently won a massive fight in his return to Saudi Arabia. But according to him—real name, Rami Sebei—many fans are unaware of the Canadian wrestler’s Syrian roots. So what else has he learned along the way of his storied career?
Growing up, I didn’t have any Muslim athletes to look up to. There was Muhammad Ali, who was a great role model, but he was before my time.
I am the most accomplished Arab and Muslim wrestler of all time, which is a shocking thing to think of yourself, but I am.
I don’t really present myself with big Arab energy, and I don’t make it a central part of my character, but it is a central part of me as a person. I’m extremely proud to be Muslim and to represent this part of the world in the WWE.
Being in the Middle East feels like home. The fact that I am surrounded by the language, the culture and the food that I was raised with, it’s such a huge part of who I am. Although I don’t think that’s necessarily a side to me that many people see.
In wrestling, we create stories to take people on an emotional journey. If we mess it up, that’s on us, because have the power to steer it in the right direction. It’s all part of the craft. There is a lot of nuance when it comes to a wrestling character—it’s the nature of storytelling. For example, Sami Zayn is an underdog, it’s a core staple of how my character interacts in a wrestling ring. I get beaten up. I show tenacity, and I create obstacles that seem insurmountable, and then I overcome them.
I don’t necessarily see myself as an underdog in the sense that you can put me against any champion on any given night, and it’s not inconceivable that I could win. However, how the way I fight in the ring always has an underdog component to it—I guess that’s just how a ‘good guy’ is supposed to come across.
Sports fans are an interesting species, and I’m not just talking about wrestling here. They want you to win, but they also get bored of you if you win too much. In hockey, if a team wins the cup twice, fans no longer want them to win. Why not? “You’ve had your run, time for somebody else,” again, that just goes back to the nature of storytelling.
They say that once you win the ‘big one’ the appeal is gone, but I disagree. As an underdog I think it adds a different dimension, because suddenly you have the unpredictability that you could now lose on any given night. It makes people want to watch even more.
There is definitely an appetite for WWE in Saudi. When I saw the fans, I was like ‘damn, we’ve built a territory here’. There is a rabid fan base in the Middle East. Through time and investment and putting on quality shows, we have created die hard wrestling fans, and it’s pretty remarkable to see.
If pursuing wrestling is a dream of yours, in the Middle East, it’s now more attainable than
it’s ever been. It used to be an ‘American thing’, but now it’s blossoming over here. At the moment I’m the only Arab-Muslim in the WWE, and we’re going to need others. I’m not going to be around forever.
Dreams are worth chasing. Life is about the pursuit
WWE SummerSlam airs on Saturday August 3, 2024 live on Shahid
