Last year, the world watched on as Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens battled The Usos in the main event of WrestleMania Saturday. Taking the bigger picture into account, most people were tuning in expecting this to be part one of a two-night two-part story which would’ve seen Jimmy and Jey dethroned on night one and Roman Reigns taken down just 24 hours later, but, as we all know, it didn’t quite work out as anticipated on the second night. Regardless, in its own right, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens vs. The Usos will stand the test of time as a masterclass in storytelling and performance.
It came off the back of a truly special run as far as Zayn is concerned, creating magic with The Bloodline across a series of interactions in mid-2022 which were so good they afforded him an extended run with the group not six months after he was the butt of the joke during the Johnny Knoxville feud, even being pinned by a giant mousetrap at WrestleMania. The Jackass match was fun and showed that Sami was versatile enough to perform any role given to him at a high level, but his time with Roman Reigns and The Usos connected with so many people.
He came in, and whether it be his dynamic with Jey Uso, being made an ‘Honorary Uce’ or the eventual reunion with Kevin Owens, everything seemed to click. Sami Zayn was a shining light of positivity who was just trying to fit in with the cool group on top, and it culminated in one of the most powerful turns and joyous title wins in history. From trying to find a place to belong to closing a night of WrestleMania, it was lightning in a bottle.
Yet, once he and Kevin Owens had their hands on the gold, the run that followed didn’t quite hit the level that it could’ve. By no means am I saying that the run was bad, particularly because the reign was littered with great defences, but it didn’t feel worthy to follow on from such a great title win, and this was reflected by what the two men did following their loss of the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships.
After 154 days, Owens and Zayn were defeated by The Judgment Day’s Finn Balor and Damian Priest in a pretty awesome Steel City Street Fight at Payback last September, and there wasn’t really a clear direction following this defeat for the two men who had been championship contenders at that start of 2023. It seemed baffling that the company didn’t fully capitalise on the Canadian duo after their triumph on the Grandest Stage, and what transpired with the winning half of WrestleMania Saturday’s last match can be directly contrasted to the losing side.
Following ‘Mania 39, The Usos went on a journey which saw them leave The Bloodline and hand Roman Reigns his first pinfall loss in over three years, earning Jey an Undisputed WWE Universal Championship match at SummerSlam. What were the Undisputed Tag Team Champions doing on that same show? Well, they weren’t on the card.
Not only that, but when Jey responded to his brother’s betrayal by quitting SmackDown, he was brought to RAW by ‘The American Nightmare’ Cody Rhodes to focus on his singles career, which, as a direct result, brought an abrupt end to Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn’s team. The brand switch made sense as the company wanted to separate The Usos to prolong the payoff of Jimmy’s shocking turn until WrestleMania, but it meant that a superstar had to be sent to Friday nights to fill the gap, and it was ‘The Prizefighter’ who went to SmackDown to simply fill a logic hole in The Usos’ overarching story.
Leaving Sami on his own, he continued to clash with those who took the tag team titles. In truth, for about six months between May and November, RAW’s main event scene consisted of an assortment of babyfaces standing across the ring from the Judgment Day until things finally came to a head at Survivor Series. Even still, much like the year prior, War Games saw the inclusion of the ‘Ultimate Underdog’.
However, when January came around and it came time for WWE to kick into WrestleMania season, many were scratching as to what Zayn’s role would be at the show. Some weren wondering if Sami could perhaps find himself in the mix for the World Heavyweight Championship on the ‘Show of Shows’, particularly when he kept butting heads with fellow championship contender Drew McIntyre on RAW, but things were far from certain for the former tag champion.
Luckily, this was something that WWE leaned into rather than ignored, running a series of interview segments in empty arenas in which Sami reflected on his past 12 months and the confrontations he’d been having with the ‘Scottish Psychopath’. At the time, Zayn was going on a bit of a losing streak, and Drew was fixated on how the world title had been taken from his grasp by The Bloodline in Cardiff. Given that the Canadian had previously been part of the group, McIntyre was keen to remind the WrestleMania 39 main eventer that he had no sympathy following his split from the family, and the pair shared many RAW main events together.
Though Sami was unfazed most mentions of his past, there was one thing that got to him. During particular empty arena interview, Sami said that, while he feels he HAD done enough to stake his claim to the world title, he was unable to shake off the truth that he had never beaten Drew McIntyre one-on-one, a stat which is still true to this day.
