Sami Zayn regained the Undisputed WWE Championship early this month, but his second reign with the title is still generating considerable discussion inside WWE.
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the idea of Zayn as champion has been heavily debated internally, drawing both positive and negative views.
After the first reports of that divide surfaced, some people pushed back, saying that everyone in the company was happy with Zayn and that TKO supported him as champion.
Meltzer, however, said the situation is more complicated than that.
“When it was reported that Sami Zayn being champion was a heavily debated topic internally for obvious and not obvious reasons, there was a push back to say everyone is thrilled with him and TKO is behind him.”
Meltzer added that there are differing opinions within WWE. TKO, on the other hand, reportedly does not even have a stance for or against the current champion, as its top executives are focused on what are seen as bigger business decisions rather than creative matters.
“The reality is there are mixed feelings, and it was said that those at TKO do not care among small things like who is the champion right now and they are into the bigger deals. So they would have no opinion either positive or negative.”
The report is especially notable given Zayn’s recent history. In July, after Zayn’s first reign lasted only nine days, Meltzer reported that people inside WWE did not see him as one of the so-called “money players” for the top men’s titles.
Zayn, however, won the championship back on the September 11 episode of SmackDown in Mexico City, beating CM Punk in a match marked by interference from Johnny Gargano, Candice LeRae and Kevin Owens.
One week later, Zayn made the first successful defense of his new reign, defeating Owens after interference from Punk.