Why Sami Zayn Doesn't Wrestle For WWE Anymore

The real reason behind Zayn's managerial role revealed.

Sami Zayn
WWE

Yesterday saw speculation brewing that Sami Zayn had gone from full-time in-ring competitor to Shinsuke Nakamura's manager in 2019 because Vince McMahon saw him as being too injury-prone to be considered reliable, but it sounds like this was false.

Per Dave Meltzer on a recent episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, the decision to re-position Zayn was a creative one, and had absolutely nothing to do with any injury concerns.

This is the role that the writing time has for him at the moment, apparently. They see him as a manager, not a wrestler, and there's no word on when that might change.

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Zayn serving as Nakamura's mouthpiece is both a negative and a positive. Sami is tremendous in the role and has added great value to Shinsuke's act by his side, but WWE had to sacrifice one of its most well-rounded in-ring performers as a result of this. It is simultaneously a benefit to Nakamura and Zayn's characters but a detriment to the former 'Underdog from the Underground' as a pure wrestler.

Sami has wrestled just one televised bout since August 2019, with him, Cesaro, and Nakamura losing to Braun Strowman and The New Day on SmackDown's 27 December episode.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.