But, let’s take a look at his wording:
“Just having this guy that I can’t quite overcome, it’s really taken me and transported me back to this exact time period last year. Right after the Royal Rumble, right before Elimination Chamber going into the biggest match of my career against Roman Reigns in my hometown. Cinderella story, all the stars are lined up and I come close, but come up short.”
A challenge like McIntyre had allowed feelings of self doubt to creep in again, the same way they have in the past, and it reminded Sami of perhaps his biggest failing. Just one opponent that he struggles to overcome and he starts thinking ‘can I really do this?’, and that’s why Zayn is such a perfect character.
He later brings up a conversation he’d had with Triple H just moments after his defeat in Montreal, in which ‘The Game’ compared Sami’s journey to that of Rocky. It’s recalled that Rocky overcame all these obstacles and still didn’t beat the champion the first time round, but his first outing showed the world that he could go the distance, much like how the Canadian made a name for himself as a top star under the bright lights at Elimination Chamber.
While this is a big compliment for Zayn’s trajectory, he wasn’t overly happy with this and was keen not to get stuck on the outside of the championship picture. He needed to get his hands on gold. In his own words, he was a contender who would be a champion, though perhaps not in the way he had initially expected.
You see, while Zayn’s desire was always there, he couldn’t find consistency in the ring. He kept taking losses and struggled to maintain any momentum until he was afforded the opportunity of a lifetime. In Sami’s interview, he said that he’d always fight like an underdog because wrestling was life and death for him. Memorably, he stated, “If I’m not alive in there, I may as well be dead,” and now five men stood in front of him for a chance at the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania.
On March 11, Sami joined the field of Bronson Reed, Ricochet, JD McDonagh, Shinsuke Nakamura and Chad Gable all looking to step to GUNTHER on the Grandest Stage. Coming in, most knew it would come down to Zayn and Gable as the final two, and, after an intense closing sequence, it was the Canadian who pinned the Alpha Academy leader’s shoulders to the mat for the count of three. Although, it’s safe to say that not everyone was as happy with this result as I was.
I’ve gotten this far without telling you outright that Sami Zayn is one of my favourite wrestlers ever, but you may have worked that out by now (and by the fact that this is my second feature for WrestlePurists about him, the first can be found here), so I was a little disappointed to see the pushback against his win.
In a way that wasn’t too too dissimilar to that of when Cody Rhodes was initially denied his shot at Roman Reigns, way more people than I had anticipated were outraged at Chad Gable not being the one to get the WrestleMania shot at GUNTHER, with people wanting to see Gable get back at ‘The Ring General’ for making his daughter cry when he initially lost his own championship opportunity.
I couldn’t argue with that logic. Gable was right to still be desperate to claim the gold, and he had a huge portion of fans behind him. But Sami won the match, and, despite the unrest, he was the number one contender. Luckily for those unhappy, WWE kept the Alpha Academy member intertwined with the story, with Gable keeping a keen eye on Zayn’s matches and emphasising just how hard it would be to become the next Intercontinental Champion.
Here, Chad would sow seeds of doubt into Sami’s mind, literally telling him on RAW, “You can’t beat GUNTHER.” This wore Zayn down until he agreed to let the former Olympian train him for the clash. However, Gable kept pushing Sami and began to get rougher in his approach, even applying a surprise choke onto the number one contender once he thought the exercises had paused.
Importantly, this is where Sami admitted it: he was afraid. He was worried that he’d taken on too much of a challenge, scared about letting down all the people who believed in him, and terrified of seeing the same look on his wife and child’s faces as he did post-Elimination Chamber defeat. Much like with Roman, much like with Drew, he had someone in front of him that he didn’t know if he could overcome.
Zayn became obsessed with the need for validation from others. We were just weeks away from WrestleMania, but when he was telling GUNTHER, “You know I can beat you!”, was he trying to threaten the champion or convince himself that could win? Still, it spurred him on, and even after being laid out by the imposing Austrian on RAW, Sami kept getting up. He was ready to give everything.
Our WrestleMania 40 story begins backstage, as the challenger is pictured with his wife and child just moments before his big match. Here, his son wholesomely awaits the start of his father’s entrance music, but Zayn insists that he wasn’t to watch the match due to how physical it would be. Then, he meets coach Gable, who notes that Sami owes him a favour. He hypes himself up on way to Gorilla before being met there by Kevin Owens, the man with whom he had shared a main event triumph with last year. They embraced as the SmackDown star gave some added motivation to his former tag partner before his entrance began.
