Merriam-webster defines lionheart as “a person who is brave and determined.”
Throughout the career of Sami Zayn, crowds have loved him. All over the world, crowds have chanted his song. Olé! Olé, olé, olé…. It is a blessing and a curse because while he knows the crowd has his back, it sometimes causes him great pain.
Kevin Owens once said that the “olé” chants that followed him around the world drove him insane. It was us, he insisted, we turned him against Sami. The chants were too much to bear, echoing and dancing in his head even when he tried to sleep. So he had to turn on Sami and had to push him away. We drove him insane, so by washing his hands clean of Sami, Kevin never had to hear that stupid chant again. Of course, wrestling fans are often like children: if you specifically say not to chant something, say the rallying cry of your former best friend, they will chant it even louder. So it follows Kevin like it follows Sami, all over the world. Olé! Olé, olé, olé….
The defining character trait for Sami throughout his career has been his heart. The Lionheart, the Heart and Soul of NXT. Sami’s heart has driven him, and guided him, throughout his career. To a fault, Sami leads with his heart, chasing after his dreams, and hopes, and fears, running toward an ever-lasting goal. His rallying cry echoed in his ears, unflinching towards the danger that faces him. Olé! Olé, olé, olé….
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A long time ago, in another life, there was a wrestler named El Generico who fought with his heart. He ran headlong into danger, guided only by his heart and his rallying cry. Olé! Olé, olé, olé…. El Generico for a few years was wrestling like this with seemingly no purpose – his job is to suffer, to agonize, to be tortured, and the crowds will love him. He is guided by his heart and the people’s love for him.
Then: it’s 2009. Kevin Steen and El Generico are a team, despite how opposite they are, and they’re good together. It works. Kevin is the heavy-hitter and El Generico will often jump on Kevin to add more power to their finishing moves. They’re growing in their personalities: Kevin, this viscous and angry kid determined to prove himself, and El Generico, hapless and determined to prove himself. Kevin is defined by his anger, El Generico is defined by his hope. Kevin fights for his family, El Generico at the moment has nothing to truly fight for.
Anyone who knows El Generico knows his story of retiring and going to live happily ever after with his orphans in Tijuana. This story is so ingrained in El Generico’s legend, you would think that it was there from the start. But it wasn’t. El Generico would debut 7 years before, in 2002, his orphanage a far-off dream.
One day during a PWG match, El Generico is fighting Chuck Taylor and it’s mentioned offhandedly that Generico had found an orphanage. Excalibur explains that the luchador opened it through money with his titles, but he didn’t have enough funds and it had to close, so Generico was fighting to reopen it. He couldn’t let the orphans down. These kids were counting on him.
El Generico found what he would fight for. The children. Los angelitos del El Generico, as they would later be known. By the next month, word has spread about Generico’s orphanage. PWG fans latch onto this, enthralled by the real-life Tiger Mask walking around PWG. Tiger Mask is a Japanese manga from the 1960s written by Ikki Kajiwara and it stars a luchador who protects orphans. The story of El Generico and los angelitos spreads and it becomes His Thing in Ring of Honor.
For 7 years, El Generico fought for no purpose. Now he fights for his children. The crowds adore this hero and sing the rallying cry for the children. Olé! Olé, olé, olé….
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Kevin is starting to lose it. The olé chants are following him everywhere he goes. His anger is building and building and building inside of him. One night, El Generico and Kevin Steen are fighting the Young Bucks. The Bucks are young and arrogant and cocky, they peacock around and are thrilled that there’s this divide between Generico and Steen. It’s Final Battle 2009. Kevin and Generico lost their tag titles to the American Wolves (Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards) 3 months before. Kevin has been stewing ever since, angry at Generico and angry the crowd won’t stop chanting. Olé! Olé, olé, olé….
He tries to act like it’s not bothering him. He urges the crowd the sing, to empower Generico against the Bucks. The Bucks have been wrestling for 4 years against Steen’s 9 years and Generico’s 7. The Bucks are energetic, bouncing, and free of injury and pain. Their facade breaks a little when Kevin just won’t stay down: he even kicked out of their finisher, which no one had at that point. Their mouths twist in an annoyed, childish way, and so the brothers start super-kicking him. Over and over and over until Kevin falls to his knees, and they kick him at the same time. Kevin stays down, Generico can’t save him in time, and the Bucks win.
Kevin is devastated. This was supposed to be his retirement match from ROH. He gets a mic and talks about his career and Generico’s career; Kevin talks about his recent struggles; Kevin thanks all the shit wrestlers that made him better; he thanks the great who taught him, naming the Briscoes and Nigel McGuinness. He thanks the audience: those who hate him, those who love him, who cheered or booed or spit or tapped his back. He starts to leave. The crowd begs him not to leave. Kevin turns around, looks at Generico, smiles, and opens his mouth. Generico hugs him tight before he can say anything, and you can visibly see the men sobbing.
