Sami Zayn won a David vs. Goliath battle at WrestleMania 40 to capture the WWE Intercontinental Championship, and Triple H discussed comparisons between Zayn and Shawn Michaels after the show. The WWE CCO was asked about the similarities between Zayn and his fellow DX member in the post-show press event, and The Game talked about how they both have the ability to do sensational moves but that it’s their ability to pull emotion out of you that is paramount. You can see highlights below:
On Michaels’ talents: “A lot of people would look at Shawn back then — even now. And they would see Shawn as this spectacular performer, the moves that he did and all these spectacular things that he did. Shawn was doing a lot of that at a period of time, maybe before everybody else was. Which is why I think so many younger talent resonate towards him, because he was so good. But the thing that made Shawn so good was his ability to pull emotion out of you. It wasn’t the moves. The moves were like the special effects. Shawn is unbelievable at getting emotion out. So when you hit Shawn and he goes down and he sells, you feel bad for him. you want him to do better. And you want him to do batter, and e just can get that emotion out of you. When Shawn begins to then make a comeback, and begins to fire up, and begins to put that anger out or whatever it is, that aggression out, you believe it and you buy into it. And he is a pitbull when he’s on you. It’s emotion. We sell emotion. We build stories and sell emotion. It’s not the moves, it’s not the spots. It’s not the sequences or however people want to say it. It’s emotion. Yes, those things lead into it. But without it, it’s just a video game or a — you know, it doesn’t mean anything.”
On Zayn’s similar skillset: “What you saw in Sami and Gunther tonight was two people that are geniuses at pulling emotion out of you. And that’s Sami’s his calling card. Yes, he does spectacular things. But his ability as a performer, as an actor, as whatever you want to call it to pull that emotion out of people? It’s awesome, and it’s why he’s in the spot he’s in. It’s why he’s as good as he is. Thank you.”
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit WWE with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.
