WWE superstar Sami Zayn has admitted he never ‘understood’ the appeal of Jackass.
The former Intercontinental Champion will face Johnny Knoxville in an Anything Goes match at WrestleMania 38, and he admitted it’s only since their rivalry started that he’s changed his mind on the iconic franchise.
He exclusively told Metro.co.uk: ”Well if I’m being honest, I was actually never a fan. I knew it was obviously very popular, and I think now that I’m working with Johnny Knoxville I’m realising a lot more how popular it actually was.
‘I was just so consumed by wrestling at that age, that I kinda never took to it. If I’m being honest, I think I kinda missed the point of Jackass when I was younger.’
While Sami can appreciate the irony given his chosen vocation, the wrestler explained how he doesn’t enjoy seeing ‘people get hurt’ for entertainment, and he couldn’t look past that aspect of Jackass.
‘I think I only, at a glance, looked at it at first and just saw guys doing crazy things and getting hurt. I’m not a fan of watching people get hurt to be honest,’ he laughed.
‘Which is strange to hear considering I was obsessed with pro wrestling and I became a wrestler. But I’m a bit squeamish, I’m not a fan of watching people get hurt.’
As he’s got older, the 37-year-old star has grown to appreciate the bond the Jackass crew shared, and he’s happy to admit he ‘missed’ something the first time round.
‘It’s about the friendships and the camaraderie. It’s funny because people miss the point of wrestling all the time, so it’s funny that someone who’s as obsessed with wrestling as I am, that I missed the point of Jackass,’ he said.
‘But I’ll freely admit that I did, and I judged it without entirely knowing what it was, or was about.’
Looking ahead to WrestleMania, Zayn is poised to battle Knoxville on April 3 on the second night of the doubleheader at AT&T Stadium, and the ‘anything goes’ stipulation adds another layer of intrigue.
‘On the one hand, yeah, I get to test that pain threshold of his, which he’s famous for. But on the other hand, if it’s straight up wrestling I don’t think anybody expects him to be able to hang with me,’ he said of the dynamics as a performer.
‘But the fact that it’s anything goes might open the door to some of the stuff he’s good at, which is the gags and the pranks and the weapons and whatever else it is.’
Sami suggested doing the match this way makes things ‘a lot more interesting and a lot more fun’, and a fitting way to do justice to the ‘unique’ story they’ve been able to tell.
Over the past few months, fans have seen Knoxville attack Zayn with a cattle prod as he was escorted out of the Jackass Forever premiere, while the 51-year-old star also flew his rival’s phone number on a plane across Los Angeles.
‘I think this whole thing has been a lot of fun, certainly for me,’ he admitted. ‘I hope it’s been fun for the audience as well, because we’ve gotten to build the match in some very unique and orthodox ways that you just don’t get to do with another WWE superstar.
‘We’ve gotten to do some really outside the box, unconventional and fun things to build this match.’
Their showdown is a huge moment for Sami, who recently put pen to paper on a new deal with WWE and now finds himself in one of the flagship bouts on the biggest show of the year.
‘I’m realising just how many people were into Jackass and how huge it actually was. Everyone seems to know about him and about Jackass,’ he said.
‘All these people I never would have expected are coming out of the woodwork and telling me what huge fans they were. It’s been an interesting few months working with him, that’s for sure!’
Watch WrestleMania 38 on April 2 and 3 live on the WWE Network.
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