Sami Zayn’s match against Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Title at Saturday’s Elimination Chamber PLE in Montreal is one of WWE’s most eagerly anticipated contests in recent memory. This match has been months in the making.
As WWE continues to tease tension within The Bloodline, Reigns told The Usos last week on SmackDown to watch Elimination Chamber from home so they could see what he saw on SmackDown, which was a backstage segment in which Jey Uso gave Zayn a fist bump. The Usos’ inability to enter Canada may help to explain why they won’t perform at the PLE. However, according to a recent report, they were allowed to enter the country despite Jimmy’s DUI history, which Canada takes seriously.
In order to set up Zayn and Kevin Owens to challenge The Usos for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Titles at WrestleMania Goes Hollywood, it was originally planned for Zayn to lose at Elimination Chamber after Jey Uso betrayed him, according to Dave Meltzer, who confirmed this in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
That had been speculated for months, and it was indeed what Triple H had in mind, despite Zayn’s recent popularity with the fans.
Meltzer wrote, “The original plan was for Zayn to lose, Jey Uso to turn on him, and the Usos vs. Zayn & Owens at WrestleMania back many months. But a lot has changed since that time.”
It’s believed that Zayn beating Reigns would be a “late deviation of the script” and Meltzer wrote the following about the situation:
“It’s tricky for a lot of reasons, because Zayn does not fit into the mentality of what a mainstream ratings mover looks like, nor has his booking been what traditionally leads to it. It just happened, and it not handled right, it could end. Maybe it would have ended with a win as well, because the chase is over and maybe it was the build to the angle and chase that were the draws. Either way, this is the first booking decision in a long time that can actually make a difference to full show ratings.”
Although some within the company have pushed for it, higher-ups in WWE do not see Zayn as a WrestleMania main event.
Reigns is scheduled to defend his title against Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania Goes Hollywood in April in Los Angeles.
