Backstage Details Behind Sami Zayn's Promo On 2/17 WWE Smackdown

During the February 17 edition of "WWE SmackDown," Sami Zayn returned to his hometown, Montreal, Quebec, Canada ahead of his big match against Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns at Elimination Chamber.

Fightful Select has shared backstage news about Zayn's emotional promo that closed out last night's "SmackDown." According to the report, the promo was always "designed to just be one segment," and it was after the "heavy online requests from fans," that Zayn's old "Worlds Apart" WWE theme was brought back. The theme was popular in his days in "WWE NXT."

Those backstage claimed to Fightful that Zayn looked "visibly anxious and nervous" ahead of his promo. Some even noted that they expected somewhat of a different promo to occur, but Zayn had accounted for the crowd's reaction. The person behind the segment was Michael Hayes, who Fightful noted has produced a lot of "high-level" world title segments since the Bloodline era started.

There reportedly was also some panic on the production end, due to having to edit and black out the "F–ck You Roman" chants. Overall those that Fightful heard from were "very happy with how things ended up," and one longtime producer called it "special."

During his promo, Zayn said while WrestleMania is the most important show of the whole year, for him, it's the Elimination Chamber. He also said it's not just him versus Reign, but it's actually Reigns versus him and the entire city of Montreal. Before Zayn even spoke, he was given over five minutes of applause from his hometown.

Elimination Chamber is tonight at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Other matches set for tonight include Bobby Lashley vs. Brock Lesnar, a men's and women's Elimination Chamber match, and The Judgment Day vs. Edge and Beth Phoenix.