7 Ups & 6 Downs From WWE Raw XXX (23 Jan - Review)

by Scott Carlson

1. The Trial Of Sami Zayn

The Trial Of Sami Zayn
WWE.com

Or better known as the Tormenting of Sami, or the Gaslighting of Zayn, or the Bloodline’s Delight.

Whatever you want to call it, this constant tug and pull at Sami Zayn by the Bloodline where he continuously has to prove himself to a family that will never truly, 100% accept him as one of them is certainly a feature, not a bug.

Zayn found himself being persecuted by Paul Heyman, berated by Roman Reigns, and very nearly executed by Solo Sikoa. Even when he was given a stay by the Tribal Chief, it was made very clear that he was on thin ice. Saving the Usos’ Raw Tag Team Championship reign wasn’t enough to get him completely out of the doghouse.

Sami still has to prove himself at the Royal Rumble, which means continuing to betray his longtime best friend Kevin Owens, all in the name of protecting Roman’s title. And even if he succeeds, he’s still just one heartbeat away from being discarded once the Bloodline has no use for him.

The trial Monday night was further evidence of the tenuous hold Sami has on relevance and usefulness to Reigns. When it all comes crashing down, it’ll be a colossal fall.

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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.