Titus O’Neil Recalls Conversation With Sami Zayn Over ‘Sami For Syria,’ Sami Thinking He’d Get Heat

The reach of WWE superstars goes beyond the ring with many wrestlers getting involved in community work. John Cena has broken Make A Wish record and Titus O’Neil is one of the most active members in community work in general, not just amongst wrestlers. 

Though O’Neil has seldom been on television over the years, he maximizes his WWE platform by being active in the Tampa community. 

O’Neil appeared on Busted Open Radio to discuss the platform wrestlers have and how the younger talent is using that platform to give back or speak out. 

“I’m so glad now that this generation of WWE superstars are taking the mantle of being able to control their own narrative outside of the company and really want to make an inspirational and inspiring change on their own, using their own platform, motivating people to do XYZ, taking chances to do things. Sami Zayn is one of the hottest things in pro wrestling and has been for several months. I remember Sami calling me and going, ‘Hey man, I want to run something by you.’ This is when he wanted to do his project in Syria. ‘Do you think I would get any heat?’ He ran it by me, explained everything, and asked, ‘Do you think I would get any heat for doing so?’ I said, ‘if anybody gives you heat for trying to do something that makes a significant and positive change for something you believe in, then you don’t need to be working at this company.’ I’ve always felt that way. If you don’t believe what I’m doing to help other people, not only in conjunction with our WWE community team, but separately from that, then this isn’t going to be the place to work for me. I’m not going to minimize what God has put in me for anybody. We see all of our younger superstars; Bianca Belair, Montez Ford, Austin Theory, as big of a jerk as he is on TV, I’ve gone to hospitals with him and I see how he interacts. At 24 years old, he gets it. A lot of our guys and girls get it. We as sports entertainers, regardless of what company we’re in, we’re still human beings and we have this platform for a reason, and we need to continue to utilize them to the best of our ability for society, not just pro wrestling, but for society in general,” he said.

O’Neil also praised the work AEW and their community team have done in getting involved, noting that he speaks to and bounces ideas off Mark Henry and Paul Wight. 

Sami started Sami For Syria, a mobile clinic in Syria delivering medical care to civilians displaced by war, in 2017. Fans can learn more about Sami For Syria by clicking here. 

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