4 Ups & 8 Downs From WWE Raw (Dec 19 - Review)

2. Zayn Shows Flashes Again

Sami Zayn AJ Styles
WWE.com

Sami Zayn has been playing a flunky and court jester for so long that fans would be forgiven if they forgot how good of a wrestler he really is.

The Honorary Uce hasn’t wrestled a ton, but when he has, he’s been restrained, showing only a fraction of what he’s capable of. But every now and again, he’ll flash a little something that reminds you how good he really is, as if to give a nod to fans that he’s still got the ability to be dangerous in the ring.

Monday, Zayn and AJ Styles had (surprise!) a fun, competitive match that saw both men unload on the other. But it was a Sami brainbuster that really opened your eyes. Zayn hit that move so crisply that it just took your breath away for a second. Fans audibly gasped at it, which is a great reaction. His counter of Styles’ moonsault reverse DDT into an Exploder suplex was also smooth as hell.

If they keep doing stuff like this, eventually we’re going to see Zayn bust out a flurry of this offense and fans will lose their minds, but it won’t be entirely out of the blue.

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Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.