Sami Zayn: By Any Means Necessary

On February 18, 2023, Sami Zayn walked in a hero. In the province where he was born, the Quebec-native stood eye to eye with the most dominant champion WWE had seen in years. He dared to think he could be the one to end over 30 months of ‘The Tribal Chief’ standing atop the company. With over 17 thousand screaming fans, certain of the outcome they wanted to see, Montreal had been given the possibility to experience something magical. They refused to let it slip away.

Viewers watched on for months as Sami pined for The Bloodline’s acceptance, only to be left with more questions than answers. If he was accepted by one of the Usos, the other wasn’t budging. If Roman Reigns had showed appreciation, the next week it was gone. At the previous month’s ‘Royal Rumble’ event, he had taken destiny into his own hands. This was the chance to prove his worth, regardless of what anyone else thought.

The typical ‘if Roman wins, we riot’ signs were spread across the baying crowd, harkening back to ‘underdog stories’ of the past. Rob Van Dam taking the spirit of ECW to John Cena in New York, CM Punk sticking it to the company by walking out as champion in front of his people in Chicago, Daniel Bryan taking down members of ‘Evolution’ in “The Miracle on Bourbon Street”. Commentary were doing everything they could to tell you this was the same feeling. Cameramen lingered on Reigns and there was a pause, inviting further vitriol from the audience. Yet, something was off.

Almost immediately on the sound of the bell, Zayn was on the back foot. The momentum the proverbial ‘12th man’ brought him immediately hit a roadblock. The pace was slow and the champion sucked the life out of the occasion. It made sense that the underdog, the babyface, would come under pressure to set up a burst of hope later on, but those moments were few and far between. Sure, Zayn fought back, he was able to hit some shock offence, including Helluva Kicks and Blue Thunder Bombs, to make fans think the tide was about to turn, but it never really did. This was Roman Reigns, just six weeks out from WrestleMania 39. This wasn’t going to happen. It just couldn’t.

Zayn left Elimination Chamber 2023 empty handed, though he didn’t have much time to reflect on what had passed him by. Still plagued by the consequences of leaving The Bloodline, he had to contend with The Usos. Jimmy and Jey were left hurt and infuriated by ‘The Honorary Uce’ working so hard to earn their trust, only to go his own way. After making it to the spotlight, reality had set in, he’d failed to win the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, and he was alone.

After splitting from the group, all roads led Zayn back to his longtime friend and rival, Kevin Owens. But, the man known as ‘The Prizefighter’ was quick to remind his former ally that his time with The Bloodline had left Sami with a lot of wrongs to put right. In the pursuit of acceptance, the once ‘Underdog From The Underground’ had done the dirty work of the company’s most dominant group by taking out Owens inside War Games just months earlier.

With Zayn doing his damnedest to win Owens over, the pair stood alongside one another again on March 17. While many on the roster would’ve taken far longer than a month or two to forgive a former member of Reigns’ faction, the genuine connection between both men helped rebuild their relationship. After all, could Kevin Owens truly hold a grudge over betraying a friend for long?

The scene was set. Wrestlemania. Owens and Zayn vs. The Usos, for the Undisputed Tag Team Championships. ‘The Prizefighter’ with a prize to fight for, and ‘The Honorary Uce’ with another shot at revenge. Two lifelong friends about to walk into the main event of the first night of WrestleMania, compete with gear that paid homage to their early careers.

Regardless of what had come before, this felt like the summation of the work they’d put in together over decades . In a genuine five-star match, Zayn battled against the machine that was The Bloodline, finding himself in the position he’d spent almost a year trying to avoid, as The Usos fought to maintain The Bloodline’s power. Standing alongside a brother of his own, the Canadian nailed two Helluva Kicks on Jey Uso, securing the victory as the crowd erupted. After all the turmoil, they stood victorious as the new Undisputed Tag Team Champions.But was it the same? Was it really the outcome Sami had hoped for when he struck Roman Reigns with that chair at the Royal Rumble?

As I made reference to in my feature article shortly after WrestleMania 40 (which can be found here), Zayn and Owens’ reign as tag team champions is in no way bad. They have some strong defences against iterations of The Bloodline, Imperium, and The Judgment Day, but their overall importance to RAW and SmackDown just wasn’t at the level of their journey towards winning the titles. Plus, after Cody Rhodes’ loss to Reigns at WrestleMania 39, it became clear that the Undisputed WWE Championship scene would only revolve around ‘The American Nightmare’ for the foreseeable future.

