Fans hurl obscenities at Chad Gable during post-Raw attack on Sami Zayn

Gable’s brutality ignited a vulgar firestorm after Raw ended.

Fans in Montreal’s Bell Centre did their hometown hero Sami Zayn no favors by getting on Chad Gable’s case following Raw.

After a close contest that saw Zayn retain the Intercontinental Championship, Gable ripped Zayn from his wife’s arms as the couple embraced, drilling Zayn with a German suplex on the arena floor. Gable escalated his attack by applying an ankle lock to the stunned champion from the second rope as Zayn howled in agony in front of his family.

Once cameras quit rolling, several officials came to check on Zayn as a crowd of almost 12,000 chanted, “F*** you, Gable.”

What followed was Gable’s way of telling the audience, “F*** me? No, F***k you.”

As expletives echoed through the arena, Gable applied the ankle lock again to Zayn. As more referees swarmed the ring, pleading with Gable to release the hold, Zayn’s wife, Khadijah, could be seen holding her head in distress. After letting up, fans continued to hurl obscenities at Gable in English and French as he taunted them before leaving the ring.

Gable’s emotional breakdown comes after a months-long quest to win the Intercontinental title ended in another failure. Last year, Gable came up short against then-champ Gunther, suffering a horrible loss in front of his family, which left Gable’s daughter in tears. Gable would eventually rebound and seemed headed toward a WrestleMania showdown with the Ring General.

But in March, during a gauntlet match to determine Gunther’s challenger at WWE’s signature event, Gable came up short against Zayn despite being the last man to enter the contest. After, a distraught Gable questioned his future.

“I’m gonna go home tomorrow and be aimless, lost, directionless, questioning myself, questioning my work ethic, my dedication, if I’ve done it right, if I’m approaching everything right,” said Gable at the time.

In the following weeks, Gable questioned Zayn’s ability to beat the Austrian monster, and rightfully so, as Zayn was flattened by Gunther last June. But after training with the former Olympian, Zayn did the impossible and snagged the I.C. crown from an overconfident Gunther last week at WrestleMania.

In his first public defense of his title, Zayn turned back Gable’s challenge in the main event of Raw. After the match, Gable initially accepted Zayn’s gesture of sportsmanship and raised his hand in victory. Zayn then left the ring to celebrate with his family and friends, sharing a hug with his wife before getting snatched and tossed by Gable.

Despite the vulgar objections of a partisan crowd, it seems Gable has finally found himself after another crushing defeat. Instead of fading into the background, his hostility will likely lead to a rematch, offering another opportunity to finish his story and a chance to shine a proverbial middle finger at those who shunned him.