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Sami Zayn will defend the WWE Intercontinental Championship this Saturday (May 25) at King and Queen of the Ring in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It will be his third appearance with the company in the Middle Eastern country after an emotional outing at WWE Night of Champions last year.
The 39-year-old had reportedly been prevented from appearing at events in Saudi for several years. This was apparently due to his Syrian descent, with his parents both Syrian immigrants to Canada. Sami is of Canadian nationality and was born in Laval, Quebec, Canada on July 12, 1984.
The Underdog from the Underground is a Muslim and multilingual, able to speak Arabic fluently. He did just that at Night of Champions last year after making his entrance as one-half of the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions with Kevin Owens.
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Fans can often notice Sami Zayn donning wrestling tights with Arabic calligraphy printed on them. He's extremely proud of his heritage as alluded to in an interview with Al Arabiya English in 2016:
"It’s a great source of pride for me to be representing Arabs on such a global platform and I consider it as a badge of honor. Growing up, I loved watching wrestling on the WWE and finding an Arab wrestler to look up to was impossible."
The former Bloodline member will make his second appearance in Saudi Arabia this Saturday. He'll defend his Intercontinental Championship in a triple-threat match against Chad Gable and Bronson Reed.
Is Sami Zayn WWE's best emotional performer?
Sami Zayn's rise since joining WWE in January 2013 has been remarkable. He's gone from the young and hungry workhorse of NXT to a bonafide megastar on the main roster who challenged Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
That match came after his must-watch storyline with The Bloodline where he became an honorary Uce. Fans argue that this is one of, if not, the best stories in pro wrestling history.
Sami Zayn's acting abilities were a key reason behind the story clicking with fans. His comedy had many in stitches but he also resonated with the audience when he eventually had to turn on Roman Reigns.
Triple H hailed Zayn's ability to emotionally connect with fans when reacting to his win against Gunther at WrestleMania XL. WWE's Chief Content Officer said during the premium live event's post-event press conference:
"That's Sami's calling card. Yes, he does spectacular things. But his ability as a performer, as an actor, whatever you wanna call it, to pull that emotion out of people. It's awesome. It's why he is in the spot he is, it's why he is as good as he is." [H/T - SEScoops]
Sami Zayn dethroned Gunther to end the Ring General's historic 666-day title reign. It was a questionable decision at the time but his ongoing rivalry with Chad Gable has once again proven why he's such a hit with fans.