There was a ceiling on Zayn and Owens’ trajectory through 2023, and, when they lost the tag team championships that September, they appeared directionless. Two of the company’s hottest babyfaces just six months earlier, were now stuck in a purgatory, floating between the upper midcard and below.. Sami fell into a rut of personal grudges, becoming consumed by the goal of defeating Drew McIntyre, who seemed to always have the edge over him.

This obsession with ‘The Scottish Psychopath’ made Zayn feel stuck, not wanting to move on until he’d earned victory to get that monkey off his back. It stole time. His position hadn’t changed, and each attempt at redemption against McIntyre seemed to add another loss to his record. As the losses grew, he looked less and less like the valiant hero he was not long before. Three straight losses against his rival left him crushed, down, and pessimistic. Yet, opportunity fell at his feet.

Having established himself as a major name on Monday Night RAW, Zayn found himself with a huge WrestleMania opportunity on March 11, 2024, almost in spite of his momentum. If he could outlast five others in a gauntlet match, he’d have a date at the Show of Shows standing against the insurmountable GUNTHER. ‘The Ring General’ boasted similar dominance to that of The Bloodline, but, with the experience of his WrestleMania 39 triumph fuelling him, this was Zayn’s chance to rebuild.

Entering third in the gauntlet, Zayn’s first opponent was ‘Big’ Bronson Reed, who Zayn defeated in part due to entering the match fresh against tired opponents.. Next, he stood face to face with Shinsuke Nakamura, the man who he welcomed to WWE with their classic bout at NXT TakeOver: Dallas in 2016. After Nakamura, the only person standing between Zayn and Wrestlemania was Chad Gable.. This was the ‘final two’ that many expected, and either would’ve been a legitimate challenger to GUNTHER’s Intercontinental title reign. After an intense, back-and-forth closing stretch, it was the Canadian who booked his ticket to Philadelphia’s ‘Showcase of the Immortals .’ Victory in hand, it was not met with the overwhelming adulation Sami would’ve expected to receive in his NXT days, or even early into life on the main roster, for example.

This was the first instance of viewers being disgruntled in the face of Sami’s success. Many had gravitated towards Gable and his story of trying to overcome ‘The Ring General.’ His story of wanting to enact vengeance on the Austrian who’d made Gable’s daughter cry after her father was denied the Intercontinental Championship in the months prior. The company opted to keep the former Olympian connected to the story, but many were left uncomfortable when a competitor the calibre of Gable was relegated to a coaching role in the build up to WrestleMania.

Sami Zayn’s Intercontinental Championship win on April 6, 2024, is widely regarded as one of WrestleMania’s biggest moments in recent memory. When he dropped GUNTHER with his iconic top-rope Brainbuster and ended his 666-day reign, you’d have been hard-pressed to find many complaining that Zayn was the one given the opportunity to compete for the Intercontinental Championship. But, while he’d reclaimed the support of many through his performance at WrestleMania, he found himself in a similar position to the previous year: with a championship around his waist, what was next?

His first challenger was Chad Gable, who, wanting to reflect the sentiment from fans, took exception to Zayn’s WrestleMania victory. In the exact same arena he lost to Roman Reigns, Sami made another hero’s entrance. Walking through the Montreal faithful, the power of his people this time carried him through to victory.But, after the win, tensions boiled over. Adopting a more aggressive attitude, and no longer willing to let others take opportunities he wants, Gable snapped.

Despite the fact that Gable had been given a shot in the arm and momentum to capitalise on, the company didn’t budge on Zayn. Two attempts at the Intercontinental Championship left the former Olympian empty-handed, and more and more viewers were seeing Zayn as someone to put off, rather than seeing him as the champion they once cheered for. Still, Zayn marched forward, until one of RAW’s most recent arrivals reminded him of his own mortality.