Kevin pulls back, looks at Generico, and says, “I hate your fucking guts” and kicks Generico in the groin. The crowd screams. Kevin goes to leave, picks up a chair, and comes back; Generico stares up at him, begging him not to, and Kevin attacks him with a chair. The crowd screams again, anguished and hurt. But they also know: Kevin isn’t leaving. His story with El Generico isn’t over.
This is the first time in a very long history that Kevin Steen would betray lionhearts.
Years later, in a new lifetime, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn are former best friends turned bitter enemies. On his first night in NXT, Kevin betrayed Sami. It’s December 11, 2014. Sami had defeated Adrian Neville for the NXT Championship: if Zayn had lost the match, he would have to leave NXT forever. Sami debuted a year before, in January 2013, and he already wormed his way into the hearts of the NXT Universe. He’s brave and determined, and he wants to do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do; Sami Zayn is fighting for the people. For some, Sami Zayn reminds them of a luchador. So, the crowd does for Sami what they did for Generico. They sing. Olé! Olé, olé, olé….
Before the match at NXT TakeOver, Sami and Neville wrestled for the title. During the match, Neville feigned injury and Sami quickly moved to check on him. It was a trick. Neville quickly rolled Sami up to win. People told Sami he was “too nice” to win the big one, so he challenged Neville one more time.
Sami would win the match, it was hard and grueling, but he won. Olé! Olé, olé, olé….
The entire NXT locker room comes out to celebrate his win, specifically Kevin Owens. Kevin had his debut match earlier in the night, against CJ Parker (now known as Juice Robinson), and Kevin won the match, though he got a legitimate broken nose. As Sami and Kevin hug, commentary talks about their decade-long friendship. Sami is weary and a little hurt, so Kevin wraps an arm around his friend and they start to go up the ramp.
Then Kevin turns around and power-slams Sami into the ring apron. The crowd screams. The fans who know Kevin aren’t surprised but they’re still hurt; the fans who don’t are outraged. Who is this person coming in and attacking Sami? Sami crawled and scratched his way to the top, refusing to do anything the wrong way all the while. And then Kevin attacks him at his highest moment?
Kevin would later talk about why he turned on Sami and directed his anger at Sami for making it to WWE first and leaving him behind. He talked about being overlooked. He talked about that stupid song that people used to sing, still echoing in his ears. The crowd, as if daring him to attack them all, starts to sing. Olé! Olé, olé, olé…. Kevin is downright furious. Now here’s this new lionheart in his life with that stupid song.
It continues to follow him as it did with El Generico. When Sami and Kevin clash multiple times over the years, people sing to power their lionheart. They sing to taunt Kevin. They sing and sing and sing. Sami bashfully says he doesn’t get why he’s associated with that chant, but he loves it anyways.
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In 2015, John Cena is United States Champion and has open challenge opportunities every week. On May 4, in Montreal, Bret Hart comes out. He says he has this amazing wrestler from NXT. Kevin has said that Bret Hart is his hero, and they are in Canada after all. And then: Olé! Olé, olé, olé…. The crowd is ecstatic to see Sami, the hometown boy, come out. Sami wouldn’t win, but John Cena shook his hand and let the crowd shower Sami with applause. He lost and still, they sing. Olé! Olé, olé, olé….
Sami would injure his shoulder in the match. 16 days later, he fights Kevin at NXT Takeover: Unstoppable. The match stops because Sami can’t fight anymore. Kevin beats down on him as the crowd does what they know best. They know what can power Sami no matter what. Olé! Olé, olé, olé….
When Sami struggles, when the world is against him, when he doesn’t have the same success, when he’s injured and put on the shelf for months, the crowd stays. They sing and torture Kevin while Sami is gone because he is the reason, after all, that their Heart and Soul are gone. In Sami’s absence, Kevin has become NXT Champion and he’s vicious and cunning. He’s uncaring and he hates everyone. So the crowd knows what they can do to get under his skin. Because even thousands of miles away, recuperating from injury, the song gives Sami power. Olé! Olé, olé, olé….
Years go by. Kevin betrays every friend he makes, and Sami is chasing after him. Every time they lock up in the ring, the song plays. Kevin is angry and bitter and hates that stupid song; Sami leads with his heart and tries to do the right thing, listening to his rallying cry.
One day, it’s October 8, 2017. Kevin Owens has been feuding with Shane McMahon, culminating with the two trying to end their rivalry at Hell in a Cell. Near the end of the match, Shane bounced Kevin’s head off the cell walls as he was trying to climb down, sending Kevin to crash through the commentary table 10 feet below. Shane drags his body to another table and climbs back up to hit Kevin with a splash. Just before Shane could hit him, Kevin is pulled off.
