AJ Styles isn’t ready to trash WWE’s booking just yet, but he’s not pretending Sami Zayn’s nine-day title reign feels normal either.
While speaking on the Phenomenally Retro podcast, Styles reacted to Sami losing the WWE Championship to CM Punk only nine days after finally winning it. That loss already had fans heated, especially after WWE posted footage of Sami melting down backstage, furious that Punk came back after months away and walked right into a title shot.
The WWE Hall of Famer said he had actually talked about Sami’s reign on the podcast before and hoped WWE would let him hold the title for a while. That obviously didn’t happen.
“We spoke on the podcast the other week with Retro Jake. We all said it would be great if Sami holds on to the belt for a little while. That was not going to be the case. So, you know, you’ve said many times on this podcast you’re not a big fan of flip-flopping the title. Sami was champion for nine days. I don’t understand. And it’s not for me to understand. I get it. I didn’t write the show. I don’t know what’s happening.”
That’s the part that makes this whole thing so strange. WWE has spent years training fans to expect major world title reigns to actually last. Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns didn’t exactly pass the belt around every few weeks, so Sami getting only nine days stands out immediately.
Styles admitted the short reign caught him off guard, but he also said fans should wait before calling the whole thing a disaster. He pointed to Sami’s backstage reaction and said WWE may have something bigger planned.
“I’m hoping there is an actual reason. And from what I saw on the internet, they backstage with Sami after the match… he’s pretty pissed off. Let’s see where this story goes before we start getting mad about everything that’s going on. By the way, CM Punk looks like a million bucks right now. But, you know, there is a story that’s happening. So before we get our panties in a wad and just be as negative as we get, let’s see what happens.”
Styles also floated the idea that this could be the start of a major shift for Sami. After the way he snapped following the loss, WWE may not be done with him at all.
“Because this may be a transition in where Sami is a totally different character, and that might be what we need. And it might be another match to do… there’s things that can happen. So let’s see where it goes is all I’m saying. Before we start judging and being mad, even though I didn’t want a transitional champion, let’s see where it goes.”
Still, Styles couldn’t ignore how unusual it was. He brought up how long WWE’s recent champions have held their titles, which only makes Sami’s short run look even more jarring.
“How long was Cody champion? Yeah, it was like almost a year, wasn’t it? He did drop it to Drew, but then he won it back. So he’s been champion. And then how long’s Roman got… Champions normally hold on to their titles a very long time. The fact that Sami didn’t is odd and unexpected.”
That doesn’t mean Styles is calling it bad booking. At least not yet. He said WWE’s writers may know exactly where this is going, and fans may need to let the story play out before deciding Sami was simply used as a bridge to Punk.
“So that’s again… is that a bad thing that he lost it so quickly, but then comes back? I don’t know, man. We’re just going to have to watch the show. These guys are smarter than I am when it comes to writing. So let’s just see where it is.”
So Styles is basically where a lot of fans are right now. He didn’t want Sami to be a transitional champion, and he thinks nine days is weird. But he’s also leaving the door open for WWE to prove there’s a bigger payoff coming.
The problem is WWE now has to actually deliver that payoff. Sami’s title win was emotional, his loss was brutal, and his breakdown made it clear this story can’t just fade into the background.
Do you think AJ Styles is right to wait and see, or did WWE already mess up Sami Zayn’s title reign? Let us know in the comments.
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