WWE Had Major Sami Zayn Concerns On This Week's Raw
The Great Liberator gave WWE management quite the headache this past Monday.
Following the recent groundswell of support for Sami Zayn, WWE had major concerns for this week's Raw after the Montreal native came up short against Roman Reigns at Elimination Chamber last weekend.
Speaking on the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio (via WrestlingHeadlines), Dave Meltzer noted how WWE officials were worried that Sami Zayn chants would drown out Cody Rhodes when the American Nightmare came out to cut a promo as he himself gets set to tackle the Tribal Chief at WrestleMania 39.
As such, the decision was made for Paul Heyman to cut Cody off before that promo could really get going, with that done in order to not allow the Ottawa audience a chance to potentially shower Rhodes with Sami chants. If those chants did indeed happen, the big concern is that they would and could hinder Cody's momentum on his way to the Showcase of the Immortals.
Of course, many fans - particularly those in Zayn's home province of Montreal over the weekend - and even some WWE higher-ups, were clamouring for the Great Liberator to emerge victorious at Elimination Chamber and head into WrestleMania as the new Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. Likewise, there are others who feel that Sami needs to be inserted into the 'Mania main event to make it Rhodes vs. Reigns vs. Zayn.
As it stands, WWE is very much pushing forward with Cody vs. Roman at WrestleMania 39, with Sami Zayn expected to team with Kevin Owens to take on the Usos for the Undisputed Tag Team Titles.
Whether the looming large shadow of Sami does at some point lead to fans turning on Cody Rhodes remains to be seen, but WWE has so far done an excellent job in how its handled those two characters amid hugely positive reactions for both men.