6 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (4 Sept - Results & Review)
2. “Yo, Where’s Sami Zayn At?”
Did anyone else appreciate CM Punk sitting on the top turnbuckle and loudly shouting that heading above during his fun main event vs. Johnny Gargano? It worked on multiple levels. Firstly, it made sense because Punk knew Sami would show face at some point. Second, it proved Kevin Owens right. Kevin Owens is always right whether he's heel or babyface.
KO suggested earlier that Punk was trying to lure Sami out there and never does anything for unselfish reasons. Vindicating that statement mid-match was a neat moment in a fine main event. Being real, Johnny Gargano was never wrestling the WWE Title away from Punk and every single person inside the arena knew that, but the champ being distracted by a looming interruption from Zayn did give Gargano a puncher's chance at scoring some nearly moments.
Something has become apparent since Punk returned to WWE: He laces his bouts with some seriously nifty bits of psychology. The way he struggled to physically live up to the billing vs. Roman Reigns back at WrestleMania 42 was expertly done, and so was the way he repeatedly looked around him to see if Sami was coming even when he had Johnny locked in a submission hold.
Punk's paranoia put across how effective Zayn has been when getting under everyone's skin. He has them constantly on edge thanks to his run-ins, belt shots and promises to ruin everything involving the WWE Title until he gets exactly what he wants. Kudos to the WWE Champ for putting that over.