Exploring the Wrestling Path That Led Sami Zayn to Main Eventing WrestleMania 39 in 2023

WWE superstar Sami Zayn has a stellar independent circuit record that helped him enter WWE and become an instant hit with the audience. In fact, he also bagged the main event spot at WrestleMania 39 despite not being the number one contender for the WWE Championship.

Sami Zayn will soon enter the WWE WarGames as part of team Cody Rhodes to fight against The Judgment Day. This will be the second elite heel faction Zayn will be going to war against after The Bloodline. But, how did Sami Zayn become a part of these core storylines under the world’s biggest pro wrestling company? 

Sami Zayn and his reign as a masked Luchador in the independent circuit

Born Rami Sebei, Sami Zayn made his WWE debut on 13 February 2013. However, his actual pro wrestling career started on 1 March 2002 with Quebec’s FLQ wrestling promotion. While everyone knows about his high-flying wrestling style, it is interesting to note that his early career saw him as a masked luchador named El Generico. 

As a luchador, El Generico entered the International Wrestling Syndicate (IWS) on 14 July 2002. After several hard-fought matches, Rebei won his first championship belt, the IWS Heavyweight Championship on 15 June 2004. However, he shortly lost the belt to then rival, Kevin Steen, who later met him in WWE as Kevin Owens. 

His rivalry with Steen spanned several years of his IWS career, which saw the IWS Heavyweight Championship change hands multiple times. This back-and-forth struggle came to an end via a three-way match won by Steen on 22 March 2012. Interestingly, while Sami Zayn was working hard at IWS, he also made appearances in another company called Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG). 

Zayn wrestled at PWG from 2004 to 2013 and claimed the Tag Team Championship five times with different partners. In fact, one of them was his heated rival, Kevin Steen. Zayn also won the PWG World Championship after defeating a former tag team partner and later won the Tag Championship with Steen. This made Sami Zayn the only wrestler in PWG history to hold both championships simultaneously. 

Read more- WATCH: Sami Zayn Left on the Verge of Tears as Kevin Owens Teases a Breakup

Zayn achieved all this while featuring in multiple independent wrestling companies at the same time, including Chikara, Ring of Honor, Dragon Gate, and DDT Pro Wrestling. Sami Zayn left his indelible mark everywhere despite never revealing his face behind El Generico’s mask. But this changed when he signed with the WWE in 2013.

The unveiling of the face of WWE’s newest heartthrob

Sami Zayn entered WWE NXT in 2013 and instantly hit all the right notes as a wrestler and as a charmer as well. While he initially made his debut with his real name, the name Sami Zayn was finalized later on. He caused a major upset right from the get-go by beating Antonio Cesaro, starting his first major feud on WWE. 

While Cesaro eventually won the feud, Zayn earned a rivalry against then NXT Champion Bo Dallas. Zayn put on a mask one more time to face Dallas when he issued an open challenge as a number one contender for the NXT title. The mask allowed him to bypass the challenge ban placed on him by Dallas and earn the victory while in disguise. 

While he lost his title shot match, it opened the doorway to several other matches. Sami Zayn finally became the NXT Champ by defeating his friend Adrian Neville. This prompted several wrestlers to congratulate him, including Kevin Owens, who went on to violently attack him. This started his feud with Owens once again, which continued even into the main roster.

The duo have constantly switched roles from friends and enemies, including their WrestleMania 39 partnership against The Bloodline where they beat The Usos for the Undisputed Tag Team title. During this time, Zayn also won and lost the Intercontinental Championship. Now, Zayn also has his eyes set on Seth Rollins’ World Heavyweight title. 

As his storied career moves forward, he is only expected to achieve many more things. It’s no secret that Zayn’s ability to elevate the feuds and fights he’s been in, to an extent that the promotion has seen him worthy to take him to main event status.

What are your thoughts about this? Is Zayn worthy of the honor, or has he been elevated too much too fast?

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