Don't Get Used To Sami Zayn As WWE Champion... (WWE News)

The latest on Sami Zayn's big WWE Championship win.

by Andrew Pollard
WWE Night of Champions 2026 Sami Zayn
WWE

Having shocked the world by winning the WWE Championship at Night of Champions over the weekend, it sounds like Sami Zayn's reign at the top of the mountain won't be a particularly long one.

Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said that he doesn't think that WWE sees Sami as "the guy in their plans", and he compared this title reign to Darby Allin's recent run as the AEW World Champion. That Darby run lasted just 39 days, during which time he had seven successful title defences before losing the belt back to MJF at Double or Nothing. Meltzer wasn't sure if Zayn would even get that amount of time with the WWE Championship, noting that this title switch may have been a reaction to recent criticism of WWE creative being stale.

Additionally, Cory Hays of False Finish said the original plan was for Sami Zayn to get his big moment at WrestleMania 43 next year, but that "getting him involved in this story with Cody and Gunther made this even more special," while WRKD Wrestling posted on X the simple words of "don't get too attached".

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For those who missed it, the main event of Night of Champions saw Sami win the WWE Championship in a triple-threat bout featuring Gunther and defending champ Cody Rhodes. After the American Nightmare had hit both men with a double Cross Rhodes, he held onto Sami to go for another Cross Rhodes, only for the Last Real Good Guy to escape Cody's grip and roll him up for the 1-2-3 to bring an end to an excellent match.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.