Sami Zayn Deserves Better

The “Ultimate Thrill Ride” is approaching and the build to WrestleMania will hit its stretch run next week with the go-home shows of Raw and Smackdown Live. All of the loose ends will be tied up and all of the final words will be spoken before the show of shows takes place on April 2nd. Goldberg and Brock Lesnar will go face-to-face for just the second time in the build to WrestleMania while Seth Rollins will sign Triple H’s Hold Harmless Agreement ahead of their grudge match. Elsewhere, Bayley will likely be made to look like a fool ahead of her tag team championship match and the tag team championship match participants will likely collide in a thrown together multi-man match that doesn’t advance their mostly non-existent story. Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho, if given the chance will produce another stellar segment and Roman Reigns and the Undertaker will likely have another physical confrontation before their epic (and potentially show-ending) clash at the “Showcase of the Immortals.”

Missing from the picture? Plenty of superstars. Big Show’s headline grabbing tilt with Shaquille O’Neal is off the table, the New Day will be hosting and Raw’s resident monster Braun Strowman will likely feast on anybody who crosses his path in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Samoa Joe will probably get involved with the HHH-Rollins match and perhaps even the United States championship match and we still don’t know the whereabouts of Finn Balor. Undoubtedly the most notable exclusion from the build to WrestleMania is Sami Zayn.

Why is the “Underdog from the Underground” without a match and a storyline at WrestleMania? There is no good, or satisfying, answer.

Sami Zayn has been a workhorse for the WWE since debuting full-time on the main roster in the buildup to last year’s WrestleMania. It was at that event where Zayn and Kevin Owens’ friendship-turned-rivalry was given significant time on WWE programming. Just one year later, Zayn’s only purpose so far on the Road to WrestleMania has been to put over Samoa Joe and constantly eat pins to the Destroyer. No storyline, no Mania match, and no direction.

Zayn is obviously deserving of a spot on the card over guys like Shane McMahon at the premiere event on the WWE calendar. For those say that Shane-O-Mac will grab more attention, I say this: Goldberg, Brock Lesnar and Undertaker will reel in the casual fans. The hardcore fans deserve to see the best wrestlers have a payoff after watching them week in and week out. Also of note: fans young and old all rally behind the “Underdog of the Underground” so a lack of fan response is certainly not the problem.

Sami Zayn is a big match performer. He had several highlights in last year’s intercontinental title match at WrestleMania after welcoming Shinsuke Nakamura to NXT the very night before. Not seeing Zayn do anything of note at this year’s WrestleMania is one of, if not the most disappointing aspect of this year’s grand spectacle.

We as fans deserve to see one of the most gifted performers on the roster perform in a prominent spot at this year’s WrestleMania. More importantly, Sami Zayn deserves better.