WWE Higher-Up Reportedly Disagrees That Sami Zayn Isn’t Seen As a Top Name

A new report cites a source high up in WWE as pushing back against the idea that Sami Zayn isn’t seen as a top name. It was reported in late January just before the Royal Rumble that neither Triple H and Vince McMahon viewed Zayn as the “the face of the company.” Since then, Zayn has gone on to challenge Roman Reigns at Elimination Chamber for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship after turning babyface by attacking Reigns in Kevin Owens’ defense at the Rumble.

He is now teaming with Kevin Owens against The Usos for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships at WrestleMani8a, and Fightful Select spoke with a source higher up in the company who disagreed with the notion.

The source said that WWE has been very happy with Zayn’s performance and crowd reactions, and that Zayn has been very easy to deal with throughout his push. The report also cites documents from within WWE that had Owens and Zayn set to compete for the Tag team Championships as far back as November.

“He’s headlined a PPV, he is the focal point of our biggest shows,” the source told the site. “He’s main eventing WWE Raw, and is ‘1B’ for the biggest storyline in the company. Elimination Chamber didn’t happen in his hometown by accident. For anyone to say that we don’t view him as a top guy just hasn’t been watching the program or are fabricating things. We had a solid set of plans in order both for him and the championship. Just because he isn’t competing for the championship, doesn’t mean he isn’t viewed at that level. He’s been the MVP since last Summer, and I couldn’t see many disagreeing with that point.”

The report also noted that Zayn fully improvised his promo before Elimination Chamber promo and that it turned out better for the company and for Zayn.