Sami Zayn Says Bloodline Involvement Was His Career Peak Before Becoming WWE Champion

At WWE Night of Champions 2026, Sami Zayn reached a career high when he dethroned "The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes as the Undisputed WWE Champion. The victory not only brought about Zayn's first world title reign in WWE, but also eclipsed another major peak.

During an interview with "Insight With Chris Van Vliet," Zayn explained why his work in The Bloodline saga had been his proudest up until that point.

"Probably Bloodline stuff [was the career peak]," Zayn said. "I think that's probably what I'd be best remembered for if my career ended before I won the world title or whatever; it might still be what I'm most remembered for 20 years from now if people remember anything about me 20 years from now. But I was also just very proud of it. But I've had so many things throughout my career. I'm just giving you the answer of what I think would be best remembered, but also simultaneously something I'm extremely proud of, but there's a ton of stuff in my career I'm extremely proud of."

Zayn's involvement with The Bloodline stretches back to the spring of 2022, when an on-screen need for approval prompted him to align with the Samoan stable. Despite initial hesitations from The Bloodline members, he then gradually won them and the WWE Universe over, so much so that he was officially hailed the "Honorary Uce." His popularity also convinced WWE officials to extend his Bloodline run, according to reports.

"My intent in the beginning was more to be kind of like on the periphery, [but] it evolved," Zayn said, "and that's part of the beauty of it. Part of why I loved it so much is the week-to-week adaptation. I had some ideas and I had an overarching blueprint, which more or less kind of came to fruition, which starts here and ends in a championship match eventually down the road with Roman. That's kind of the blueprint in your head, but some of the week-to-week stuff that you don't account for, those are just gifts that fall into your lap, and then it's playing with those gifts."

For months, Zayn had clawed to gain the acceptance of "The Tribal Chief" Roman Reigns and one of his right-hand men, Jey Uso, on WWE programming. Still, he remained captivatingly dedicated in his mission, which eventually led to the former formally embracing him on the September 23, 2022 episode of "WWE SmackDown" in Salt Lake City. Uso did the same two months later when he saw the former NXT Champion prove his allegiance to The Bloodline in a grueling WarGames Match at Survivor Series.

Fast forward to the 2023 Royal Rumble, and WWE fans saw a much different scene playing out. Following Reigns' successful Undisputed WWE Championship defense over Kevin Owens, The Bloodline sought to further the damage with a post-match attack. Zayn, however, refused to participate and shockingly struck Reigns in the back with a steel chair. 

The move faced immediate backlash as Solo Sikoa, Jimmy Uso, and Reigns then counterattacked Zayn while a conflicted Jey Uso looking on. Weeks later, Zayn challenged Reigns for the world title at Elimination Chamber in his hometown of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.