Michael Cole Shares Thoughts On Sami Zayn Becoming World Champion In WWE

The Undisputed WWE Championship reign of Sami Zayn was rather fleeting, but it was also rather substantial. According to WWE commentator Michael Cole, the latter can be proven by the reaction of pure shock to Zayn's title win, which came after a years-long chronicle of heartbreak and hardship in WWE.

"Sami has an incredible connection with the audience because he's been doing this for a very long time. He's been in the business since 2002, running independents all over the world. Finally came to us over a decade ago. Has had a really nice run as Intercontinental Champion, was one of the stars of the Bloodline story from a couple of years ago. It felt like it was time," Cole told "The Sal Licata Show."

"I know a lot of people have talked about it being a participation trophy because he's served such a long time in WWE. I look at it from a story standpoint. I thought it was a great story. Sami winning in a match against Cody and GUNTHER, two of our biggest stars, no one thought Sami Zayn was going to win the championship. They didn't think he was ever going to win the championship in his entire career here. We pulled it off."

Like the WWE Universe, Zayn himself had long considered his world title win an unfathomable idea that couldn't be visualized. Much to his pleasant surprise, though, Zayn's fantasy became a reality when he pinned Cody Rhodes to capture the Undisputed WWE Championship at Night of Champions on June 27.

As Michael Cole pointed out, the celebration was sweetened by the fact that Zayn's victory came in front of the Saudi Arabian crowd, many of whom resonate with Zayn's Muslim roots. The now-former world champion initially joined WWE in 2013 after spending a number of years performing on the indie wrestling circuit and Ring of Honor.

For his first test as Undisputed WWE Champion, Zayn prepared to defend his title against Cody Rhodes on the July 6 edition of "WWE Raw" in Chicago. A sudden attack from "The Ring General" GUNTHER later rendered "The American Nightmare" unable to compete, however. In Rhodes' place, hometown star CM Punk then returned and dethroned Zayn in the red brand's main event.

Following this series of events, many fans are now questioning Zayn's on-screen storyline direction. Cole insists that they simply buckle up and have fun on the ride that awaits them.

"I always ask our viewers to have patience because there's a long-term story arc with Sami that is going to be playing out now over the fact that he lost his championship." Cole said. "We always ask our viewers to just try to be patient because we are going to get there. We do 52 weeks of television for Monday Night Raw and the same thing with SmackDown every single year. It's live TV every week. So sometimes storylines might not progress as fast as our audience wants them to. Listen, the audience can have all the views they want. We can't do this without them. Be critical about it. Voice your opinions about it, but I really think people are going to enjoy where the Sami Zayn story is going to go over the next couple of years."

Since winning the respective world title, Punk has pivoted to a major program with Rhodes, set to heighten at the 2026 SummerSlam premium live event. Zayn, on the other hand, currently finds himself without clear SummerSlam plans after he and GUNTHER lost their tag team match against Punk and Rhodes at Saturday Night's Main Event.

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