Chad Gable addresses his loss to Sami Zayn.
On Monday's WWE Raw, Chad Gable had a shot to earn another match against Gunther at WrestleMania 40 for the Intercontinental Championship. Gable entered the gauntlet match last and got a tired Sami Zayn, who had already defeated Bronson Reed and Shinsuke Nakamura.
Unfortunately for Gable, he came up short in his efforts and was pinned by Zayn.
"Coming up short, you hear that all the time. It's starting to become the story of my career, thus far, unfortunately, at least my singles career. Disappointing puts it lightly. More than anything it's defeating, in a sense. For those that have never felt something like this, it's more visceral than you can relly describe. It's not coming up short, it's letting people down that depend on you, in a number of ways. To me, this meant a lot more than WrestleMania or a championship. It was a very personal thing for me and my family and the ideals I guide my life by. I don't want to get melodramatic, but it's kind of true. A lot of the guiding forces in my life rode on this and me delivering on the things I say I'm going to do. That's always who I've been. This is an example of me not doing that. If you really boil it down, it kind of shatters your paradigm of who you are, at least who you thought you are. It goes pretty deep," Gable said while speaking to Cathy Kelley in a WWE exclusive.
Zayn embraced Gable after the match, giving him a hug and saying something to him.
Asked if he wanted to share what Sami said, Gable declined.
"No, for now that's going to stay between me and Sami. To be honest, I was less interested in what he had to say and more interested in getting out of the ring. The dejected feeling is not something I like to air publicly, but at the same time, I'm a man willing enough to say he was the better man tonight. I don't think it meant more to him, I don't think it still means more to him than it does to me, but I have no problem showing respect to another man that got the better of me," said Gable.
Gable said it was a battle of wills in the end and Zayn ultimately won out.
As for what's next for Gable, he said he will reevaluate things as he tries to move forward.
"I talked a lot over the past month or so how much this meant to me and this was my path. What am I going to do, come out tomorrow and say, 'Give me one more chance!' and beg for one more chance? I'm not that guy. I'm very realistic, very self-aware. You're not going to see me whining and complaining and trying to weasel my way into some form of shrapnel of a match at WrestleMania where I can say I was on the show. Where do I go from here? I don't know. I'm going to go home tomorrow and be aimless, lost, directionless, questioning myself, questioning my work ethic and dedication, if I've done it right, if I'm approaching everything right. This is a paradigm shift. What's next? I don't know. That's the hardest question you've asked so far. I have no clue," he said.
Zayn will challenge Gunther for the WWE Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 40.
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