It was a weekend to celebrate Sami Zayn.
Zayn, after more than a decade on the main roster, finally won a world title when he pinned Cody Rhodes during their triple-threat match with Gunther at Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia. Zayn didnt need any shenanigans or distractions from the outside. He pinned the “American Nightmare” and prompted a massive frenzy in Riyadh.
The triumph of Zayn now begs the question of what Rhodes does from here.
Busted Open pointed out that it had been a while since Rhodes lost without distractions or interference.Â
It just underscores the reign Rhodes has had over the WWE since he returned to the company at 38.
Its been a strange 10 months or so for Rhodes. He defeated John Cena last August to regain the Undisputed WWE Championship. He dropped the title to Drew McInyre in January and then won it back nearly two months later. He held the title through WrestleMania 42 when he defeated Randy Orton in Night 1. He took the liberty of booking the Night of Champions triple threat himself to leave no doubt as to who the best WWE star is.
Perhaps, a little shortsighted. Zayn is on top of the mountain and Rhodes is left stunned looking up at one of the men he counted out the most.
Zayn spoke to Fox News Digital before he won the championship at Night of Champions. He said he believed the win could be a “cultural moment.”
“I think its kinda one of those things that would kinda be hard to process. I truly dont know. I dont know how the fans would react,” he said. “I hope they would enjoy it but you never know because my character right now is a little polarizing â I truly dont know. But I dont know. I think theres a lot of like cultural and historical kind of significance that would kinda maybe hit me after the fact.
“From a sentimental point of view, for sure, I think it would be kind of awesome. I think it would be a big cultural moment, actually. I dont think about it. I kind of dismiss it a lot at this point because we come to Saudi a lot. A lot has been made of the fact that Im Arab or Im Muslim or whatever. But growing up, that was not the case. It was not like this was a common thing or something that you could ever even dream. I couldnt have dreamt that this would happen. So, yeah, that would be a pretty big deal I think.”
As Zayn begins the culture change, Rhodes biggest fans will look to see where he goes from here.
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Will Ospreay came away with the victory over Swerve Strickland Mens Tournament on Sunday night at Forbidden Door. He will earn a title shot against the AEW world champion at All In.
As the pro wrestling world celebrates Ospreays opportunity at All In, the looming shadow of . Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Daniel Garcia, Pac, Yuta Wheeler and Marina Shafir were in Ospreays corner as he put away Strickland. They celebrated with him and Alex Windsor in the ring.
While it seemed like Ospreay kept The Death Riders at an arms distance, an alliance appeared to form for real. He used Moxleys moves to beat Strickland. Moxley and Castagnoli put him on their shoulders. Those who were skeptical of Ospreay, clapped for him.
Ospreay and Windsor walked back up the ramp while The Death Riders exited through the crowd. Whatever develops next is going to be really interesting. Will either side be able to trust each other with two months before All In.
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Oba Femi defeated Jey Uso to win the . He earned a shot at a world title of his choosing because he won.
Femi was defiant as he was interviewed in the ring following his victory.
“It feels so good to go from The Ruler to being the king,” Femi said in his post-match promo. “Jey Uso did not understand what he was up against tonight. He thought he was just fighting one man. You mi
