Sami Zayn On His Reaction To Winning Undisputed WWE Title, Keeping Faith That He’d Win It

Sami Zayn says that while he questioned himself over the last few months, he never lost faith that he would win the Undisputed WWE Championship. Zayn won the title from Cody Rhodes in the main event of WWE Night of Champions in a match that also included Gunther.

The win was an emotional moment for Zayn, who had tried for years to win the top prize without success. He spoke on Raw Recap about what it meant to him to win the title and why he kind of lost it over the last few months before ultimately picking up the win. You can see the highlights below:

On How It Feels To Win the Title:

“You know, I’m still processing it a lot, believe it or not. It’s kind of hard to fully take in. But I guess if I had to answer it in one word, it feels great, it really does. It feels like the weight of the world’s off my shoulder. I think anyone who’s paid attention has seen that I kind of drove myself to the edge of sanity a little bit there for a while, just by putting so much pressure on myself to win this thing. And you know, it’s here and I feel like I can just breathe. It feels great.”

On Not Losing Faith That He Would Win the Title:

“I’ll be honest, like I didn’t lose the faith and I certainly didn’t lose the faith after the match in Montreal [at WWE Elimination Chamber 2023]. I thought, ‘Well, I’m not gonna say’ — it was a heartbreaker, no doubt, okay? But I thought, ‘You know, this is the closest I’ve come, so I’ll just get closer and closer till I get there.’

“The one that really did my head in a little bit was coming up short against Drew this past January at the Royal Rumble. Because after that one, that’s when I was already starting to feel — I felt like maybe I had missed my window. And I couldn’t give up faith, but it was the first time my faith was shook. It was — if I’m being totally honest, I knew I had the talent, I knew I had everything, I knew I was just as good as any of these guys. Drew, Roman, Cody, Seth. And the proof is, you’ve seen me mix it up in the ring with all of them. You’ve seen my body of work. There’s no question in my mind that these are my peers. And that’s almost what made it more maddening is, ‘Why them and why not me? Why is it so close and I just can’t get my hands on it?'”

On His Turn Toward the Dark Side:

“After losing at the Rumble, that’s where I think you saw me kind of losing it or crashing out backstage over the months. It’s because I think what was happening was, maybe the realization was going on deep down that maybe I had missed that window. And I was starting to see the sea change with Trick, and the fans getting behind Trick and they were kind of– they kind of moved on from my story and they were into Oba and Je’Von and Bron Breakker. And there was like this idea that, ‘Oh my god, it’s like their window’s opening and I think mine might have closed.’

“And I’m only saying this now, I’m only kind of realizing it now that this is actually on my shoulders. But I think that’s a big reason why I was slipping, you know? I was slipping, but I’m really proud of myself for never changing, for staying true to my guns. And I think the biggest thing is the way I won it. You know, that’s a really big deal to me. I didn’t cheat, I didn’t, you know, knock out a referee. There was nothing nefarious about it. I rolled them up with the wrestling hold, and I won in the middle of the ring, just like I said 10 years ago. And I said, ‘I’m gonna win this the right way.’ And I did. And so I’m immensely proud of myself for that.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit WWE with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.