I'll give Punk this: he does a great job of expressing the fact that apologizing to Roman is probably more painful to him than a barbed-wire bat shot.

He's putting that cactus over, brother!

Sami being unable to resist seeing if cacti are actually sharp (they are!) is a very Sami thing...

A moment's appreciation for how much Jacob's hair enhances the arcing swoop of his moonsault.

He’s so confused! Isn’t he supposed to try and win???

a woman in a fringed shirt says i have done nothing wrong ever in my life ALT: a woman in a fringed shirt says i have done nothing wrong ever in my life

Real gif of Sami and me.

I so love Sami’s stubborn refusal to wink to the audience about their boos! Of course he’d be increasingly enraged!

Sami Zayn and Wrestling Reality Why Sami Zayn can't understand why people are booing him, and where he might go from here

This time it can't be a thread because there are more thoughts than there is video, but you can find the whole thing here: mithgifs.substack.com/p/sami-zayn-...

Sami Zayn and Wrestling Reality: a few thoughts about Sami's inability to understand why people are booing him (spoiler: it's because he's fictional and has no idea the fights he's in are pre-determined, please don't tell him).

A super-quick check-in by Penta after a very solid dive onto El Grande Americano.

Damian is not exactly sure what's going on, but he'll take the win!

The exasperated "obviously" (and Kit Wilson's facial expression) make all the difference here.

Two Roads for Sami Zayn The new Road to WrestleMania runs parallel to his old Road to Redemption.

There's a longer version of this at my Substack:

So we’ve got two roads here, in two different decades. Sami’s road in 2014 led to the highest gold in NXT. It led to his assertion that “all you have to do, is do you.” But 2014 is a world away from 2026. And far, far more than years have passed between then and now.

Sami hesitates. Is he remembering that match with Neville so many years ago? Probably not. It goes differently this time, as Sami needs that WrestleMania spot too much to be concerned with possibly hitting his finisher on an injured man.

The referee kneels by both of them, checking them, and waves Sami off from the Helluva Kick.

The moment where Sami Helluva Kicks the possibly-injured Carmelo is a note-perfect replay of the match where he chooses not to attack the possibly-hurt Neville.

His two opponents miss their finisher and crumple.

The next week, Carmelo confronts Sami and calls him out, just as Sami called out Neville in 2014. Sami’s a lot less dismissive than Neville was, and Carmelo doesn’t have to go on a months-long quest to get his rematch, but the tone is strikingly similar.

Sami’s reaction, his wild stare between the two, makes clear he saw what happened, but he’s not going to let that get in the way of his chance to grab gold and prove himself. Like Neville in 2014 during that four-way match, he’s desperate. And soon, like Neville in 2014, he’s a champion.

Going back two weeks, as Sami fights to deserve a spot on the WrestleMania card after weeks of frustration and setbacks, Trick Williams accidentally clocks the US champion instead of Sami.

If you’ve been paying attention to Sami’s story, you’ve probably already spotted the parallels, starting with Randy and Cody playing Neville’s role, telling Sami that he doesn’t have the edge he needs to make it to the top. The last 2 weeks have kicked the parallels into overdrive, though.

It’s the nadir for Sami’s character. The Road to Redemption ends with his winning the NXT title clean, triumphant. But the look in his eyes here is haunting, that of a man who is internalizing some very deep self-doubt.

Sami’s about to deliver his Helluva Kick when he realizes that Neville is hurt. He hesitates, his righteous anger draining from him. The referee waves him off, and Sami goes to his knees to check on the friend who’s informed him he lacks the killer’s edge it takes to win—with predictable results.

A stung Neville informs him that that is why Sami “will never be NXT champion.” Angry, defiant, and slightly worried his friend might be right, Sami sets out on his months-long “Road to Redemption,” and finally gets a title shot from Neville.

And in that match, Neville tweaks his knee.

The next week, Sami tells the audience, Neville, and himself that he doesn’t *blame* Neville for his actions, but... he does kinda judge him. He’d be better than that, he informs his annoyed friend.

Two Roads, a Thread.

As the United States champion continues down his Road to WrestleMania, it’s time to remember another road Sami Zayn took—his Road to Redemption in 2014, which started when NXT champion Neville yanked the ref out of the ring in a 4-way match to prevent Sami from winning.

Nicely-timed stereo dropkicks as Iyo makes the save for Rhea!

It’s fascinating but also disquieting! (To be clear, I think Sami-the-performer is not at all rattled and is still deeply in sync with the audience, in a very complicated way…)

Keep it going!

Later, he's distracted by the chants for Trick. He pauses to stare in disbelief, and his move gets countered.

The character of Sami Zayn is usually uncannily aware of the mood of the audience, drawing power from it. I don't think I've ever seen babyface Sami so out of step with the audience's mood.