PARKS’S TAKE: Hear me out! The absurdist fare of Sami Zayn, Trick Williams, and Gingerbread Man actually worked

The WWE’s Gingerbread Man storyline involving Sami Zayn and Trick Williams was absurdist fare at the highest level. In the opinion of many, it had not place in professional wrestling.

But I liked it. And more importantly, I think it worked.

Sami Zayn has been struggling to find his place on Smackdown, believing he’s being overlooked and showing jealous tendencies when talking to some of the top stars backstage. Many of them have told Sami, in so many words, to look inward. It’s not a conspiracy, but rather, Sami’s inability to win the big one that has held him back.

Sami’s pride and joy was the United States Title. That title now belongs to Trick Williams. Sami is jealous of Williams being the new, shiny toy of the WWE Universe and management. Historically, he’s a character very sensitive to slights. So when Williams brought out the Gingerbread Man to mock Sami, Sami let it get to him. In wrestling parlance, he “sold” it. That just gave Williams permission to keep the Gingerbread Man in the fore to play mind games with his foe.

All this happened as Sami was beginning to turn heel and Williams face. The Gingerbread Man fit into that. Sami was taking himself too seriously, unable to laugh off the joke at his expense. He got nasty and attacked the Gingerbread Man, a character live fans embraced. Williams was portrayed as a guy who could have fun, but more importantly, could back it up in the ring. The fans got behind him because he’s cool, the antithesis of Sami (something that has worked in Sami’s favor as a babyface in the past).

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The WWE roster seemed more than willing to play along at Sami’s expense, driving him further into heeldom. At least, that’s my read on it. Now, you can say, why is Nick Aldis (or the announcers) playing along or taking part in this when they should be impartial. That’s a fair question and one of the downsides of this angle. Even if I’ve been amused by it, that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. But you can see the neurotic Sami being driven to madness by not only the roster’s acceptance of the Gingerbread Man, but the outpouring of grief during his funeral. Sami realizes the joke is on him, yet he can’t help let it get to him. It’s mind games from Williams, and it’s succeeding.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the actual performances of Sami and Williams, which have both been pitch-perfect. Sami has remained loyal to his fans (the Bob Dylan comparison a few weeks ago was apt), and a babyface to them. Williams, meanwhile, has shown great range as he has slowly transitioned to babyface, effectively cementing a run on top in WWE in the future. In the wrong hands, this angle would’ve fallen apart and the crowds would’ve booed it out of the building. They haven’t, in part because of how earnest both Sami and Williams have been.

In this instance, the absurdity is the point. And in advancing the characters of both Sami and Williams, as well as making for wacky TV, I don’t believe this deserves the criticism its gotten in some circles.