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Monday August 22 2016 – EBWF Monday Night Warfare – Nationwide Arena – Columbus; Ohio
Joey Styles: Somebody needs to come out and put a stop to this!
While half of the audience inside of the Nationwide Arena were hurling abuse towards the ring along with plenty of boo’s, the other half were sat in stunned silence as they watched Sami Zayn wriggle in pain as he held his head, eating a vicious Codebreaker from Chris Jericho. It didn’t end there for him, the two looked as if they were on great terms up until the point Chris hit the switch, and continued to apply pressure in the Walls of Jericho as Sami had almost no energy to tap out.
Joey Styles: What kind of monster does this to his partner? I’m lost for words.
Corey Graves: I’ll tell you what kind of man does it, the EBWF World Champion does it. They aren’t partners, they were never partners, THAT’S how Chris is keeping his World Title on Sunday!
The referees eventually broke up the hold as Jericho exited the ring, but the attention remained on Sami inside of the ring, who held his lower back and was almost in tears because of the pain. He tried rolling over on to his back, but he told the referees he couldn’t do it and they kept him on his front for a little while. He was still tapping out on the canvas, wincing in pain and wanting the pain to end before Warfare eventually went off air. Some of the fans were still sticking around as Sami continued to sell his injury, eventually gathering enough strength to roll out of the ring, and fell to the ground and on to his knees. The referees quickly held him up as they helped him walk up the ramp, his arms over their shoulders as he kept his eyes closed for a few moments, but he opened them the second he heard the loud cheers and the applause. Although his music didn’t hit, the ‘Ole!’ chants were still going, but Sami couldn’t force out a smile just yet, as he walked up he talked to one of the referees who ran back to the announcer’s area and ran back with a microphone. Sami slumped to the ground, holding his back as he sat on the ramp, breathing heavily as he looked around the arena, he continued to let out groans before breathing heavily into the microphone, and addressing the fans that stayed behind.
Sami Zayn: My back hurts, my neck hurts, everything hurts. I need a doctor for sure, I’m going to crawl through those curtains and fall flat on my face again, and a doctor will help me up and put me through some tests. Testing my head, see if I can see or think straight. Test my back, see if I can still take a bump. I’m going to be told to take it easy for the week, to go back to Montreal, put my feet up, relax and come back refreshed. But I know, I know I’ll get a call saying it won’t be a big issue if I miss SummerSlam, give myself a break. I can’t do that, I can’t do that to me, or any of you and if I’m honest, I expected this from Chris. I’m glad it happened almost a week earlier, the fact is I’m going to get my ass up and walk down this ramp on Sunday and I don’t care if I’m crawling up this ramp or if one of these referees is holding my legs in one hand and my arms in the other…I’m taking that World Championship.
Sami dropped the microphone to the side in frustration, and told the referees he didn’t need their help as they stood and watched on, him struggling to get to his feet but still holding his back, limping through the curtains for the final time before his World Championship match at SummerSlam.
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Sunday August 28 2016 – EBWF SummerSlam – KFC Yum Center – Louisville; Kentucky
Jim Ross: Thank you for joining me today, Sami.
SummerSlam was going to take place later on in the evening, all morning the EBWF stars had been in and around the KFC Yum Centre, some exploring the area while others were taking part in media obligations. For Sami Zayn, his morning was being spent backstage at the arena, preparing for his main event match with Chris Jericho and recording an interview which would air a little later on in the evening, right before the match to hype it up.
As the cameras rolled, JR was sat with his notes in his hand, and a great way for the company to use a legend in order to make the match feel uber-important. The camera then focused on Sami, sitting opposite of JR. He was already mic’ed up, and wearing the usual get-up you could see from the waist up, a Sami Zayn t-shirt along with a blazer and his flat cap which had become synonymous. He breathed in, realising the magnitude of who he was sat opposite of, before responding.
