Sami Zayn has the WWE Championship, but that does not mean WWE is suddenly building the whole company around him. The title win gave Sami a big moment, no doubt, but now the real question is whether WWE is treating him like the guy, or just letting him hold the belt until the bigger SummerSlam pieces fall into place.
Dave Meltzer talked about Sami’s title situation on Wrestling Observer Radio, and he made it pretty clear that a fast title loss would say a lot about where WWE actually has Sami ranked internally. He didn’t act like this was some shocking burial, but he did say taking the belt off Sami after only nine days would be a bad look.
Meltzer said short title reigns can work when someone is clearly just there to bridge the gap, but Sami losing the title that fast would probably hit different.
“I think doing it nine days later, in this specific case, is a real bad move. There are cases where it’s not, when it’s someone who’s clearly a transitional champion, and he is a transitional champion, but I think nine days, people will take that as a slap in the face to him.”
That is where this gets messy. Sami is popular, he can work, and fans have been behind him for years. Still, WWE has a long history of giving someone a feel-good title win without actually treating them like the real face of the company after the confetti is gone. Meltzer said if Sami does not even make it to SummerSlam as champion, then the reign starts looking weak fast. That is when he questioned whether WWE really sees Sami as a top guy.
“If he doesn’t go into SummerSlam as champion, it’s kind of, what would you call it, a championship reign that’s really historically pretty weak. It basically says, do they really believe in him as a top guy? Obviously not.”
He also said there is a big difference between holding the belt and being presented as the company’s main attraction. That part is hard to argue with, because WWE can put a championship on someone for a story beat without actually making them the centerpiece.
“You can put the belt on anyone at any time, but it only means something if, in their mind, the top guy has the belt.”
Meltzer also brought up Dolph Ziggler’s old title win as an example of WWE handing someone a championship without really changing their place on the card. The point was not that Sami and Ziggler are the exact same situation, but that a title win alone does not always mean WWE is all-in on someone.
That is the spot Sami Zayn is in now. WWE can prove the doubt wrong by giving him real wins, real focus, and a title reign that actually has some weight behind it. If they rush the belt right back to Cody Rhodes, CM Punk, or another SummerSlam headliner, then the whole thing may end up looking like a quick pit stop.
Sami Zayn is still WWE Champion, so WWE has time to make this feel bigger than a short-term move. The next few weeks will say a lot about whether this is a real championship run or just WWE moving pieces around before SummerSlam.
Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.
What do you think about the claim that WWE allegedly doesn’t really see Sami Zayn as a top guy? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.
