12 WWE Superstars Without Direction Following WrestleMania 33

7. Sami Zayn

Samoa Joe Seth Rollins
WWE.com

Despite momentary flashes of brilliance between the ropes, the Monday Night Raw creative decision-makers seem determined to undermine Sami Zayn at every cost.

Currently playing a bumbling mumbling unaffectionate version of Woody Allen from 'Annie Hall', Zayn's recent over-scripting in conversation with Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Mick Foley and Kurt Angle is apparently borne out of his real life personality that doesn't fit with the backstage version of 'normal' that wrestlers are expected to subscribe to.

It has, however, noticeably diminished the reactions he has received during his entrance and matches. Once the most popular singles star in NXT history, Zayn carried the momentum into his main roster run following his gutsy display against John Cena in 2015 and emotional rivalry with Kevin Owens early last year.

Fans want to back a winner, and the segments have repeatedly positioned him as the roster's biggest loser. Numerous televised defeats predictably do little to harshen the judgement.

Smackdown Live! may be just another off-shoot of WWE's television empire, but the 'land of opportunity' mantra has become rooted in truth with the remarkable successes of AJ Styles, The Miz, Alexa Bliss and others showing the benefits of working Tuesdays.

It's time to switch the red chequered tights for blue.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 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. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, 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