Sami Zayn: Thanks for having me, sir. It’s a pleasure to be sat here.
Jim Ross: You’ve been going through a lot, haven’t you son? I think it’s well-documented just how much of a rollercoaster year you’ve had. This time last year you captured the World Championship, then losing it to The Miz, then going on an incredible run and now the King of the Ring, then losing to PJ Black…it must have taken its toll.
Sami exhaled, thinking about the year he has had in the EBWF, before nodding.
Sami Zayn: It does seem that way, I mean, I’ve gone through a lot and I didn’t realise it until now that I’ve done so much this past year…more than most people can go through in a year. It does take a toll on your body, but if I slow down then I know that next year, you and I wouldn’t be sitting here. Even if it shortens your life or career span by five years, if you do this because you love it, it’s worth every second of it and I’m not sure whether Chris Jericho is somebody who can see he’s somebody that now loves this business because he just loves himself.
Jim Ross: What makes you say that?
Sami Zayn: I think it’s obviously, now it’s all about crossing off more days as champion so he can go down in history as one of the best champions ever, and that’s fine because I want to break records as well. The only difference is, I want to break records every single time I’m in the ring, whether it’s on Warfare, a pay-per-view or at a live event at the other side of the world. Chris prefers to step up and impress once a month, if that. To me, that’s not a champions attitude, that’s the attitude of somebody clinging on to the one thing that he so desperately needs, the title can survive without Chris, but Chris can’t survive without the championship.
Jim Ross: I just want to cast your mind back to this past Monday, let’s just remind the viewers at home what happened in the middle of the ring.
The cameras remained on Sami and JR, as they looked over at the screen where highlights of the tag team match between Sami Zayn and Chris Jericho vs. Seth Rollins and Jimmy Havoc were shown. They focused on the Codebreaker and Walls of Jericho which Jericho hit Sami with, and the cameras showed a small smile growing on Sami’s face, as he shook his head in disappointed and refused to watch the rest of it.
Jim Ross: I think the main question here is, not why did Chris attack you, but why do you think he decided to leave it until the final Warfare before SummerSlam?
Sami thought about it for second, before responding.
Sami Zayn: I mean, I’m not surprised about what happened, not at all. But you’re right, I thought Chris would attack me weeks earlier but as each week passed by it seemed less and less likely. He knows how it works, and I can see why he did it. To attack me when I expected it the least was a clever way to do it I guess, rather than doing it a month earlier where I’d have time to be on an equal playing field. Now I’m sat here trying to explain to you and everybody else why I still have a chance, when in reality Chris is in the driver’s seat whether I like it or not. Although I dislike what he did, and how he did it, I can man up and say the timing of it was perfect. Not only because it hit me by surprise, but because it’s pissed me off more than it would have if I was attacked weeks ago.
Jim Ross: There’s been a big criticism of Chris in the past months, Kevin said it, Jimmy and Seth say it…and I want your take on it too. They hate the fact that Chris, despite being champion, doesn’t act like one because he’s never in action…is that…
Sami Zayn: I agree with them, 100%. I guess Chris can get away with this sort of thing though because of the brand and legacy he’s built for himself. Rightfully, he’s deserved it and whether I or anyone dislikes it or not, it’s irrelevant at the end of the day. I just know that if our positions were switched, there’s no way I’d be able to show my face around one a month and try to prove that I’m the number one guy in the company. Has the value of the title dropped a little? Probably not, I just think it’s a shame that the number one contender has looked like the champion for a long time now, while Jimmy Havoc has looked like the biggest champion in the company. Good on him, he’s just proved how little Chris has done and tonight that’ll end.
Jim Ross: Okay, so why do you think he decided to attack you, period.
