Sami Zayn on El Generico, Partying and High Risk Moves

Sami Zayn spoke with Joe.co.uk about how life is on the road now in comparison to the previous generation, sustainability using high-risk moves and what happened to El Generico.

On how things have changed now since the previous generation:

“It’s not just the wrestling industry that has changed, the world has changed. Unfortunately a lot of that generation paid a very heavy price for it. And it would be very silly for our generation to not learn from their mistakes. Not to mention the WWE wellness policy as well, which I think is a great thing, honestly. It sort of keeps people in check! But at the end of the day I think matches are at a higher level than ever, the quality of talent we have now has never been better, and the work rate has never been higher.”

On the long term sustainability with high-risk moves being used more commonly today:

“Well, there was a time when I would have said yes. But I think even that is scaling down a little these day. Definitely, we are performing more moves now, and they are high impact moves. The game has changed since the ’80s, where you could punch and kick and headlock, and do one suplex, and that’s a 25 minute match. Those days are gone and you’ve got to adapt accordingly. But I think when I started wrestling on the independents it was definitely a time when people were pushing the envelope on how risky or dangerous some stunts could be. Whereas now I think a lot of the stunt show aspect of it has gone down. There’s a lot more technical skill executing these moves than it is falling off a giant scaffold or something like that. I think the stunt show aspect of the business has regressed, which is a good thing.”

On what happened to El Generico:

“There a lot of parallels between my style and his, I suppose, but I never actually met the man. But from what I hear I think he’s still running an orphanage, still fighting the good fight in Mexico. That’s as far as I know.”

If you missed ‘Smackdown Live’ this past week, we highly suggest watching this video from the match between Kevin Owens and Zayn. It is very interesting!

Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens: SmackDown LIVE, Sept. 26, 2017

What are your thoughts on more high-risk moves used in today’s wrestling? How long have you been a wrestling fan? Let us know in the comments below or over on our Facebook page or Twitter account. Additionally, you can find me on Twitter at @SOSNH1995. We also want to remind you that we have a Newsletter you can sign up to. This will allow us to send you the best news in one place via an email. We also have the Wrestling Rumors app that we encourage you all to download to get updates faster than they release on our various pages. It is available on Android and iOS devices.