Shortly after his NXT call-up, Bron Breakker staked his claim for a shot at the Intercontinental Title. Many were entirely resigned to the fact that Zayn was face to face with the man that was going to beat him. After all, it made sense. Breakker was new. He was fresh. Sami was eight years into his main roster journey, he was part of the furniture. He could reliably hold a title, but, at this time, he didn’t feel like someone who could inject life into the product. So, the company moved on, crowning Breakker. But, from there, where was Zayn’s place really?

Once he’d exhausted his options pertaining to a a rematch, Sami almost immediately looked upwards. He’d won the Intercontinental Championship, the next step was the very top of the card, right? It certainly was for GUNTHER, who shortly after losing to Zayn, had become the World Heavyweight Champion. Surely, if wrestling had a natural progression, ‘The Ultimate Underdog’ was next up for a world title, wasn’t he?

Yet, Sami lost. Again. Not just that, he lost via referee stoppage- the result taken out of his hands as his body failed him. Despite taking powerbomb after powerbomb, kicking out of the last at a one-count, life was drained from him. Once ‘The Ring General’ locked in the Sleeper Hold, Zayn’s guts and grit didn’t matter. All the determination in the world couldn’t save him from passing out. Another chance gone, and he didn’t even get a say in ending the match.

Once again at a loss for what to do, Zayn looked backwards. At a time in which The Bloodline was in a civil war, Sami opted to stand alongside The Usos, Roman Reigns, and an unlikely recruit in CM Punk to battle against Bloodline insurgents- Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu, Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, and Bronson Reed inside the steel confines of the “War Games” match. Sami felt at home, once again surrounded by the reassurance of The Bloodline, this time undoubtedly on his side. But, when it was time to focus on himself again, what did he have?

A return to singles competition after this match only saw Sami greeted with two more losses to Drew McIntyre. Conversely, his former tag team partner Kevin Owens had moved over to SmackDown, and was locked into a fierce rivalry with Cody Rhodes over the Undisputed WWE Championship. As is his nature, Owens had viciously attacked ‘The American Nightmare’ when it looked as if things weren’t going his way. At the 2025 Royal Rumble , Owens had the opportunity to return to the mountain top.

In a ladder match, the former Universal Champion looked to pull the trigger against Cody Rhodes. The match was brutal, and the tension was there for all to see. After Kevin had proven he would stop at nothing to win the title, Cody had to retaliate, leaving both men vulnerable to some of the most wince-inducing moments in recent WWE history. In particular, when Owens nailed Rhodes with a Fisherman Buster onto a ladder bridge, concern washed over those at ringside.

Worried for his friend, Sami emerged from the crowd as no more than an innocent bystander to the match. Surrounded by medics, referees and officials from the company including SmackDown’s General Manager, he was just one of many bodies that now filled space around the carnage. One Alabama Slam onto a ladder later, KO was in even greater danger as both men lay prone outside the ring. Zayn could no longer be held back from trying to check on Owens.

But, in the build up to the match, Owens had implored his former teammate to help him win the championship, offering reciprocation through aiding Zayn in that night’s Royal Rumble match. But, as Rhodes recovered to his feet, got in the ring, and scaled the ladder, Sami didn’t move from Kevin’s side, watching on as the champion retained his title. In that moment, he did what he felt was the right thing to do, but Owens was left incensed.

Frustrated by his so-called friend’s lack of commitment, the pair butted heads as they’d done so many times before. The two met in a barbaric unsanctioned match at March 1’s Elimination Chamber event, that famously involved a chair wrapped in barbed wire. This, coupled with apron powerbombs and a package piledriver onto concrete, allowed Owens to secure victory. Battered and bruised, Zayn once again lacked the killer instinct to get over the finishing line when faced with someone who doesn’t have the same reluctance when given an opportunity to win.

In matches that followed, for Zayn, without that ability to push past his moral limits for what he wanted most, he was again put down by Bron Breakker. Karrion Kross waited in the wings for his opportunity to do the same. Sami had become someone for others to make their name off, lost in the shuffle of WWE’s roster without any opportunity left for himself. Yet, on a random episode of SmackDown, just weeks after SummerSlam 2025, his luck changed.

Sami’s trip to Smackdown saw him earning a victory against the then-United States Champion, Solo Sikoa. Shifting his focus, he was able to move to the blue brand on a more permanent basis, and, by the end of the month, he’d repeated the feat and put gold around his waist in the form of that same US title.

