Sami Zayn’s Main Roster Debut
Zayn competed in the 2016 Royal Rumble but had his official main roster debut in March 2016 where he teamed with Neville in a winning effort over Kevin Owens and The Miz. In 2019, Zayn aligned himself with Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro and they faced Braun Strowman at Elimination Chamber 2020 in a 3-on-1 handicap match for the Intercontinental Championship. Sami won the title by pinning Strowman. Zayn had to vacate the title due to his concerns about wrestling during the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the end of August 2020, Zayn returned with his Intercontinental title, the title he refused to drop. Following Jeff Hardy’s successful title defense against Nakamura, Zayn attacked Jeff Hardy declaring himself the “real” Intercontinental Champion. At Clash of Champions on September 27, Zayn defeated Hardy and AJ Styles in a triple threat ladder match to reclaim the Intercontinental Championship. Zayn lost the title to Big E during the December 25th episode of SmackDown ending his reign at 89 days.
Sami Zayn: Conspiracy Theorist
At the Royal Rumble event on January 31, 2021, Zayn competed in his fourth Royal Rumble match but was eliminated by Big E. On the February 12th episode of SmackDown, Zayn teamed with King Corbin to defeat The Mysterios (Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio) to qualify for the Elimination Chamber match.
At the event, Sami was the second man eliminated in the match by Kevin Owens. Zayn’s gimmick was then altered to become a deranged conspiracy theorist who believed that WWE bosses were holding him down. Soon after, he reignited his feud with Kevin Owens after trying unsuccessfully to convince him to believe in the conspiracy theories.
Owens then challenged Zayn to a match at WrestleMania 37 which Zayn accepted. At WrestleMania 37, Zayn lost to Kevin Owens. Their feud continued after WrestleMania which led to a match at Hell in a Cell in which Zayn defeated Owens. Their rivalry ended on the July 2nd episode of SmackDown in a Last Man Standing match to qualify for the men’s Money in the Bank Ladder match. Kevin Owens was victorious.
In October, Zayn entered the King of the Ring tournament. He defeated Rey Mysterio in the first round but lost to Finn Bálor in the semi-finals. On November 6, it was announced that Sami Zayn would be a part of Team SmackDown at Survivor Series. But on the November 12 episode of SmackDown, Zayn faced Jeff Hardy in a match with the stipulation that whoever lost was removed from the Smackdown Survivor Series team. Jeff Hardy defeated Zayn who was then removed from SmackDown’s Survivor Series team.
Sami Zayn Number 1 Contender
On the November 26 episode of SmackDown, Zayn competed in a battle royal to determine the number one contender for the Universal Championship. He was the last man standing after eliminating Jeff Hardy. On the December 3rd episode of SmackDown, Zayn faced Universal Champion Roman Reigns for the title but lost in 15 seconds due to Brock Lesnar attacking him before the match.
At the December 24 episode of SmackDown, Zayn won a 12-man gauntlet match to become the number one contender for the Intercontinental Championship.
On the January 7th 2022 episode of SmackDown, Sami Zayn entered a feud with Johnny Knoxville, after Knoxville announced he would be entering the Royal Rumble match. At the Royal Rumble event on January 29, Zayn competed in his fifth Royal Rumble match, eliminating Knoxville before being eliminated by AJ Styles.
Sami Zayn’s Third Intercontinental Championship Run
At a special taping of Friday Night SmackDown on February 11 2022, Sami Zayn defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to win the Intercontinental Championship for a third time.
Three weeks later, Zayn dropped the championship to Ricochet after interference from Johnny Knoxville. This ended his reign at 21 days (recognized by WWE as 13 days). Later the same night, Zayn would challenge Knoxville to a match at WrestleMania 38 which was made official shortly after. The following week, Zayn failed to regain the Intercontinental Championship from Ricochet in a rematch. On the March 18th episode of SmackDown, Zayn added an Anything Goes stipulation to their match, and Knoxville accepted the challenge. On the second night of WrestleMania 38 on April 3, Sami Zayn lost to Knoxville after the latter’s Jackass co-actors interfered in the match.
Sami Zayn & The Bloodline
Starting on the April 22nd episode of SmackDown, Zayn tried to seek favor with The Bloodline, the stable that was led by Roman Reigns. On the May 27th episode of SmackDown, after helping the group on a couple of occasions, Zayn was dubbed an “Honorary Uce” and became an associate of the group. On the June 24 episode of SmackDown, Zayn defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to qualify for the Money in the Bank ladder match. At the event on July 2, Zayn failed to win. On the August 19th episode of SmackDown, he competed in a fatal five-way match to determine the number one contender for the Intercontinental Championship, which was won by Sheamus.
