Sami Zayn Talks WWE’s Recent NXT Signings, NXT Stars to Watch, and More

Thursday, Sept. 11, Sami Zayn will be competing in the main event of WWE’s third live NXT special, titled “NXT Takeover: Fatal 4Way.” Zayn will compete in a Fatal 4Way match for the NXT Championship. Zayn will go at it with Tyler Breeze, Tyson Kidd, and NXT Champion Adrian Neville. In preparation for the event, Zayn was interviewed by JourneyofaFrontman.com. Zayn talked about a number of topics in regards to NXT and his current character.

Zayn spoke on perhaps his toughest foe thus far in his career, Cesaro, and how he competed for both WWE and NXT, prior to their match at “NXT Arrival:”

“I think it’s very admirable on his part. It sends a message and it was actually a smart thing to do in the end. I think it opened some eyes because to be honest, around the time before we had the first 2 out of 3 falls match, I don’t think the powers that be in the WWE really saw what kind of intensity this guy can bring or just how good he actually is. So in a way, wanting to actually come and compete in NXT shows his desire just to compete and be great because he is great. And it also enabled him to get a bigger opportunity in a smaller setting, he was given more time and freedom, and he was given a bigger spotlight. Yes, it was on a much smaller scale, but he gave him a bigger platform to do his thing. He did his thing and it opened a lot of eyes. Obviously that match was huge for me and opening a lot of eyes to me, but I like to think it also did a lot for him. Triple H was watching that match and I know for a fact that he pulled him aside afterwards and he also said, “That’s the guy I wanna see on Monday nights. That’s the guy. That was awesome. I want more of that.” They were way more aware of what his capabilities were after that, which is great. I think it did quite a bit for him, I hope it did a lot for him. It certainly did a lot for me.”

Zayn also spoke about who he has his eye on, noting that CJ Parker is on the rise. He would go on to talk about the three big NXT signings: Kevin Steen, Kenta, and Fergal Devitt:

“One guy that I really think is starting to break out slowly is CJ Parker, I think he’s really good. He’s got a tremendous passion for this business. I think the first sort of debut in NXT with this hippie gimmick, he was a good guy, but it was just kind of corny and canned and the fans turned on him. It legitimately broke his heart. And now he has a legitimate chip on his shoulder and his hippie character morphed into more of a socially aware, socially conscious houlier-than-thou character. It’s way grittier and more realistic now. He really puts his heart into what he does and I think he’s gonna be good. And similarly, there’s Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady who are both just phenomenally entertaining. And I really look forward to their growth. I really look forward to watching them.”

“And there’s a couple of guys that have been signed now, but have not yet debuted such as Kevin Steen and KENTA and Fergal Devitt. In my opinion, they are three huge, huge signings. They’re just taking three of the best guys from different corners of the world and bringing them to NXT. If you look back historically, when Vince first did that national expansion from a regional promotion to a national superpower, he did it by finding the best talent in all the territories and taking all the best talent. In a weird way, I feel like that’s what’s going on again now. You’ve got Kevin Steen from Canada, you’ve got Fergal Devitt from Ireland and you’ve got KENTA from Japan. He’s just selecting the best talent worldwide and we’re snatchin’ ‘em up. It’s just gonna make the product better here. These are my guys, these are guys I’ve come up with. So hopefully, we can all spearhead the revolution and be the next generation. We can take this business to an interesting place that maybe it hasn’t been before.”

The interview was conducted prior to Zayn wrestling on “Monday Night Raw,” which is why nothing on that front was mentioned.

Be sure to read the entire interview, here. Zayn also talks about NXT Champion Adrian Neville, possibly using his “Ole!” theme in WWE, and much more.