10 Wrestlers Who've Suffered Most From The WWE Brand Split

3. Sami Zayn

This really shouldn’t have happened.

When the 2016 Brand Split was announced, Sami Zayn was tipped to become one of WWE’s big breakout stars. He was already one of the most popular guys on the roster, and when he was drafted to Raw, only Finn Balor appeared to stand in Sami’s way on his road to becoming the red brand’s top babyface. Zayn’s Battleground win over long-term rival Kevin Owens appeared to confirm the belief that Sami was headed to the top, and finally set for the main event push warranted by his incredible workrate and fan support.

Instead of flying up the card, Sami has fallen further. WWE have not capitalised on the momentum built at Battleground at all, and instead of using it as a catalyst for greater success, Sami hasn’t contributed towards a meaningful story since.

He’s wrestled a few matches since beating Owens, but Sami’s only win was against Sheamus, and it came with the asterisk of a Cesaro assist. Zayn eventually found his way onto the SummerSlam card as Neville’s tag team partner against The Dudley Boyz, but it was a pointless pre-show match for a guy who should be chasing titles at the moment.

Sami lost again this week, and it doesn’t look like he’ll be moving up the card any time soon. He’s a perfect fit to fill the underdog babyface role that Daniel Bryan left behind, but the 2016 Brand Split has brought Sami Zayn zero success so far.