Dave Meltzer Comments On Why Sami Zayn's Run As Undisputed WWE Champion Was So Short

Last night on "WWE Raw," Sami Zayn's Undisputed WWE Championship reign came to an end just after nine days when CM Punk returned in his hometown of Chicago and defeated him for the title in the main event of the show. Zayn was originally slated to defend the gold against Cody Rhodes, but he was brutally attacked by GUNTHER at the beginning of "Raw" and was unable to compete, leaving Punk to answer the call by the end of the night. However, even if Zayn faced "The American Nightmare," it was expected that he was going to lose on Monday with Rhodes versus Punk being the rumored plan for SummerSlam, as WWE still doesn't view the Canadian star as a major draw according to Dave Meltzer on the "Wrestling Observer Radio."

"Sami Zayn was never going to be the champion that people that were really happy that he won wanted him to be, it was never going to happen. I mean, the big question was, was it going to be nine days or was he going to be three weeks or was it going to be a month, and it was nine days ... I saw a lot of people upset about it and it's like, look, this is what it was going to be, you know that going in," he explained. "They do this for the undercard titles, they really don't for the major men's titles ... they really aren't passed around belts now, they really are in the hands of the people who the perception is are the money players and Sami's not in their mind one of those people, he could've been."

Meltzer suggested that there was a time where Zayn was considered a "money player," though WWE never believed he was a top star who could be a long-term world champion, but instead a good hand to have on the roster.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Wrestling Observer Radio" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.