Sami Zayn: I think it’s simple, attacking me means that he’s threatened. He knows that I’m the biggest risk to his below-par reign as the World Champion and he’s so close to becoming one of the worst champions we’ve had in a long time. He’s threatened that when he loses, he’ll go back to being nothing and without his buddies Trent or Lance by his side, I won’t be surprised to see him act like it was all part of his master plan so he can climb back into a suit and attend the board meetings and saying it was the best decision to drop the championship to me. He knows that when he loses to me, he’ll be nothing in this business so he felt the need to take me out of the picture, or at least head into SummerSlam with the advantage. He wants to go to any depths to say he beat Sami Zayn, fair or not, because that hasn’t been said recently, because the way I see it…I’m the catalyst in all of this because there’s no other match, no other victory that matters the most, other than me. I mean let’s put things into perspective, will people care if Chris beats Edge tonight to retain his title? What will another win over Wes Ikeda mean for him? A win over The Miz, The Rock, PJ Black...anybody. It all means nothing now. I AM the one who’s been here week in, week out. I’m the one that’s been representing the company, the championship inside of that ring, not Chris, he’s never here to do any of that, ask him yourself. I’m the ONE person he needs to beat now to prove to everyone that Chris Jericho IS the champion the company needs, that he IS the champion this company and these people deserve and one fair win over me tonight will end his doubters once and for all. If he loses, which he will, he knows what people and the critics will say, that he wasn’t always the perfect choice as the champion, how he’s been winging it for the past six months, how Chris selfishly held that title to keep his names in the lights. Now, if he didn’t attack me at all, I wouldn’t have a problem with that, but he went and showed me just how much of a coward he is and because he’s pissed me off, not only am I going to take that championship and bring it where it belongs, I’m going to go out there and prove that although Chris Jericho may be a first ballot Hall of Famers, there’s no way he was ever fit enough to be a World Champion in 2016.
Jim Ross: So, what happens if you don’t get the job done?
Sami Zayn: I’m the last hope right now, other than The Miz who seems to pull it out of the bag when it matters the most, there’s nobody else who is genuinely ready to step up and dethrone Chris. Nobody is as deserving as I am, and I know that right now I’m the most capable man to go to that ring and pin his shoulders to the mat. I’ve worked my ass off since last SummerSlam to get to this stage, and I’m back at this stage to do it all over again and this second opportunity I’m getting…O know I can’t afford to let this slip.
There was a little bit of a silence as JR looked at Sami for a brief moment.
Jim Ross: What’s driving you, son? What’s making you keep coming back for more?
Sami knew why, he didn’t know how to instantly put it into words. Instead, he put his face into his hands and thought about it, tapping his knees before looking back up and answering the question.
Sami Zayn: What drives me? What drives me is that people like me don’t get chances like these at the drop of a hat, we’re not at this stage once a month. We’re not the big names, we don’t have that special quality that keeps us at the top even if we lose every single match of the year, or come back after a five-year hiatus. What does one loss mean for Chris? Absolutely nothing, it’ll be forgotten whenever he comes back next and he’ll be right back in the title picture. What about me? What happens if I lose? The whole wrestling world turns upside down and everyone talks about how Sami Zayn was a fraud because he couldn’t get the job done when it mattered the most. I’m man enough to admit that I failed against PJ, and I failed when The Miz beat me, and I simply cannot afford to fail again against Chris Jericho, I have too much invested into this to lose. It’s over if I do, and I know fans love the optimist, but there’s optimism and lying, and I can’t lie to my fans anymore by saying that if I lose I’ll be back here. The harsh reality is that this win is the culmination of an entire year of work, and if I fail now, I think I’m done at the top, even if I think I have what it takes to be there. This is all I have.
Sami calmed down a little, settling down before trying to unclip his microphone to leave, but still had something to say, emotionally.
Sami Zayn: I make my living on heart alone, and I’m close to having none of that left either at the top. Things need to change, we can only change them from the top, and I need to be the man to change them.
Sami put the microphone on the chair next to him, leaving the interview early and for the first time ever, the fans saw him doubt himself heading into a match.