10 New Directions For WWE After Night Of Champions 2026

…but for how long? That is the question, because a lot of folks will be expecting Sami to drop the belt rather quickly. Even so, and if he does, it’ll be refreshing to have a breather from Cody Rhodes as champion on SmackDown for even a couple of weeks. It'd be banging if Zayn's title reign lasted a little longer than that though.

Night Of Champions was a heartfelt, lifetime achievement in the making kind of moment for the dude. There must've been times when he didn't think he'd ever stand there clutching the "richest prize in the game" as WWE Champion. He's watched some of his closest friends live that glory, but it didn't appear to be on the cards for Sami.

Hell, he seemed one million miles away from that success just a few short months ago when he was mixing it with Trick Williams, Lil Yachty and a bloody Gingerbread Man mascot in comedy segments on TV. Ultimately losing that feud shouldn't have led to the top strap in the biz, but it has and that's testament to how fabulous Zayn has been throughout his involvement in Cody's rivalry opposite Gunther.

Seeing him strut out and claim to be "the last real good guy" on the next SmackDown will be a treat. Here's hoping WWE doesn't feed him to Brock Lesnar (or something) like an ill-advised throwback to Kofi Kingston in 2019. This title reign must prove that hard work, getting a character over and knuckling down counts.

Give Rhodes as champ a rest, please.