Once again though, the midcard appeared to be Zayn’s ceiling. Two years prior, there were genuine conversations over whether Zayn should’ve progressed to main event WrestleMania 39 instead of Cody Rhodes. Perhaps needing to prove himself all over again to those watching both backstage, and those watching around the world, the Canadian drew a link between himself and John Cena. He took inspiration from Cena’s memorable 2015 run by reintroducing the United States Championship Open Challenge.

Challengers ranged from the young Je’Von Evans, to the tenured Shinsuke Nakamura, and to WWE newcomers like Rey Fenix- to John Cena himself. Though, as is to be expected with such a reckless approach to prove his worth, it was only a matter of time before it came crashing down, with Zayn beneath the rubble. October 17, saw a returning Ilja Dragunov capturing the title from Zayn in a shock.

Stuck on the notion that a midcard title reign is supposed to lead to something greater, Sami then focused on SmackDown’s biggest prize: the WWE Championship. The most historic title in company history and arguably the most prestigious in the world, it was the ultimate sign of respect and achievement in America’s biggest promotion. Held for a record-setting 17th time by John Cena across 2025, it was during this time as the industry was preparing to say goodbye to the legend that it all dawned on Zayn.

“And he turns to me and he asks me, ‘how many times have you won it?’”

As they were preparing for John Cena’s final match, Sami Zayn sat with his family as they announced the soon-to-be retiring icon to the ring. Picking up on the introduction, his son turned to ask why they call Cena ‘The Never Seen 17.’ Upon finding out that the moniker emphasised the star’s world championship successes, he turned to his father to innocently ask how many world titles he’d won. Perhaps expecting his heroic father to name a number similar to the greats of the past, Zayn had to swallow his pride and tell his son that he’d never been able to measure up to some of the generation’s best wrestlers.

It felt like his chance had slipped away, time and time again – but, for fear of his children wondering why their father wasn’t as good as they had believed, this couldn’t stand. After all, a son’s first impression of their father is typically one of strength, protection, and honour. To someone so new to the world, their father is often a shining light of right and wrong, with children often keen to believe that their parents/protectors could take on any challenge without ever coming to harm. Was it possible that telling his son that he’d never actually been the ‘best’ in WWE could’ve shattered the illusion of invincibility, even just slightly?

Sami had to make his mark on SmackDown, and quickly. When the new year rolled around and the company wanted to find its next contender, Zayn found himself progressing through a mini-tournament. Winning would grant him an Undisputed WWE Championship match at the Royal Rumble, emanating from Saudi Arabia. However, an old enemy stood in his way. The man who held the title at the time was none other than Drew McIntyre. Somebody else who’d climbed the mountain as Zayn fell behind.

As in any sport, there are opponents that just have your number. Defeating them doesn’t feel doable. It doesn’t even feel fair. Yet, something prevents you from overcoming that specific obstacle. Sometimes you get the monkey off your back, sometimes you never can, and Sami Zayn couldn’t. In Saudi Arabia, he had a home akin to Montreal, a place where everyone wholeheartedly backed him. Sadly, he’d let his people down again by the end of the night.

From that disappointment grew an almost deranged obsession, a determination to rise up the card with lasting effect. This time, when United States Champion Carmelo Hayes held an open challenge of his own, there was no reluctance. Zayn accepted, and won. Zayn was suddenly a two-time U.S. Champion, poised to walk into that year’s Wrestlemania with gold over his shoulder. This time,there would be no ‘open challenges.’ .

Discontent from fans only grew following Zayn’s sudden put-down of Hayes occurred so shortly before WrestleMania.When another former NXT Champion in Trick Williams stood in front of him at the big show, many were desperate to see Sami lose after seemingly forcing his way into what many viewers were hoping would be a “Hayes vs. Williams” feud for the ‘Mania card. Plus, many were further put off when Zayn’s interactions with Trick revolved around associations with Lil Yachty and gingerbread costumes. Coming out of WrestleMania 42, fans got what they wanted, and another recent NXT call-up benefited from a win over the tenured champion.

Zayn wasn’t going to wait and see whether losing a midcard title would send him up to the top-end of the card again. He knew his next step was the WWE Championship and he couldn’t let it go. One way or another, he had to be involved. To many, it felt like the chance had slipped away, but Zayn, along with his fans, clung on beyond reasonable expectation. In the face of funerals for gingerbread men, and losses to the stars of tomorrow, a portion of belief still remained that he was still destined for something more. Once again, this rubbed some fans the wrong way.

In those people’s eyes, he’d stolen a WrestleMania moment from Carmelo Hayes just to get himself on the card without much momentum behind him, heading in. He’d talked about being world champion for so long that it felt almost pathetic, like someone long overstaying their welcome at a party just because no one has the heart to tell them to leave.

Each week, more and more fans turned their love for Zayn into discontent, and can you blame them? He’d not been presented as a credible world championship threat, so why was he so focused on something the company clearly didn’t want for him? It was grating. But, because it was always possible that WWE could one day opt to pull the trigger in search of a feel-good moment, he could never truly lose sight of his goal. He protected and preached his delusions of grandeur to anyone that would listen, including talent backstage, but this only made the pushback from fans who didn’t want it grow further.

Zayn’s insistent pestering had started to warrant boos from crowds that used to adore him, but his tactics were enough to get him a non-title bout with Cody Rhodes. Although he wasn’t the only one eyeing up the gold, this was as close as Zayn had ever been to an opportunity at the richest prize.

‘I have this and that means you never will’.

Rhodes’ first challenge after ‘Mania came from GUNTHER. But, before ‘The Ring General’ could get his first championship match, he looked to goad the champion by getting involved in Sami’s match with Rhodes. However, naturally wanting a clean shot at beating the champion, Zayn was quick to knock the Austrian off the apron to nullify his interference. Despite the brand’s top babyface, Cody happily took advantage of the distraction, delivering a Cross Rhodes to Zayn to secure the pin.

Regardless, GUNTHER stepped forward to challenge for the title once ‘Clash In Italy’ rolled around, but it didn’t go off without a hitch. While Zayn missed the show, ‘The American Nightmare’ and ‘The Ring General’ tore strips from one another, with the match controversially ending when referee Dan Engler unfortunately missed the challenger’s foot under the rope on the deciding pinfall. Annoyingly, for the rest of the locker room, it was clear GUNTHER couldn’t go to the back of the line after such a muddied victory for Rhodes, and it had all the potential to go to a rematch.

Rightfully outraged, the Austrian demanded a rematch for the title, and tensions only escalated. Despite what had happened the previous week, Zayn was there to break up the scuffles when things got physical between champion and challenger, often trying to save Rhodes from attacks after the pair had become close over the past number of years. However, each time Sami would pry his friend from GUNTHER’s grip, Cody would take out both of the men gunning for his gold. The Undisputed WWE Champion felt backed into a corner, facing a direct challenge from the longest-reigning former Intercontinental Champion, while also knowing that Sami was sniffing around for a shot at the top prize too.

After Zayn had done little else but inadvertently get in the way, but the conflict between himself and Rhodes was at an all-time high, leading GUNTHER to pick him to act as the special guest referee for his long-awaited ‘Clash In Italy’ rematch. Truth be told, the challenger had started to believe Sami favoured him slightly more than Cody after their recent exchanges, hoping the stand-in ref would create enough chaos for him to walk away with the belt. Though, it didn’t quite go to plan.

While trying to call the match neutrally as any official would, Sami administered the typical five-count for GUNTHER to break his Rear Naked Choke after Rhodes’ grabbed the rope for a rope break. But, instead of calling for a DQ when he refused to let go, the special guest ref yanked the challenger off of the champion, prompting GUNTHER to drop Zayn with a powerbomb. Now feeling free to interfere, the match finished when GUNTHER was desperately clinging to the rope to avoid a roll-through pin attempt only to have his hands kicked by the referee. To the ‘Career Killer’ it was yet another chance at world championship gold, marred by interference. In Zayn’s mind, they were even.

Having still not had a decisive , clean loss, the defeated star wanted more, but there was always the threat of Zayn lurking in the background. The trio couldn’t escape each other, and so a triple threat match was made for ‘Night Of Champions.’

