15 New Directions For WWE After WrestleMania 42
8. Sami Zayn’s Full Blown Villain Era
Sami Zayn as a bad guy has been brewing on TV for a while, and now the reborn heel can pin his United States Title loss to Trick Williams on the fans. 'You did this to me', he'll cry. Bitching, complaining and moaning are about to become part of the Zayn playbook all over again. It's like we blinked and we're back in his conspiracy theorist days.
On the other side of the coin, Trick is on the babyface rollercoaster now after what was clearly a double turn moment at ‘Mania. WWE didn't take any chances here - they put Trick Willy's parents at ringside and had Sami beat up their boy right in front of them. That isn't something Zayn would've enjoyed doing whilst playing the dignified baby, so you know for sure that it's all change for the veteran in terms of character.
It's unclear whether or not fans will embrace the hate on Zayn's heel run enough to launch him into World Title contendership for next year's WrestleMania 43, but WWE has a full year to try and build towards that in Saudi Arabia (assuming it's the plan). If not, then perhaps we'll get another chapter in the never-ceasing Sami vs. Kevin Owens saga out of this heel run.
The most beautiful thing about this turn is that it's the fans who forced it. They'd been booing Zayn for a while, but he's done a masterful job of appearing out of sorts and confused about the heat. After losing his belt on Sunday, all bets are off.
Insufferable Sami is here again.