Sami Zayn Talks Daniel Bryan, Mick Foley Comparisons amid WWE WrestleMania 39 Season

Ahead of his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship match against Roman Reigns at Elimination Chamber on Saturday, Sami Zayn discussed the parallels between him and other unlikely stars from the past, such as Daniel Bryan and Mick Foley.

Appearing on The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro (h/t WrestlingInc's Marco Rovere), Zayn talked about being compared to two of the all-time great underdogs in WWE history, particularly in regard to how his current storyline with Reigns and The Bloodline is similar to the one that surrounded Bryan entering WrestleMania 30:

"I think the commonality there is just that it's something that the audience kind of did on their own. I think any time you have the audience driving the emotion and not the creative direction driving where they'd like that emotion to be, it's just a much deeper connection when they're the ones choosing it and not being told hey, choose this. I think they just appreciate it more and get into it more."

The original plan for WrestleMania 30 seemed to be a babyface Batista challenging Randy Orton for the world title in the main event after Batista had won the Royal Rumble, but fans rejected it.

Wrestling fans wanted Bryan involved, and they were so vocal about it that they were ultimately given what they wanted. Bryan beat Triple H in the WrestleMania 30 opener to earn his way into the main event, where he defeated both Batista and Orton to become world champion.

WWE's build toward WrestleMania 30 helped create and grow The Yes Movement, and it can be argued that Zayn is getting similar reactions as he feuds with Reigns and continues to be involved in an angle with The Bloodline.

Zayn has also been compared to Foley since neither is or were prototypical WWE Superstars, but they became huge fan favorites because of their personalities and connection to the fans.

Sami acknowledged the link between the two, and it is something he takes great pride in while referencing Foley's first book, Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks:

"Mick Foley was the guy, I read that book cover to cover I can't even tell you how many times. There's a kinship there. I do get a lot of comparisons to him with regards to the type of appeal he had and the type of appeal I currently have, which is just kind of a weird charisma that you can't quite put your finger on because it's not like conventional wrestling star, movie star good looks, or supreme physique. It's not the conventional makeup of a wrestling superstar or whatever. I've gotten that comparison a lot and I'm flattered by it because I think he was tremendous."

Although he was part of the Fatal 4-Way main event at WrestleMania 2000, Foley never got the big one-on-one WrestleMania main event match that was advertised on the marquee.

Even so, he had an incredible career in which he won the WWE Championship three times. Despite his title reigns only being a combined 36 days, he left an indelible mark on WWE.

As much as Zayn deserves to be in a WrestleMania main event and as much as a large portion of the fanbase would like to see it, it may not be in the cards this year.

Cody Rhodes is an almost equally popular star, and he is in line to challenge for the undisputed WWE universal title at WrestleMania 39 after winning the men's Royal Rumble match.

There is an outside chance Zayn could beat Reigns in his hometown of Montreal at Elimination Chamber or find a way into the WrestleMania match and make it a Triple Threat, but he may ultimately have a date with destiny with The Usos on The Grandest Stage of Them All instead.

That doesn't mean Zayn won't ever be a world champion or WrestleMania main eventer, but it is clear that he faces an uphill climb, much like Bryan and Foley did.

As much of a struggle as it may be for Zayn to get to the top, it isn't necessarily a bad thing since it fits his character and such a push will be embraced even more by fans if it does eventually happen.

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