On the 3/11 edition of Monday Night Raw, Sami Zayn emerged victorious in the gauntlet match against Ricochet, JD McDonagh, Big Bad Bronson Reed, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Chad Gable. Zayn was the fourth entrant in the match. His next opponent is Gunther, the leader of ‘Imperium.’
In a recent interview, the Underdog from the Underground revealed that he had previously put an end to Gunther’s title reign in Germany a few years ago, and he plans to do it again in the upcoming WrestleMania 40 match.
Sami Zayn describes end of Gunther’s title reign
Sami Zayn, who is known for his signature move, ‘Helluva Kick,’ will be competing against Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This is not the first time they will be fighting for the title against each other. According to Sami, he has defeated The Ring General previously during an event in Germany.
Addressing this on “Sportskeeda Wrestling,” Zayn said, “I remember we had a pretty prominent match. He was a very dominant champion in Germany. He was a world champion for a company called WXW, which is a very prominent company based out of Germany, even still. and he was a prominent champion and I defeated him when I ended that reign. So I’m wondering if somehow, all these years later, history doesn’t repeat itself where he becomes this dominant Intercontinental champion and I’m the one who ends that reign as well.”
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda's @Kevkellam, #SamiZayn talks about how he ended #Gunther's title reign in Germany.#WWE pic.twitter.com/m1Pt0CB5Wa
— Sportskeeda Wrestling (@SKWrestling_) March 27, 2024
Fans were taken aback when they learned about this revelation. Some even found the timing of events too coincidental and wondered if there was a bigger conspiracy at play. As per some fans, WWE may be planning to crown Sami as the new champion and have him win his second title clash against Gunther, thus securing his second consecutive victory.
Sami Zayn addresses fan backlash to WWE booking vs Gunther
Sami Zayn has faced a lot of criticism after his victory against Chad Gable. Sources suggest that fans were hoping to see Gable face Gunther, as Chad had a previous history with the wrestler known as ‘The Ring General.’
In a recent episode of his podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Booker T mentioned that Sami Zayn was disappointed with the negative reception. The Irish superstar later shared this information on the “Superstar Crossover” podcast with Josh Martinez.
“Well, I was a little surprised to read that. Because I bumped into Booker on the plane and we were just sitting next to each other. So, we’re just talking. It’s pretty weird to see that on the internet. All this to say, No, I was very happy with the performance, because he was talking about the performance itself, the match itself. I was like, ‘Yeah, I was very pleased with the match. It’s just unfortunate that it felt like the reaction to the wind itself was a little split, if not a little more skewed towards Chad’ because we did a great job of building Chad and he’s done a great job of building himself.”
“When you’re a good guy or whatever, or bad guy, and you know where you’re headed, you just want the full investment, right? You want the full scope of the audience’s emotional investment. I felt like this was an interesting story because it splits the emotional investment in two. So, you’re only getting 50% of the pie, right? That’s just an interesting dynamic because it makes it more compelling,” said Zayn.
Did you enjoy seeing Sami Zayn win the gauntlet match? Do you think he stands a chance against Gunther? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
