WWE doesn’t see Sami Zayn as a top money player.
The latest episode of Raw featured many twists and turns, including Cody Rhodes being taken out of the WWE title match with an attack from Gunther and CM Punk returning to take his place. In the end, this led to the Straight Edge Star once again winning the WWE Championship in his hometown of Chicago, ending Zayn’s first world title reign at just 9 days.
Veteran reporter Dave Meltzer explained the reasoning behind the unusually short world title reign on the latest Wrestling Observer Radio. He mentioned that the undercard titles are usually the ones that change hands frequently. In Sami’s case, the title change was always expected to happen sooner rather than later because the company does not see him as a money player:
At this point in time, they do this for the undercard titles. They really don’t do it for the two major men’s titles. In the past, absolutely, there were times when the belts were passed around. I’ve told the stories. We’ve all told the stories. They really aren’t pass-around belts now. They really are in the hands of the people who are perceived as the money players.
Meltzer claimed that ultimately the decision came down to the internal perception of Sami Zayn, as the company does not see him as someone who can be a top guy:
And Sami is not, in their minds, one of those people. He could have been. There was a time when he was, but even then, in their minds, he still wasn’t. It’s one of those things where they’re still brainwashed by the cosmetics in a lot of ways, and that certain people are good hands, but they can’t be the guy. And Sami is one of those guys who, in their minds, can’t be the guy.
The backstage belief is that WWE has set the stage for a SummerSlam encounter between CM Punk and Cody Rhodes with the title change. There is no word on where this leaves Sami Zayn, and we will have to see what the company is planning for him after his title loss.
