I do feel, in a lot of ways, that I'm living proof that anything is possible.
Sami Zayn
The Full Sail crowd, it's a pretty unique and a pretty distinct environment. It's very close quarters and a bit more of what I'm used to from my days on the independents. But the truth is, I sometimes think that it's harder to win over a small crowd sometimes than it is to win over a big crowd.
When I was a teenager, a friend of mine got a job on a wrestling radio show in Montreal, and he found a local professional wrestler who was able to train us.
Neville and I are big fans of ska. He's actually more into original, Jamaican, skinhead, two-tone ska from England, but I'm more into punk ska - Operation Ivy and stuff Rancid would do.
I have been in the ring with Kevin Owens for about 12 years; I'm used to getting beat up.
I was born in Canada, but both my parents are Syrian - they moved to Canada in the '70s, and I was born in a 100-percent-Arab house.
Montreal is my home town - I love it to death - but Toronto, I think, might have to be the best market in Canada. From a numbers perspective, it definitely is. The fans are incredible, and every time we go there, it sells out. It's awesome, and the fans are incredible.
Lifelong wrestling fans who are discovering NXT and being like, 'Wait, this is the kind of wrestling I used to like,' or, 'I like this' - it's succinct. It's an hour long. You've got some great wrestlers, and you've got great storytelling, and it's simple, and it's gritty.
I'm a Canadian citizen, but I do have a green card.
I have that inherent performer personality.
I'm an idealist. You do things your way well enough, for long enough, you'll get rewarded.
I am very privileged. I have everything I want and more.
Not every magical moment in your career is going to happen on the biggest stage of the year.
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.
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.
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 always consider myself Syrian. I just happen to be born in Canada.
I just want to win the world title; I don't want to be a guy that Vince McMahon looks at and says, 'Never. We can't.'
I've been beat up pretty badly back in my day.
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.
Man, it feels great to do anything that might brighten someone else's day.
It's got to be repetition of me over and over again, constantly delivering the goods every time I'm out there. And that's how I'm going to get to where I need to be, which is in an important match at WrestleMania every year.
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.
Even when you just hear the word 'Syria,' it packs a lot of political connotations.
Sometimes you have to say what's on your mind if it's something that's really important to you.
I'm bad at fishing for information.
That's the spirit of America, right? Anybody from any background can make it anywhere with enough hard work.
If you work really hard at something for a really, really long time, you do it well. Eventually, somebody will notice.
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.
I'm very much an Arab, although I need to practise my Arabic more.
You have to stand by your beliefs.
Any time I'm donating to charity, I feel it's very daunting.
As a kid growing up in Montreal, I wanted to become either a hockey player or a wrestler. Since my family didn't have a lot of money, my parents never put me in a hockey league because it was so expensive.
A crowd's a crowd, and to me, it's not so much about the size as much it is the energy we're getting.
Selfishly, it feels great for me to do something that might put a smile on someone else's face.
I don't want to tell fans what to think or what to believe or whatever, but at the same time, some things just hit you very personally.
I think fans always felt that I try real hard and I am passionate about what I do.
I've worked in front of crowds of two hundred that sounded like a thousand, and I've worked in front of crowds of five thousand that sounded like two hundred. It really varies with the energy level with any given crowd on any given night.
The heel I want to be is real mouthy, which is fine, but I want to be a guy that can be taken seriously to win the world title.
I don't think there's anything that defines WrestleMania more than Hulk Hogan and The Rock standing across from each other and the crowd going ballistic.
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 hate the word 'annoying!'
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.
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 don't think it really serves to make the world a better place, when you're only concerned about yourself.
If my parents didn't come to Canada in the '70s, I probably wouldn't be living my dream to be a WWE superstar.
I have always loved wrestling and grew up watching it - my earliest memories include watching Hulk Hogan.
The thing, in general, about being a good person is just do the right thing as often as possible.
I love hearing positive things; somewhere, way deep down, I'm sure I'm an egomaniac. I guess all performers are, in a way.
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.
