The time is nearly here for the highly anticipated bout between Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn at the 2023 WWE Elimination Chamber PLE for the Undisputed WWE Universal Title.
In recent weeks, there has been much debate among fans regarding how WWE should handle the booking of this match with some even pushing for WWE to add Zayn to the already announced bout between Reigns and Cody Rhodes for the title at WrestleMania 39 in April.
In the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that the original plan for Reigns vs. Zayn at the WWE Elimination Chamber PLE was for Reigns to retain the title.
The idea was for Jey Uso to turn against Zayn at the show, leading to Reigns retaining and Zayn teaming with Kevin Owens to challenge The Usos for the Undisputed Tag Team Titles at WrestleMania.
The Usos can travel to Canada for the show even though WWE shot an angle last week where they were told to stay home.
Things Have Changed
Meltzer wrote that “a lot has changed since that time” with Zayn becoming “major TV ratings mover” in recent months. The belief is that Zayn beating Reigns would be a “late deviation of the script. Meltzer wrote the following about the situation:
“It’s tricky for a lot of reasons, because Zayn does not fit into the mentality of what a mainstream ratings mover looks like, nor has his booking been what traditionally leads to it. It just happened, and it not handled right, it could end. Maybe it would have ended with a win as well, because the chase is over and maybe it was the build to the angle and chase that were the draws. Either way, this is the first booking decision in a long time that can actually make a difference to full show ratings.”
Reigns is a heavy betting odds favorite at -2000 to beat Zayn at the Elimination Chamber.
