10 Things We Learned From WWE SmackDown In The UK (May 9)
4. Talking Head
If an empty defeat in the opener of last week's broadcast didn't highlight Sami Zayn's plight enough, a reversion to his demeaning persona as a hyperactive overthinking worrywart on this edition reinforced a companywide policy to diminish and discourage the weak and weary.
In the vast looming shadow of Mauro Ranallo's controversial exit from the company, Aiden English was mocked for crying on television as a (slightly) subtle dig, but WWE elected to extend their reach to WWE Network subscribers via the abhorrent presentation of the most recent edition of 'Bring it to the Table'.
On the very show that first brought attention back to the fractious atmosphere curated by JBL, host and latest WWE malcontent Peter Rosenberg opened the show by kicking off a running joke about controversial comments designed to make Bradshaw's cruel swipes little more than a punchline.
So why is this all related to Sami Zayn?
The current call for him to rabbit his partners and opponents into submission is apparently a reference to his real life preference for talking through the minutiae of his matches to the point of frustration.
The company are taking arguably the most sympathetic babyface since Daniel Bryan, and electing to highlight his insecurities on a worldwide stage. Zayn's typical commitment is admirable, but the potential for a second main roster collapse looks frustratingly imminent.