As he did just six months earlier, Sami walked into a WWE Championship match in front of his people in Saudi Arabia. But, he walked in a little lighter this time. Of course, he enjoyed the support from the crowd, often citing the ‘ride or die’ fans as part of his motivation, he wasn’t solely doing this for the people anymore. He was focused on reaching the top for himself, sharing it with those that were happy and not giving a damn about those who weren’t.

Pointed out by the graphic on-screen during his entrance, this was Zayn’s 10th attempt at winning a world championship in WWE. It was time for ‘The Last Real Good Guy’ to right a wrong, no matter what. On the other hand, Rhodes and GUNTHER were determined to have the legitimate singles match that had eluded them thus far. To begin, ‘The Ring General’ took Sami out of the ring, determined to make him a non-factor.

Turning the tables, it was then Zayn throwing GUNTHER out of the ring, opting to wrestle Rhodes one-on-one. Though, while he was keen to stay involved, both GUNTHER and Rhodes had labelled Sami a ‘mosquito’, wanting to remove him from proceedings where possible to focus on themselves. Commentary even likened him more to a cockroach due to his apparent inability to truly die off, or be deterred from a goal.

There were few moments in which all three men were in the ring together. Any opening one of them got was snuffed out by another, but the focus would then change and one man would make an exit. GUNTHER was desperate to pin the champion, but the once ‘Ultimate Underdog’ would pull the referee to the outside on what would have been a decisive pinfall attempt in favour of the Austrian Anomaly. While Rhodes wanted to get his hands on Zayn, Sami didn’t care who he beat. Any chance to win was enough.

After Cody returned the favour by pulling the referee out of the ring after a Helluva Kick, it was clear that all three men wouldn’t be stopped by the need to do it the right way. Zayn even attempted a package piledriver while standing on the announce table, although unsuccessful in pulling off the move, he shed any ounce of caution and finally embraced the win at any cost mindset employed by Kevin Owens throughout his career.

Zayn went through a table. Cody went through one too. GUNTHER was heading towards victory, cinching in a choke on Rhodes. The champion’s spirit was broken, but Zayn recovered enough to stop the limp arm of the champion from falling to the mat, ensuring the match would continue. The Canadian combined his underdog grit with his new mentality to keep fighting. It wasn’t long before Rhodes had a burst of energy which saw him take the fight to his two challengers at once.

A Cody Cutter to GUNTHER led to an attempted Cross Rhodes to Zayn, but Sami stunned the world by stealing the move and nailing the champion with his own manoeuvre. With ‘The Last Real Good Guy’ trapped in another Rear Naked Choke, Rhodes hit his iconic finisher on both competitors, spilling GUNTHER to the outside of the ring. As Cody looked for one final nail in Sami Zayn’s coffin, it happened. He escaped Rhodes’ clutches and rolled through for a quick, surprise pinfall. Just like that, decades of work finally had its reward.

Many Sami fans, myself included, imagined a fairytale ride that would see Zayn ride through the ranks as an underdog babyface, overcoming the odds to reach the summit. The thing is, that doesn’t always work. How many times did we think it was the right moment, only for it to disappear in front of our eyes? How many times did those waiting for this magical journey think the destination was out of reach?

In reality, the word ‘champion’ means the same whether you write a fairytale or win via a roll-up. The same way Leicester won the same Premier League trophy as 100-point Manchester City did, the same way Greece won the same Euros trophy that Spain, France, and Italy have all done before. Now, Sami is among the greats of WWE’s past, your ‘Austins’, your ‘Rocks’, your ‘Cenas’, the list goes on.

As you read this now, you’ll likely have your own idea of what your ideal fairytale looks like, whether you have a wrestler you really want to achieve their goal, another sports team, or maybe you’re going through a bleak, personal struggle few would understand. What I want to tell you is that you can never lose hope that things can change. I know it’s only a predetermined wrestling show, but weeks before this Zayn was hosting a funeral for a gingerbread man, and now he’s the WWE Champion.

Hope will get you through a lot. You may picture realising your dreams in the most ideal circumstances, but, truthfully, you can get where you’re meant to be in the most unexpected ways, and having that hope means the door is never closed to your eventual success. Giving up doesn’t make things better, it just stops the possibility that anything can make it better in future.

However long this lasts, history will forever read that Sami Zayn became the WWE Champion. After all, with determination, belief, and persistence, the end of the storm is never too far away.