Anyone Can Be World Champion, Especially Sami Zayn

In the lead-up to the Royal Rumble (and certainly after), there has been a lot of debate about Sami Zayn’s place in WWE. As an integral part of the Bloodline storyline, Zayn has been involved with the hottest act wrestling has seen in years, and has become that story’s central protagonist. Suddenly, the writing was on the wall for Zayn’s inevitable collision with Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, but the question soon became whether Zayn was worthy of main-eventing WrestleMania for such a match –- and if so, whether he could defeat Reigns, who hasn’t been pinned since 2019, to become world champion. Those questions only grew louder as it seemed more and more obvious that 2023 Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes was the company’s choice for that spot, despite Zayn’s skyrocketing popularity with the crowd.

That’s when the knocks started coming for Zayn. He isn’t world championship material, they say, even though he rode a tremendous wave of babyface support to the “NXT” Championship in 2014. He doesn’t have what it takes to be “the face of the company,” whatever that means. He didn’t have “it” –- whatever “it” is.

But there’s something to be said for being the right person, in the right place, at the right time, with the right story. Timing is everything, and the stars have aligned in Zayn’s favor. Because the “it” that Zayn brings to the table is the emotional hook of his story with Reigns and The Bloodline.