Johnny Knoxville admits WWE boss Vince McMahon has been ‘very kind’ to him as he prepares for his big WrestleMania debut.
The Jackass legend is set to take on Sami Zayn in an Anything Goes Match this weekend in Dallas, Texas after months of tormenting his rival, and the pair even came to blows as part of the 2022 Men’s Royal Rumble back in January.
Asked about his conversations with Vince since joining WWE, he exclusively told Metro.co.uk: ‘Well, he’s a very busy man, so after my matches I’ll go over and shake his hand and say thank you.
‘But he’s running the whole show, so I try not to take up his time. But he’s been very kind to me, all the WWE has.’
It’s safe to say Sami isn’t quite as fond of Knoxville, and the latter is grateful for the opportunity presenting itself for this weekend’s festivities.
‘Sami, he’s not too bright and he just doesn’t get it. I’m gonna have to teach him a lesson at WrestleMania,’ he deadpanned. ‘Luckily Vince McMahon has given me this honour of beating Sami down publicly at WrestleMania. I’m excited about nothing more right now.’
The first part of our interview with Johnny caused a bit of a stir as he encouraged Metro.co.uk readers to light up Sami’s phone weeks after he flew the digits over Los Angeles on the back of a plane.
‘If you want to get a hold of Sami, you can call him at 407-574-1532. If you need him to clean your house or maybe give you a pedicure,’ he said. ‘He’s going to need a lot of odd jobs after WrestleMania because I’m gonna retire him.’
While everyone got involved in the fun, Zayn didn’t seem too impressed as he shared the video and revealed fans had gone back to flooding the number with calls and texts.
He tweeted: ‘I was wondering why after two weeks & over 305,000 text messages and 178,500 phone and FaceTime calls, why my phone had still not let up at all. Now I know why. The psycho is still at it. Johnny Knoxville is GOING TO GET DESTROYED at #WrestleMania’
At the Showcase of the Immortals, Knoxville is stepping into Sami’s world where he’ll compete in his first ever singles match – so, are there any nerves?
‘No, it’s just excitement. I just thought it would be fun – and it is,’ he smiled. ‘It’s so much fun. Like, I love having a stooge like Sami that I can just give him so much hell all day long.’
WWE WrestleMania 38 airs April 2 and 3 on the WWE Network.
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