Once the bell rings, it isn’t long before the dynamic of fear is played off of, as GUNTHER teased one of his chops before pushing his opponent’s face once he had flinched away. Not one to be made a fool of, Sami fired back with a few strikes of his own, but the champion, as he so often does, regained control.
One thing I want to note is how, over their various pre-show panels and even on commentary, WWE personnel were analysing this match by asking if Zayn really stood a chance, and this continued during the bout itself. Those on-screen were telling us that GUNTHER was a challenge too big for his contender. McAfee talks about Sami finding a ‘lucky shot’, while Graves calls a title change ‘highly unlikely’, and this is a narrative that is played out to the fullest.
Zayn got beaten down here, and the pace was slow. It was similar to that of Montreal against Reigns where, at times, the battle was fairly one-sided, but this left room for the challenger to pick his moments to provide fans with hope. When he got the momentum, such as hitting two half-and-half suplexes to the champion, he was cut off with a lariat, though he was showing that he could repeatedly find gaps in the expected onslaught to fire back at the dominant Austrian.
The commentators recognised the heart of Zayn, but it’s almost as if GUNTHER didn’t. Every time Sami found an opening to hit his opponent with some quick shots and gutsy manoeuvres, it seemed to surprise the champion in spite of him trying to come across as calm and collected. The Canadian fired many warning shots, including attempts at his signature moves, visibly frustrating ‘The Ring General’, but neither man backed down.
Sami produced some awesome kickouts, including one from a wicked Powerbomb, but that’s the thing with GUNTHER, he has a million moves that could finish you off. But none were able to keep Zayn down. After hitting a corner running attack, the champion smirked and went to the opposite side, only to be followed by the challenger who nailed a Helluva Kick.
Knowing one wouldn’t be enough, a further finisher was attempted and countered, but Sami survived yet another couple of Powerbombs, after which GUNTHER’s dominance was on full display. Hitting chops and clotheslines, belief began to leave the announcers and those watching worldwide as the champion trash-talked Sami’s wife. Smiling viciously, Imperium’s leader ascended to the top rope and nailed splash after splash to a seemingly defenceless Zayn.
What came next was magical. Sami rallied. He got up inch by inch, much like he had done on RAW in the weeks prior, and showed the heart he’d become famous for. He raced to the corner in which GUNTHER was climbing the turnbuckle and nailed a Helluva Kick. Then, in a moment that defied belief and united wrestling fans across the world, Zayn referenced his days as El Generico by nailing a top rope Brainbuster, the move he’d tried and failed to do so many times before in WWE.
“Do you believe in miracles?”
As the same line was echoed from before his Montreal heartbreak, everything came together for Sami that night at WrestleMania 40. He overcame the self-doubt and all of his past shortcomings. He paid homage to his former self and connected with two final Helluva Kicks to shock the world. We had a new Intercontinental Champion, and the longest reign ever was over at the hands of a man who many didn’t give a chance to going in.
It was perfect, about as emotional of a win as you can get, and meant that Sami Zayn had now ended both the longest Tag Team Title and Intercontinental Title reigns in WWE history. But, let’s close by talking about where we go from here. After not having an obvious path last year, Zayn now has a readymade storyline for the future thanks to the previous fan backlash: Chad Gable.
Keeping Gable connected to this story was a genius move by WWE in the lead up to ‘Mania, and he certainly isn’t going anywhere after it. Prior to Sami’s entrance, we hear Chad remind him that he’s owes a favour following the training they did together to prepare for GUNTHER, and an Intercontinental Championship match has already been lined up for the April 15 edition of RAW between the two.
But, with Gable’s overly aggressive mannerisms in the sparring sessions and his overall desire to claim the title, I wouldn’t expect this to just be a friendly contest. My hope, as a Sami Zayn fan, is that the champion is ready for anything, but don’t let it be too surprising if Chad’s opportunity at gold leads him to desperation and he does anything to win.
Point being, there are already so many options available to WWE regarding Sami’s reign, as he’s likely to have high-quality matches with almost anybody they put him in the ring with. Alternatively, he gave everything in him to defeat the undefeatable, so what if he just has nothing left? A short reign would certainly provide a shock to the system after GUNTHER dominated for over 660 days.
I, of course, want Sami to get a good reign out of this, but as long as the next step makes sense, I’m all in for the ride. He may not have been the one that fans had earmarked for GUNTHER’s downfall, but by the end of their WrestleMania Saturday clash, most people were rooting for him, and that’s the genius of Zayn. He has an innate ability to get people behind him, and that’s so special.
The Ultimate Underdog, forever.
