Will a Two-Time United States Champion Finally Turn Heel After WrestleMania Match?
Sami Zayn has always been considered one of WWE’s biggest underdogs. From being a rising star in NXT and winning the NXT Championship to headlining a WrestleMania, Zayn has always been over with the fans, who have pushed him to become a star on the main roster. Unfortunately, it seems as if WWE’s own booking decisions have made Zayn into a wrestler many wish wouldn’t be featured in constant storylines. Even though WWE wants him to remain a babyface due to his personality, his WrestleMania 42 match against Trick Williams for the United States Championship might be the fuel that Zayn needs to turn heel.
Zayn was once one of the most cheered wrestlers in the company, stemming from his in-ring work and talented character work. His peak came when he turned on ‘The Tribal Chief’ Roman Reigns and ‘The Bloodline’ in favor of protecting his best friend, Kevin Owens. Zayn would unsuccessfully challenge Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, but he wouldn’t stop at making sure ‘The Bloodline’ was taken care of. The four-time Intercontinental Champion would team up with Owens to challenge the Usos for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship in the main event of Night One of WrestleMania 39, where the Canadian duo would capture the tag titles to a thunderous roar of cheers.
The boos began for the four-time Intercontinental Champion after he seemingly took Chad Gable’s spot at WrestleMania 40 in a match against Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship. Gable hadn’t won a singles title in WWE and was portrayed as a major underdog against ‘The Ring General’. With Gable unable to dethrone the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion in history, Zayn took over for Gable and laid out the challenge against Gunther. At WrestleMania 40, Zayn did the impossible and ended Gunther’s historic 666-day reign with the Intercontinental title. Although Zayn was applauded for the victory, many felt that Gable should have been the one to dethrone Gunther. It didn’t help that the four-time Intercontinental Champion would defeat Gable in a successful title defense, which led Gable to turn heel. While many were still behind Gable, WWE decided to have Zayn emerge victorious in his feud with Gable.
After missing the main card at last year’s WrestleMania, Zayn was determined to do whatever it took to find his way into the WrestleMania 42 card. He challenged Drew McIntyre for the Undisputed WWE Championship at Royal Rumble 2026 but failed to capture the gold. The four-time Intercontinental Champion then attempted to make his way to the Elimination Chamber match, but he would lose his qualifying match. With no other options, Zayn took advantage of Carmelo Hayes’ United States Championship Open Challenge and answered the call for a match. The four-time Intercontinental Champion went on to defeat Hayes to become the new U.S. Champion, a decision that left a sour taste in many fans’ mouths as it meant that Hayes could miss WWE’s biggest show of the year. Zayn didn’t need another championship win, and ending the reign of one of WWE’s hottest acts felt more like a heel move. Hayes would get a rematch for the title, but fell short of reclaiming it. This made the United States Championship match at WrestleMania 42 official: Zayn versus Williams.
During the April 10th episode of SmackDown, Zayn’s promo was continuously interrupted by boos. Despite the negative feedback his promo was receiving, the four-time Intercontinental Champion still believed he was the good guy of the story and shouted out to the true fans who never turned their back on him. Even as he tries to play the babyface, it’s very clear that the path has been set for Zayn to become a bad guy in WWE. It wouldn’t be the first time the four-time Intercontinental Champion would play a heel in WWE, but his reasoning to turn against the fans would definitely be justified. Losing the championship to Williams at WrestleMania would push Zayn into a downward spiral, where he could blame the fans for no longer supporting him and choosing other wrestlers over him. WWE needs to give the fans a reason to boo Zayn, and it shouldn’t be because of bad booking decisions.
If WWE fails to capitalize on the negative feedback Zayn is receiving, then all the heat that the four-time Intercontinental Champion is receiving will be for nothing. WWE must listen to the fans, and if they feel their backs are against the wall, maybe it’s for the best that Zayn has a change of character. The four-time Intercontinental Champion is more than capable of playing both sides, but a heel turn for his character is much needed. If WWE plays its cards right, Zayn could become a generational heel.
