It's obvious just coming out smiling every week isn't going to be enough. He's going to need more of a personality to connect with the casual audience and to get to the next level.
You could say Reigns doesn't have a character, but Zayn isn't exactly going to be pushed for da look.
Bryan was an anomaly, so you can't really compare him to Zayn. Plus Bryan had years of character development that helped him connect with the casuals. He played the douchebag heel with AJ and then added to that with his comedy stuff with Kane.
He's been on the main roster full-time for, what, two months?
His gimmick right now is basically fan favorite underdog. Heart and soul kind of guy. It's on him to add shading to that, which he can do if they give him mic time, just like he did in NXT.
Vince Russo is reminded of a cab driver when looking at Sami Zayn. He suggests adding a character to Zayn where due to only working indies on the weekends where Sami couldn't pay the bills: Zayn had to drive a cab during the week to stay afloat while continuing wrestling. :russo
As much as I love D-Bry he didn't have much of a character at times either.
Zayn will be successful for his in ring ability alone and he is already over with the crowds. If he adds a few tweaks here and there I can genuinely see him taking off like Bryan did a few years ago. Maybe not as crazy as that but hopefully close enough.
What about putting him with a women ? I would like him to have kind of a " Latino Heat " gimmick like when Eddie was with Chyna, it could be funny and he have that romantic look but the fact that you talk about Bryan is funny because Bryan was like Sami Zayn when he debuted, even worst. The difference is that Bryan had segments to grow his character and connect with the audience while Sami is put at the top before the audience got to know him.
He should be a coffee house poet on the verge of snapping because nobody likes his shitty poetry so they don't snap their fingers at the end. He took up wrestling as self defense so he could feel safe in his not yet 100% gentrified Brooklyn neighborhood but has been using it as an outlet for his simmering rage.
Seriously though, there is no hope for this geek. He should form a tag team with Crews and they can be Wild Smile or Mild Style.
I think "characters" in wrestling are overrated. There are no "characters" in MMA. It's just guys fighting because they are good at fighting. Why can't he just be an amazing wrestler named Sami Zayn? Why does he have to have a thing?
You guys have to remember it took Bryan 2-3 years to really get over, and he probably wouldn't have if it weren't for his program with Kane. He was on the cusp of it but that team Hell No thing put him over the top. Zayn is where Bryan was at around 2012 the fans want to like him but they really don't have a reason to, he's just that guy that doesn't like Kevin Owens.
I hate to say it, but just have him rip off what Bryan was doing in NXT. Have very competitive matches, but constantly lose. Set Miz, who wants to take Sami under his wing, up as his big rival to set up a huge match down the line.
Simply being "that guy from NXT" and Kevin Owens' frenemy isn't enough.
Just give the guy more time. He's been here for like two months with little mic time. He doesn't need a gimmick just let him develop his character with time.
Any kind of gimmick would be better than the overplayed generic vanilla smiling babyface that are plaguing the roster right now. Too many work rate specialists that cant play any other kind of role because they dont have a personality, charisma or mic skills.
His gimmick should be as an annoying hipster doofus. His whole look just screams hipster toolbag.
They should show him backstage in catering asking shit like "is this gluten-free" or "is this organic, grass-fed, free range beef? I only eat organic, grass-fed, free range beef". "Who do I have to screw to get some sashimi around here?"
He should only drive electric cars from town but occasionally get stranded in the middle of nowhere because they only have a 300 mile range. He should troll the crowd by talking about how one of it's famous bands were better before they went mainstream or shit on their sports by saying sophisticated people watch <<insert obscure sport nobody watches>>
If Zayn did shit like that I'd hate him so much that I'd love him, sort of like the Miz.
People here saying the man "doesn't need a gimmick" or "he's the fun loving underdog babyface"!
You know what that translates to? He can't play a gimmick and he can only go by the "underdog" babyface gimmick because he isn't entertaining. Yeah, in the ring he can put on a hell of a match but that doesn't mean shit to most "regular" people who watch. Zayn can't talk to save his life and just can't show people a character through talking. His look doesn't show people a character either, he just looks like a dancing garbage man to me. With 0 mic skills and an awful look, there's no way he can differentiate himself from the dozens of "underdog" babyfaces on the roster. I like Zayn's work in the ring (his match with Nakamura was fucking out of this world), buy he won't make it as a big star on the WWE main roster.
If Owens and Zayn are going to both be mid-to-supper carders without the title forever, I say let them have a feud where they never really leave each other alone.....let the feud be an actual feud......keep them away from each other on TV (minus promos), but have them cost each other matches and fight each other on PPVs, etc...
Zayns character is the same as bryans. He is useless in terms of his size and marketability so fans will get behind him precisely because he is bad lol. He is the sort of dude who would get no reaction in the attitude era when people appreciated bad asses and jacked up dudes.
i dunno about you bro's, but i think he'd make one helluva cab drivah :russo
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