In the following weeks, the tensions between Zayn and Jey Uso, another member of The Bloodline, grew as Jey did not trust Zayn, and they constantly argued. On the September 23 episode of SmackDown, Reigns declared Zayn an official “Honorary Uce”. At Survivor Series WarGames, Zayn, along with The Bloodline, defeated Drew McIntyre, Kevin Owens, and The Brawling Brutes (Sheamus, Butch, and Ridge Holland) in a WarGames match. After the match, due to Zayn showing his loyalty to the stable by delivering a low blow to Owens, Jey finally accepted Zayn as part of The Bloodline and the stable celebrated. In January 2023, Zayn would be in a conflict with The Bloodline, which led to a Tribal Court for Zayn at RAW is XXX, but would be found “not guilty, for now” in regard to betraying The Bloodline.
Zayn vs Reigns at Elimination Chamber
At the Royal Rumble, Reigns proceeded to have the rest of The Bloodline beat Owens down following the match, but Zayn refused to join the beatdown and eventually hit Reigns with a chair. As a result, this led to the entire Bloodline (excluding Jey) attacking Zayn, turning him face for the first time since 2017. On the February 3rd episode of SmackDown, Zayn attacked Reigns and challenged him to a match for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at Elimination Chamber, which Reigns accepted.
At the event on February 18th , Zayn failed to win the titles from Reigns. On the March 6 episode of RAW, Jey Uso interfered in a match between Zayn and Jimmy Uso, costing Jimmy the match, Jey hugged Sami but then betrayed him, hitting him with a superkick. He then proceeded to beat him along with Jimmy and Solo Sikoa. Cody Rhodes came to Sami’s aid.
Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn Reunite
On the March 10th episode of SmackDown, The Usos cut a promo in the ring, with Jey explaining why he turned on Zayn. Cody Rhodes interrupted them and Zayn jumped Jey, with Cody joining in on the fight, the fight spilled out into the crowd and Rhodes and Zayn fought off The Usos. On the March 17th episode of SmackDown, Cody Rhodes attempted to reunite Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. Kevin Owens refused and was about to leave when Zayn confronted Owens, who was outside the arena, Owens still refused.
In the main event, Zayn faced Jey Uso until Jimmy Uso interfered which caused Owens to come out and save Zayn from the Usos. The two then hugged it out in the ring, officially reuniting Owens and Zayn. At WrestleMania 39 Night One Main Event, Zayn and Owens defeated The Usos to win the RAW and SmackDown tag team championships.
On September 2nd, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens lost the Undisputed WWE Tag Team titles to Damian Priest and Finn Balor at Payback. Their reign lasted 154 days. Zayn and Owens were unsuccessful in a rematch for the titles on the September 25 episode of RAW. At Payback, Cody Rhodes had Jey Uso—who was on SmackDown and had quit WWE shortly before Payback—reinstated as a member of RAW and it was revealed that someone was traded to SmackDown for Jey. The following month, new SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis revealed that Kevin Owens had been traded to SmackDown for Jey, in turn splitting Owens and Zayn.
Sami Zayn Returns to Singles Action
After Kevin Owens moved to SmackDown, Zayn declared he will show the world what he can do on his own, until he was interrupted by The Judgment Day, but was able to fend them off alongside Jey Uso, starting a feud with the stable in the process. Zayn had his first match since splitting from Owens on the October 23rd episode of RAW against Drew McIntyre in a losing effort after some outside interference from Rhea Ripley.
On the October 30th episode of RAW, Ripley, Dominik Mysterio, and JD McDonagh were in the ring. Zayn interrupted them, and stated that despite being alone, he would continue to fight The Judgment Day until the group ended. Following that, Judgment Day attempted to attack Zayn but he escaped. Later that night, a match between McDonagh and Zayn was announced for the Crown Jewel Kickoff show. Zayn took on Damian Priest in the show’s main event. He lost via disqualification after Jey Uso took out Priest while fending off the other members of The Judgment Day.
Sami Zayn Wins Intercontinental Title
At the Crown Jewel Kickoff Show, Zayn defeated JD McDonagh. Then, at Survivor Series: WarGames, Zayn teamed with Jey Uso, Cody Rhodes, Seth “Freakin” Rollins and the returning Randy Orton. They battled against The Judgment Day’s Damian Priest, JD McDonagh, “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio and Finn Bálor, and Drew McIntyre. Zayn’s team was victorious. In the 2024 Royal Rumble, Zayn entered at number #30 and eliminated Priest before being eliminated by Drew McIntyre.
On the March 11th episode of RAW, Zayn won a gauntlet match to earn an Intercontinental Championship match against Gunther at WrestleMania XL. On Night 1 of WrestleMania XL, Zayn defeated Gunther to win the Intercontinental Championship for the fourth time, ending Gunther’s record-setting title reign at 666 days.
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