Sami Zayn Felt He Had To Prove Himself To This Bloodline Member

Sami Zayn's recent work with The Bloodline has taken on a life of its own, with trials and tribulations aplenty along the way. And yet, just about everything he's done since aligning himself with the dominant faction has turned to gold. But if you think Zayn's toughest test was firmly proving himself to the WWE Undisputed Universal Champion Roman Reigns, or finally winning over Jey Uso, you'd be wrong. Speaking with BT Sport's Ariel Helwani, and taking a moment to separate storyline from reality, the "Honorary Uce" identified the one man who he believed he needed to prove the most to from the outset.

"If I'm being brutally honest here, maybe [Paul] Heyman is the one I felt like I had to convince," Zayn said. When asked why, he added "Because I think he's old school, and he is very familiar with the top of the card." While he mentions that there's a mutual level of respect between him, Reigns, and The Usos as peers, he believes this program simply doesn't work without Heyman buying in.

"For him to be able to buy in to me being a part of the act that's at the top of the card, I didn't want him to be one of those guys that's grabbing Roman and going 'Look, you can't work with him,'" he continued. After all, Heyman views the business in different ways than most, including ways in which Zayn himself doesn't necessarily think about. And even though he doesn't believe he needs to convince him anymore, he stopped short of saying he's specifically won Heyman over. "I think I've won the fans over, which is what he cares about."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit BT Sport with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.