Sami Zayn pushes away EMTs that rush to check on Kevin and Shane; he drags Kevin on top of Shane’s body and yells at the ref to count. 1, 2, 3!
Sami later says he helped Kevin because he was tired of being good. Being good never got him anywhere: while Kevin was cruel and heartless, he won accolades. He won titles. He won tournaments. Sami’s only title reign at that point was the NXT Championship, which was years in his past. Sami says he’s tired of being the Heart and Soul, he’s tired of being the Lionheart, and he’s tired of being good.
Fans can’t believe it. This is Sami Zayn. Sami Zayn has always fought for the right thing. So, they try to do the one thing they know to help him. They sing. Olé! Olé, olé, olé…. Sami turns away. Kevin and Sami, like Kevin and El Generico all those years ago, start to team up. But this is a different Sami, he’s no longer like El Generico, running headlong into danger toward an everlasting goal. This Sami is angry and bitter, turned jaded and cold against the world. He’s listening to Kevin, who tells him the world is against him and the people are too. Kevin tells him to not listen to the song. The song isn’t meant to help you, he insists, it’s meant to hurt you; these people don’t care about you, and that’s why they want to run into danger. They don’t care.
Sami would eventually change his entrance music, removing the “Olé!” to something more instrumental thinking it would stop the singing. If anything, it makes people sing louder. This rallying cry has become a rebel call, trying to coax Sami Zayn back to the person that he was before.
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Then: the story flips. Sami and Kevin are separated. Kevin, after a two-decade-long career of turning on every friend he’s ever had, is trying to repent. He feels guilty for everything he’s ever done. He’s remorseful, reaching out to those that he’s wronged. Kevin has become hopeful and determined that he can change his past. Sami has dug in his heels, convinced of a conspiracy against him, convinced the world is against him. He can’t trust anyone because they’ll all turn on him. Kevin’s insistence that the crowd was against him fully sank in, and Sami is convinced that even Kevin is trying to get him. So Sami is a lone wolf, struggling to survive and find someone to latch onto.
Enter the Bloodline. The Bloodline is the Anoa’i family, one of the great wrestling royalties. Merriam-webster defines family as “a group of people united by certain convictions or a common affiliation.” Roman Reigns, the Tribal Chief, the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, leads his family. Roman has ruled WWE with an iron fist for the past three years, with his Wise Man Paul Heyman flanked to his side. Paul Heyman has been the henchman to many an evil man in his career, but it seems like his relationship with Roman Reigns is far different. Sure, he feared Brock Lesnar, but this fear is different. Paul Heyman is petrified of Roman Reigns. When Roman rages, Paul shrinks into himself, terrified and shaking in the corner. Joined by the Wise Man is the Right Hand Man Jey Uso, his twin brother Jimmy, and their little brother Solo, who is the most recent addition to the Bloodline. Along with Roman holding the WWE Heavyweight Championship and the Universal Championship, the Usos are holding both the Raw and SmackDown Tag Team Championships.
Sami latches onto the Bloodline. They have power and resources, ruling WWE and terrorizing everyone who dares run in their path. Paul Heyman has almost 40 years of being in the wrestling industry and his touch is undeniable. From his managerial skills, commentary skills, or being the brain behind ECW, Paul Heyman has been providing magic to the professional wrestling machine for years. He can make anything believable. And it is my opinion that part of what makes Roman seem so dangerous and adds credence to his story is Paul Heyman. The way Paul shakes with fear, or eggs him on, or whispers in Roman’s ears, Paul is undeniably a major influence and impact on the Tribal Chief storyline.
So Sami tries to befriend the Bloodline, get on their good side, and become one of them. If Sami’s in with the Bloodline, he has safety, security, and more importantly: power. The conspiracy theories are piling inside of him, weighing him down and pressing on his chest; Sami can’t breathe, he’s drowning, so he’s reaching for a life preserver.
Roman Reigns is a devious man. So he plays with Sami. He allows Jimmy to be friendly with Sami. He mocks Jey for refusing to get close to Sami, knowing why Jey doesn’t want to get close. Jey refuses to allow himself to show emotion, terrified of the consequences. When the Tribal Chief was building his mythos, Jey Uso was the reason why. Jey was hunted by Roman, beaten, and worn down into submission to become the perfect Right Hand Man. So Jey is Roman’s perfect soldier, ready to charge headlong into battle.
And Roman plays with Sami, yoyoing him back and forth for his amusement. Roman makes Sami do everything he can to prove himself to the Tribal Chief, lets Sami and the Usos team together, and makes the crowd cheer for Sami; then he delivers a punch: he reminds Sami that he is not blood. Roman bestows the title of “Honorary Uce” to Sami. Honorary.
