‘Riyadh is the closest thing to home,’ says newly crowned WWE champion Sami Zayn

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,