Sami Zayn won the WWE Championship two times this year. Both of these victories were somewhat unexpected for fans.
But there was another time when Zayn could’ve won the WWE Title, and a lot of fans were rooting for him as well. That was during the Elimination Chamber premium live event in 2023, when Zayn challenged Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
There were several moments in this match when fans, even if for a second, thought that Zayn could realistically take the title belt off Reigns. But at the end of their 30+ minute match, Reigns walked out victorious.
Sami Zayn Comments On His Loss To Roman Reigns
The match took place in Montreal, so Zayn had support from a hometown crowd. He recently sat down for an interview with Chris Van Vliet on Insight, where he was asked if he should’ve won the title that night.
Zayn starts by saying that there was a case to be made for his victory in Montreal, and he doesn’t think it’s ludicrous to say the same.
“At the time, I thought there was a case to be made for it, but going back to the domino effect thing, I don’t know. I really don’t know. I don’t think it’s ludicrous to say I should have. If you were watching at that time, I think anybody could have made that argument.”
He implied timing to be one of the reasons why he didn’t win against Reigns.
“But it was just again timing, and Cody was also red hot at that time, and they were building to something. Then it leads to Cody the next year, and then it’s more gratifying. Whatever it is, just yeah, I don’t know. Could, should, would- would it have worked? I think so. But who’s to say?”
Following Elimination Chamber, Reigns defended his title against Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania. When Zayn lost, many fans thought it was because WWE was saving this moment for Rhodes. But at WrestleMania, Reigns ended up beating him as well.
Things eventually worked out for them. Rhodes finished his story a year later at WrestleMania and ended Reigns’ title reign.
Zayn, on the other hand, had to wait three more years before he could finally win his first WWE Championship. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that the WWE Title picture on SmackDown is way more interesting than the World Heavyweight Championship scene over on Raw, and Zayn is one of the biggest reasons for this.
Also read: Sami Zayn Explains Why His First WWE Championship Win Was More Special Than His Second Reign
Wrestling news reporter.
