Sami Zayn is WWE Champion now, but the big question is whether WWE actually had some grand plan here or if they hit the panic button because fans were calling the product stale.
That was the conversation on Wrestling Observer Radio after Sami shocked everyone by winning the WWE Championship in the three-way main event at Night of Champions. Dave Meltzer said the title change was a surprise, but he did not sound convinced this is some long-term Sami Zayn title run WWE had mapped out for months. Meltzer opened the conversation by making it clear that Sami’s title win felt big in the moment, but the follow-up is what will decide whether WWE actually meant it.
“The main event was a good match, real good. And you know, the championship change was a surprise. I mean, it just depends on, you know, I mean, he’s, he’s. I don’t think that he’s the guy in their plans. I mean, it is, it is very similar to Darby Allin in the sense that it’s something that at some point they were going to do. The Darby Allen thing turned out to be a pretty big success the way it was done. And this could be too, you know, I mean, it depends on what the story is.”
Meltzer then said he does not see Sami Zayn holding the WWE Championship for a long time, but he hopes WWE gives the reign enough room so it does not come off like they only put the title on him to quiet people down.
“I don’t see. I don’t see a long reign, but I do see a. I mean, I, I would hope it’s longer than SummerSlam, you know, I mean, long enough to where it’s. It’s not like. It’s not like one of those things where it’s like, well, we finally gave it to him, but we didn’t mean it, you know.”
Bryan Alvarez pushed back hard on that, because Sami was not exactly being built like the next WWE Champion. He pointed out that Sami was not even in the title picture until a couple weeks before Night of Champions.
“Well, isn’t that what this Is. Well, he literally wasn’t in the title picture until two weeks ago when he was a bad referee and was rewarded by putting. Being put into a match at Night of Champions. Like, there’s been no build to this.”
That is when Meltzer brought up the weirdest part of the whole thing. WWE had been leaning Sami heel for months, then suddenly gave him a big babyface title win like fans were supposed to forget everything that came before it.
“Oh, here’s the thing. Here’s the thing. It was a babyface win, and he’s been a heel for months.”
Then Meltzer asked the real question: was this planned, or was WWE reacting to the criticism that things had gotten stale?
“You know, I mean, you know, I mean, is it something that was long planned or is it something that’s a reaction to them being stale? You know, I don’t know. That’s a good question.”
That is the meat of this story. Meltzer did not say he knows WWE’s exact reason, but he made it clear the whole thing looked strange from a booking standpoint. Sami went from heel behavior and no real title build to suddenly getting the big emotional championship win.
Later in the show, Meltzer came back to that point after Alvarez broke down the main event finish. Sami reversed Cody Rhodes into a rolling cradle, pinned him, and WWE treated it like a historic moment. Meltzer admitted the win was real for Sami and for fans who waited years to see him get there.
“I mean, here’s for him. It’s like, it’s real, you know, and it is for a lot, you know, the first time you win the title, it is, it is real. So he got that moment. And that’s nice.”
Then Meltzer went right back to how bizarre the booking was, because WWE spent months making Sami look like a heel just to give him a feel-good title win.
“And you’ll, you know, it’s just so weird that they spent like, literally since what, March until now making him heel to give him a babyface world title win. It is so weird. And then he’s going to come out on TV and everyone’s going to go, you deserve it. You deserve it. After, like, booing him for all these months.”
Alvarez said the whole title switch looked like something WWE came up with just a few weeks ago, not some carefully built WrestleMania-level payoff.
“I mean, I’m not sure how long this has been in the plans because if you look at how this whole thing was set up, this looks like they came up with this idea like three weeks ago.”
Meltzer said he did not know for sure yet, but he was not ruling that out at all. Then came the part that really explains why WWE may have put the title on Sami. Meltzer said WWE reacts to criticism more than anyone, and not always in the smartest way.
“I, I do not know. And I will ask, and I wouldn’t be surprised because if I look at the trajectory of everything this Feels like, Feels okay.”
“So this, and this could be dead wrong, but it did feel to me like, you know, like, like when they’re out there trying to, you know, because nobody reacts more. I mean, like nobody, no promotion reacts more to criticism. Not necessarily in a good way, but then WWE. I mean, it’s just that, you know, they’re very thin skinned.”
Meltzer then said the stale booking complaints may have gotten to WWE, leading them to pull the trigger on a surprise title change fans were not expecting.
“And the thing is, is that it really felt like, like to me that it’s like the staleness criticism and all the booking criticisms has got to them. And it’s like, we’ll show you, we’ll do something that you’re not expecting and you know, and you’re all gonna love it.”
That part matters, because WWE did get the reaction they wanted in the building. Fans went wild when Sami won the title, and the moment gave Night of Champions a major talking point. Meltzer said it also helped cover up some of the other criticism around the show and the booking.
“And they did it and people loved it and you know, it kind of hides from the other criticism. And then to a degree, I mean, like some of the criticism’s overblown and some of it’s not.”
So the takeaway is pretty clear. Meltzer was not saying WWE definitely put the title on Sami Zayn because fans complained. He flat-out said he could be wrong and would ask around. Still, the way he read the situation, the title change felt like WWE heard the stale booking criticism, got annoyed, and decided to shock people with a Sami Zayn championship win.
Do you think WWE put the title on Sami Zayn because they had a real plan for him, or was this just a reaction to fans calling the booking stale? Drop your thoughts in the comments and let us know.
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