Add as a preferred source on Google Sami Zayn’s nine-day reign as Undisputed WWE Champion reportedly made clear how WWE’s leadership really views him.
Zayn won the title at Night of Champions on June 27, defeating Cody Rhodes and Gunther in a Triple Threat Match. Nine days later, though, he dropped the belt to CM Punk in the main event of Monday Night RAW in Chicago, in what was his first defense. Punk entered the match after Gunther attacked Rhodes and took him out of the bout.
According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, everyone involved knew from the start that the reign would end after just nine days. In WWE’s internal view, the company’s two top men’s championships stay in the hands of the names considered capable of drawing the most money for the promotion.
“They really are in the hands of the people who the perception is are the money players, and Sami is not in their mind one of those people.
He could have been. There was a time where he was, but even then in their minds he still wasn’t because it’s like one of those things of, they’re still all brainwashed by the cosmetics in a lot of ways, and that certain people are good hands but they can’t be the guy.
And Sami is one of those guys in their minds that can’t be the guy.”
WWE management reportedly sees Sami Zayn as a good talker, a good wrestler, and a valuable presence in the locker room, but not as a marquee star.
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WWE‘s leadership recognizes Zayn as a good wrestler, one of the best in the company on the microphone, and a valuable presence in the locker room. Even so, they don’t place him on the same commercial level as the wrestlers considered top stars.
The decision also caught AJ Styles off guard. The former wrestler called the nine-day reign unexpected, but asked fans to wait and see how the story develops before ripping the creative team.