If you work really hard at something for a really, really long time, you do it well. Eventually, somebody will notice.
— Sami Zayn
I think it's important for youngsters from all walks of life to have some sort of representative that they can look up to and aspire to be and let them know there's a chance for anybody from any background.
I am very privileged. I have everything I want and more.
I don't know if it's a male thing, but a lot of our emotions end up manifesting themselves in the form of anger.
Everyone's the hero in their own story. You've lived your life. You're the good guy of your life, the protagonist of your own movie. Everyone knows that they have more in them to offer than they sometimes show.
I want to leave a legacy behind that is undeniable.
Sitting on the sidelines is so painful because it's very difficult for me to watch wrestling and not be a participant in the ring, since that's just where I belong.
It's just so weird how you get so used to what we do: I could go in there and wrestle main events on Live Events for 25-30 minutes, but I couldn't really get the sheets off me in bed. It's weird how that works. Your body just adapts.
I'm very proud that I can be myself. I'm not trying to be Arabic, I'm just being me, and I happen to be Arabic. I think that might be refreshing to some people, and it's a bit more realistic than these pantomime villains we've seen before.
Ever since I was a kid and growing up and watching things like the 'Naked Gun' movies, there was always this stereotype about how Arabs were perceived and portrayed. I've never watched those Arab villains in the movie and felt like that was me.
I don't think it really serves to make the world a better place, when you're only concerned about yourself.
It's a slow process, getting hired by WWE. First, you get noticed; you're on their radar. Then you come for a tryout. Then you wait to hear back. There's the physical. It's a very long process.
When I signed with WWE, a lot of people, even close friends, told me that this place was going to chew me up and spit me out, just because of the way my personality is. It's been an adjustment for me as a human being.
I want to do something that has never been done, and that's become the first two-time NXT Champion. In a sense, that's a strange distinction to want, but that has to be my goal while I'm in NXT.
I don't ever want to be boring.
That's the spirit of America, right? Anybody from any background can make it anywhere with enough hard work.
It's definitely a sensitive topic to discuss, but I have felt, since I signed with the WWE, I was in a unique position to reestablish how Arabs were perceived in the WWE and western media.
Feeling stupid is a terrible feeling.
I'm an idealist. You do things your way well enough, for long enough, you'll get rewarded.
A lot of people think I reacted a little too emotionally when I said, 'If I can't beat Adrian Neville, I'm done.' But the truth is, my whole life, I've always followed my heart and my emotions.
I belong in the ring.
The Hardys were a huge influence on me becoming a wrestler. Not so much the moves themselves, but the concepts behind the moves: trying to be innovative and just being exciting.
