4 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Dec 24)

3. Sami F’N Zayn

Sami Zayn
WWE.com

Same goes for Sami 'SmackDown Needs Me' Zayn.

The dude has been a highlight on Friday nights for a while. His stuff with Brock Lesnar recently was awesome, and having Sam become Shinsuke Nakamura's next Intercontinental Title challenger is smart. Fingers crossed Zayn wins the belt too, because Naka has been useless in the championship hotseat.

That's not really Shin's fault (announcers barely even mention that he's champ, and he's defended the strap on TV once since winning it), but it's true. The Intercontinental prize deserves somebody who holds it with distinction, not someone who hardly ever talks about it or puts the thing up for grabs.

Sami was in his element as a party pooper who slowed Ricochet's roll and pulled the proverbial rug out from underneath the feet of fans. The crowd badly wanted Rico to win, but Mr. Zayn came out on top and can now set about the task of restoring IC to former glory.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.