Merriam-webster defines honorary as “conferred or elected in recognition of achievement or service without the usual prerequisites or obligations.” Sami Zayn is an honorary Anoa’i. He laps up this moment of kindness, relishing in it. Sami fights to deserve the title, throwing himself headlong into danger for those he cares about. A glimmer, a spark, of the old Sami, who would do what he thought was right because it was the right thing to do. Olé! Olé, olé, olé….
So of course, Sami reasons, Kevin has to come along to ruin it. Everything was beginning to be perfect and Kevin had to ruin it for him like he always does. Kevin tries to tell Sami that his family doesn’t care about him – the ‘honorary’ is mocking, he says. At the end of the day, the Anoa’i is a blood family and nothing Sami does for them will change that.
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Sami throws himself into proving Kevin wrong. The Bloodline does care about him. And the crowd cares about him again! They cheer and applaud and love the Bloodline. The crowd loves him so much, they come up with a new song. Sami Uso…. Sami Uso… Sami Uso…
Roman’s mouth twitches when he hears the chant. His mouth twists in a childish, annoyed way. He is the one who should be the focus. Roman is the Tribal Chief, the Head of the Table. Roman is the one running WWE, not Sami. So Roman allows Sami to get beat up more in matches, throws Sami to the wolves more often, and puts Sami in danger constantly. Roman tells Sami that Kevin is jealous and he needs to be taken out.
Sami Uso…. Sami Uso… Sami Uso…
Part of Roman’s issue with Sami, whether he wants to admit it or not, comes from Roman’s fears of inadequacy. He comes from a long line of wrestlers, one piece of the huge Anoa’i family puzzle. Roman was thrown in and branded as the future, and he had to fight to prove that he earned it. More importantly, Roman has an issue with letting people get close to him. It all started when Seth Rollins slammed that chair into his back to break up the Shield. Ever since Jon Moxley left WWE, Roman has not allowed anyone to get close to him to the level that Mox was (but that’s another story for another day).
The Tribal Chief is all about respect. Respecting him is an integral part of his psyche; anything that he views as disrespectful, or an attack on his character, is a threat that has to be taken out. So Roman launches a full-blown war on Kevin Owens, rallying his troops against the enemy. Roman’s a kind general, you see, so he’s not sending them out alone. He will send his troops out in groups of three or four, sending them after Kevin Owens and anyone who stands against him.
Sami Uso… Sami Uso… Sami Uso….
Roman’s only problem within the Bloodline is how the crowd reacts to Sami. They think he can be the Head of the Table, the Tribal Chief. They think he can do what he does, that’s why they chant and sing the way they do.
It’s the crowd’s fault that he is turning against Sami. It’s the crowd’s fault, not his; they are driving him insane with the chants. The chanting is following him all over the world and it’s starting to weigh down on him. (Seems like this happens to the El Genericos and Samis of the world often.)
Sami proves his loyalty at Survivor Series: WarGames 2022. The Bloodline against Kevin Owens and the Brawling Brutes. Kevin refuses to stay down, so Sami takes a play out of Kevin’s book. Like Kevin did to Generico all those years ago, Sami hits him with a low blow to help his team win. Jey, who was cold and distant to Sami before this, now fully accepts Sami into the Bloodline. The Bloodline views Sami as an honorary Anoa’i.
This war with Roman and Kevin Owens builds to the Royal Rumble 2023. Roman saunters out with the Wise Man and Sami at his side, Kevin staring them down. Kevin rests on the turnbuckle, across from Sami. The light shines down on Kevin and Sami is hidden in the darkness.
The match is brutal and grueling. That’s not what’s important. Here’s what’s important: after the match, Roman, Solo, and the Usos brutalize Kevin. They handcuff him to the ring ropes and attack him. Roman demands for Sami to do the same, handing him a steel chair and screaming for him to attack. Roman turns back to Kevin—
Sami slams the chair on Roman’s back. The crowd is elated, Jey is betrayed, and Roman seethes. Roman, Jimmy, and Solo turn on Sami, brutalizing him the same way they did to Kevin. (Notably, Jey walks away.)
The Lionheart, determined to do the right thing, flickers back to life; a flame that refuses to go out, burning against the darkness around him. Olé! Olé, olé, olé…
Here’s the magical thing about wrestlers like El Generico and Sami Zayn. Even when they don’t believe in themselves, when they’re struggling, when there are conspiracies against them, when they’re backed into a corner, the crowd still sings. They sing a rebel call, a call that they will be with the wrestler until the end of the line. Wrestlers like El Generico and Sami Zayn work because the people see themselves in them. They see this person who wants to do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do. So whenever it seems like the Lionheart needs it, the crowd will always do what they know will empower them.
Sami Uso… Sami Uso… Sami Uso…
Olé! Olé, olé, olé…
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