Report: WWE "Ecstatic" With Sami Zayn

The rise of Sami Zayn has been one of the biggest talking points of the wrestling world in 2023, with the former NXT Champion's progression from Bloodline lackey to arguably the most over act in all of wrestling nothing short of phenomenal.

After Zayn turned on Roman Reigns at the Royal Rumble, many pushed for Zayn to take on Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 39, but WWE stuck to their guns and pivoted Zayn and long-time frenemy Kevin Owens into a tag title angle with The Usos for Mania.

Such a move saw members of the wider pro wrestling landscape criticise WWE for not striking whilst the iron was hot, viewing this as evidence that the promotion was not high on Zayn, but a WWE source reportedly told Fightful Select that this could not be further from the truth:

"He's headlined a PPV, he is the focal point of our biggest shows. He's main eventing WWE Raw, and is "1B" for the biggest storyline in the company. Elimination Chamber didn't happen in his hometown by accident. For anyone to say that we don't view him as a top guy just hasn't been watching the program or are fabricating things. We had a solid set of plans in order both for him and the championship. Just because he isn't competing for the championship, doesn't mean he isn't viewed at that level. He's been the MVP since last Summer, and I couldn't see many disagreeing with that point," the source said.

Indeed, Zayn faced Reigns for the titles at Elimination Chamber in his hometown of Montreal, Quebec, Canada amidst reports that WWE had pencilled in Zayn and Owens vs. The Usos at Mania as far back as November 2022.