RIYADH: Few expected the drama that transpired at WWE Night of Champions in Riyadh on Saturday. With Cody Rhodes defending his Undisputed WWE Championship against Gunther and Sami Zayn, it was Gunther who was widely tipped to pry the title from the grasp of “The American Nightmare,” especially as Zayn had only recently been drawn into the feud.
Cue one of the great upsets in professional wrestling history, as Zayn shocked the world — and blew the roof off Kingdom Arena — when he pinned Rhodes to finally claim the coveted title he had been eyeing for years.
Just three years ago, he came within a fraction of a second of securing his first championship, in his hometown of Montreal, when he took on Roman Reigns at Elimination Chamber 2023. The pair gave fans one of the most psychologically charged matches of the modern era, and many believe it should have been the moment Zayn got his hands on the title.
It was not to be, however. Nor was it to be in January this year, when he challenged then-champion Drew McIntyre at KAFD Arena in Riyadh at the Royal Rumble and fell short once again. The months since then had been tough for the Syrian-Canadian athlete, whose story has always focused on his desire to capture the big one: the Undisputed WWE Championship. But in the end it was just a matter of time, even if he has to keep reminding himself of his triumph.
“I woke up this morning, rubbing my eyes, I just… I’m groggy, and I turn over and look at the championship — it’s right there,” Zayn told Arab News. “And I was like, ‘Oh, that actually happened.’
“This is as perfect a result as I could ever ask for, especially when you think that, in a weird way, nobody talked about it. It wasn’t something fans could predict a mile away, and I think the shock factor added so much.”
Zayn believes his long wait to win the title, and previous disappointments, added to this sense of shock among fans.
“I’d be lying if I said even I believed this would happen the whole time,” he admitted. “There were moments where I asked myself if I would be OK if it never happened.”
But the moment finally arrived on Saturday, and when it did it was in front of fans who have taken Zayn to their hearts as one of their own, perhaps more so than anywhere else in the world.
“Montreal is my home but Riyadh is the closest thing I’m ever gonna come to a home in terms of being the capital of the Arab and Muslim world,” Zayn said.
“Truly, Montreal and Riyadh are kind of the two places where there’s not a more perfect dream scenario than winning it there.”
This victory sets Zayn on an intriguing path toward WWE Crown Jewel later this year, followed by the historic WrestleMania 43 in in Riyadh next April, which will be the first WrestleMania to take place outside of North America.
“Just the very fact we’re doing WrestleMania in Saudi Arabia is incredible on its own,” Zayn said. “But I don’t want to put the weight of this championship on myself for next year just yet. It is a goal of mine to hold it until Crown Jewel but for now I just want to enjoy the fact that I won it.”
“I just want to make sure I do something really significant, emotional and important for the fans, because, yeah, that reaction at Night of Champions — I’ll never forget that.”
With his rise in an industry that was not always so open to talents from diverse backgrounds, Zayn has become an inspiration not only to WWE fans in general but in particular to Arabs and Muslims around the world.
“Truth be told, this wasn’t a dream for me, it was a fantasy,” he said. “25 years ago I couldn’t have even dreamt it, because guys like me didn’t succeed in the business. For me, the dream was just to set one foot in a WWE ring and I’ve achieved that. But even that felt like a lofty goal.
“So, if I had to go back in time to speak to my younger self, I don’t really know what I’d say because this has exceeded all my goals, all my dreams and all my fantasies, and younger me never would have believed it.”
