4 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (24 July - Results & Review)
2. Sami Zayn Demanding “Justice”
Some of WWE's backstage promos or skits are throwaway. For proof, look at all of the Netflix interludes from Monday's edition of Raw involving the likes of Sol Ruca, Lyra Valkyria and Judgment Day. Nobody will remember any of that next week, if they even remember those speeches happening in the first place. Then, thankfully, we've got cracking moments like this one from Sami Zayn and Adam Pearce.
What a stirring promo from Sami about his entire WWE Title journey and the fallout from it. He was on fire here, then demanded that new SmackDown GM Pearce “fix this situation”. That eventually led to Pearce putting Zayn in a number one contenders match against the winner of a Fatal-4-Way, which turned out to be Finn Bálor. That didn't sound good to Sami.
He wanted a Triple Threat vs. CM Punk and Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam instead. To his credit, Pearce was similarly feisty here, which matched Zayn’s fire. Between this and the contract signing goodness, SmackDown really got off to a fantastic start. This is what SummerSlam season is supposed to feel like. A buzz of activity, plenty of bad blood, and wrestlers desperately scrambling for house room in lofty spots on the card.
Zayn has been a highlight since his terrible business with Trick Williams over the United States belt concluded, and this was the latest example of how valuable he is as a personality. Again, Adam Pearce brought it himself. He's been the stronger of the 2 GMs for a while now anyway, so splitting duties between Raw and SmackDown will be good for him.