Former WWE Star Says Part Of Him Wishes Sami Zayn Had A Longer Run As World Champion

Sami Zayn's run as Undisputed WWE Champion lasted only nine days, but the discourse surrounding that reign has lasted even longer. Several weeks removed from Zayn losing the title to CM Punk, many within wrestling have come out in support of Zayn, most notably AJ Styles, who didn't understand why Zayn didn't have a longer time as champion. To a lesser extent, former WWE star Maven is in the same boat. In a video on Maven's YouTube channel titled "WWE did Sami Zayn dirty," the former Tough Enough winner reviewed Zayn's match against Punk, and was a bit nicer than his title, praising the match and the way Zayn lost the title. At the same time, Maven couldn't help but admit that Zayn probably deserved a bit more than he got as champion.

"I'm glad they had the common courtesy and respect to beat Sami Zayn in the middle of the ring," Maven said. "I'm glad they didn't job him out with having him tap out. That's just...that's not a good look. I have no problem with the match. I actually think it was a good match...both men worked their asses off, they told a good story, they told the story that needed to be told in the city they were in. CM Punk is now an eight time champion. Sami Zayn had the belt for 9 days. I'm glad he had it, but there's a little part of me that wishes he had it longer."

Zayn did almost earn another chance to regain the championship, as he and GUNTHER teamed up to take on Punk and Cody Rhodes at Saturday Night's Main Event last weekend, with GUNTHER and Zayn being added to the Punk vs. Rhodes SummerSlam match if they won. Unfortunately for Zayn, that didn't come to pass, as "SmackDown" General Manager Nick Aldis would hit GUNTHER with Punk's title belt, allowing Punk and Rhodes to pick up the victory.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Maven Huffman" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription