On the March 11 episode of WWE RAW, Sami Zayn won a Gauntlet Match to earn a shot at WWE Intercontinental Champion Gunther at WrestleMania 40. Many fans were hoping to see Chad Gable win the match. Plenty of them voiced their displeasure online after the bout.
Speaking on his Hall Of Fame podcast, Booker T noted that Sami Zayn was upset about the fans’ reaction to the match. (H/t Jeremy Lambert of Fightful for the transcription)
“I talked to Sami Zayn on Tuesday morning,” Booker T said. “We were flying to Orlando. We were sitting next to each other on the plane. So many people were pulling for Chad Gable in that match. I said, ‘Sami, what a match. You’re going to look back on this one day and say that was the one that catapulted me to the next level. That was the one that put me in the light and let people see exactly what I can do.’
“He was so, literally upset, about the online heat that he got from fans. He was like, ‘I thought the fans love me. Then I see all this stuff.’ I said, ‘You can’t listen to that white noise. You have to think how great that match was. You’re going to look back one day and say that was some really great work.’ He was still feeling like he let someone down just because the fans didn’t think the match was as good as I thought it was. I thought it was excellent.”
Zayn and Gunther are set to sign the contract for their title match at WrestleMania 40 on the Match 18 episode of WWE RAW.
