Plans On Hold For Top WWE Star Due To Sami Zayn's Popularity

That's not very Ucey.

Oct 31, 2022 October 31st, 2022

While Sami Zayn is nowadays one of the most entertaining elements of WWE programming, the surge in popularity for the former El Generico has come at a cost for Kevin Owens.

Speaking to GiveMeSport, the usually reliable @WrestleVotes notes how WWE's plans for KO are "totally on pause" due to how audiences are reacting to Sami and his role in the Bloodline.

Previously, Owens was due to get involved with his long-time BFF-turned-rival to do battle against Roman Reigns' faction. While those plans have not been completely axed, they have been "definitely pushed back" as a direct result of how increasingly popular Sami has become in recent weeks and months - to the point that some fans are even clamouring for the Honorary Uce to be the one to dethrone the Head of the Table as the Universal WWE Undisputed Champion.

WrestleVotes added how the original plan for Zayn's involvement with the Bloodline was for it to be a "little three, four week comedy deal", but that obviously changed once WWE realised they'd captured lightning in a bottle with this ongoing storyline.

For Kevin Owens, the Prizefighter was last seen on the 18 October episode of NXT, where he served to hype up the Halloween Havoc main event of Bron Breakker vs. JD McDonagh vs. Ilja Dragunov.

In terms of in-ring, Owens' most recent televised bout saw him team with Johnny Gargano and Drew McIntyre to pick up a win over Austin Theory and Alpha Academy on the 30 September outing for SmackDown. While his TV presence has been minimal lately, the one-time Universal Champion has still remained relatively active at WWE house shows, with KO and Gargano besting Alpha Academy in Monterrey, Mexico this past weekend.

Andrew Pollard

Senior Writer

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, Jamie Hayer, 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 co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.

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