Sami Zayn Reveals Inspirations for his Unkempt look in WWE
Sami Zayn will step inside the Elimination Chamber tonight where the winner gets a crack at WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns later on in the PPV. Before that, Zayn spoke with Ryan Satin of FOX Sports about a wide range of topics, including his current disheveled look in WWE.
Zayn felt like as a heel it's a great way to get under people's skin — and it's working.
"It's funny that you say it's getting under people's skin," Zayn said. "I actually get that comment a lot. 'Cut your hair. Shave your beard.' What's your problem? What do you care? It's the strangest thing. It offends people to be this unkempt. It offends people. But, no, it's actually more just cause I think I'm going bald and I've never had long hair.
"And I said, 'Well, if you're ever going to do it, now's the time. I'm getting older. I'm starting to see it thin out a little bit.' I said, 'I've never had it, I'm starting to see it thin out a little bit. I've never had it, let's go for it.' Then, because of the nature of my character, it just looked better to keep it looking crazy versus putting product in it. If I was a good guy, I don't think it would work as well."
Aside from wanting to irritate the fans, Zayn noted he had two inspirations early on for his look. The first was Bill Murray's character (Ernie McCracken) in the bowling comedy, Kingpin. The other was Bret Hart, who Zayn felt went into a match looking one way, and out a different way.
"But, I had an inspiration early on from, I don't know if you've ever seen the movie, Kingpin?" Zayn asked. "Bill Murray's character in Kingpin and the big game when his hair starts going little by little. That was a bit of an inspiration for me. I wanted to have that look.
"Or Bret Hart from a more practical point of view, where he'd come out looking one way, but then as the match progressed he looked a different way. And it kind of gave off the effect that this person's going through hell and they're in a war. They come out and their hair's looking one way, but by the end, it's just everywhere, you know? So, I kind of like that aspect of it."
Elimination Chamber begins at 7 pm ET (Kickoff at 6 pm ET).
Below is a clip of the Billy Murray character Zayn was referencing.