WWE star Sami Zayn is set to take on Cody Rhodes and Gunther in a triple threat match for the Undisputed WWE Championship at Night of Champions on Saturday.Since the calendar flipped to 2026, Zayn has elicited a different reaction from the crowd.The smattering of boos toward him that started the year have grown louder.
Zayn’s complaints about not being respected enough or not getting the opportunities he believes he deserves have also reached a fever pitch.ZERO BS.JUST DAKICH.
TAKE THE DON'T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD.DOWNLOAD NOW!Sami Zayn and Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes speak during SmackDown at Unipol Arena in Bologna, Italy, on June 5, 2026.
(Andrew Timms/WWE)There have been complaints about Zayn’s different character work over the last few months.But anyone who has been in a position where they are the veteran of an organization and have seen the rest of their colleagues gravitate to the new shiny object or the rockstar of the group, they might be able to feel for Zayn a bit more.He told Fox News Digital in an interview that his character now is a "bit of a choose your own adventure.""Well, it’s kind of interesting because it might mean something different to different people.
… There’s so much to say about this.I don’t even know where to start.
It’s basically something where it’s up to you.It’s a bit of a choose your own adventure," he said.
"I think if you’re a fan of mine and have been for a long time and you kinda wanted to see me win the big one and this and that and you just stuck with me and you weren’t like as fickle or as fair-weather as some fans who tend to tire out a bit quicker.If there’s a bit more of an emotional connection there and you have not yet been alienated, then you still might very much be on my side – the ‘ride or die fans’ as I call them.
But they might be totally with me and to them, not a whole lot has changed, and to these other fans, they might have gotten sick of it."And you know, when I...