Booker T Discusses WWE Raw Gauntlet Match, Sami Zayn's Surprising Reaction
"Raw" ended well for Sami Zayn, as he overcame several other competitors, including Chad Gable, to win a gauntlet match to earn an Intercontinental Championship match against GUNTHER at WrestleMania 40. According to Booker T, however, it was all sunshine and roses for Zayn.
On the latest episode of "The Hall of Fame" podcast, Booker, who felt that Zayn winning was the correct decision, revealed Zayn had mixed emotions about the win as the two discussed it on the flight back from "Raw." The reason was due to Zayn believing the fans were upset due to him defeating Gable, who had long been pursuing a rematch against GUNTHER.
"We were flying out to Orlando and we were sitting next to each other on the plane," Booker said. "I swear...so many people were pulling for Chad Gable. And Sami, I said 'Man, what a match. What a match. You're going to look back on this one one day and say 'This is the one. This is the one that catapulted me to the next level. This is the one that put me in the light, let them see exactly what I can do.”
"And he was... literally upset about the online heat that he got from the fans. He was like 'Man, I thought the fans loved me. And the next thing you know, I see all this stuff.' I said 'Man, you can't listen to all the white noise. You've got to think about how great that match was, and you're going to look back on it and say 'Man, that was some really, really good work that I did.” But he still, like I said, was feeling that he let someone down, just because the fans didn't think the match was as good as I thought it was."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "The Hall of Fame" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription