Before he signed for WWE, Sami Zayn wrestled all across the world as El Generico.
He portrayed the Mexican masked Luchador in a variety of promotions, most notably in PWG and ROH. It was his feud with Kevin Steen (now Kevin Owens) that brought him to the top of independent wrestling.
He dropped the mask when he signed for the WWE in 2012, taking the name Sami Zayn and reinventing himself as a character.
It’s been a decade since El Generico last competed in a ring, with Sami Zayn becoming a big star in that time in the WWE. He is a former NXT Champion, and picked up the WWE Tag Team titles alongside Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 39.
However, prior to signing for the WWE, El Generico had a series of try-out matches with Total Nonstop Action, or TNA.
The company, now known as Impact Wrestling, brought in Generico for matches to see if he was a good fit for the company in 2011.
He faced off with TJP and The Amazing Red in televised matches, that have so far never been seen by the general public.
However, Sami Zayn’s TNA matches, as El Generico, have finally been released after a prolonged social media campaign by the fans of the WrestleMania main eventer.
After years of speculation and forums discussions, IMPACT Wrestling finally released the presumedly ‘lost’ matches from 2011, announcing that Generico’s previously unaired try-out matches against TJP and The Amazing Red were now available to view on IMPACT Plus.
The release follows a campaign from the DEADLOCK Podcast to release the matches, who pushed for the matches to be released amid the impending tag team WrestleMania main event, featuring Zayn.