10 HUGE WWE Royal Rumble 2022 Predictions You Need To Know

6. "I'm Sami Zayn, And Welcome To WWE"

ronda rousey ungrateful idiots
WWE.com

The Jackass Forever/WWE promotional tie-in has been rather heroically elevated by Sami Zayn's willingness to give pretty much everything to the role as SmackDown's perpetual comic relief character.

If anything, the relationship should be more symbiotic than it actually is - the classic MTV show was peaking right around the time Vince McMahon very briefly had his own finger on the cultural (and counter-cultural) zeitgeist, and audiences for both shows have aged in such a way that their sensibilities haven't adjusted that much. Certainly not based on the rights fees WWE commands and movies the Jackass gang are still able to make.

And yet, the most amusing element of all of this remains Zayn's commitment to the bits. He's come a cropper of Knoxville in their television segments, but the Royal Rumble match will highlight if this is the end, or merely the beginning. The Rumble falls right as the film gets its global release, but the Jackass gang have been interested in WWE stuff before.

Might this yet lead to the second WrestleMania celebrity tie-in in a row for the former (and possibly future) Intercontinental Champion? A fat new contract suggests WWE keeping him busy with something on the 'Grandest Stage'.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett