Last night, during WWE‘s Clash of Champions pay per view, many people expected Sami Zayn to defeat Chris Jericho. The feud was relatively young, only getting one segment to build it, and at his age, Jericho doesn’t need to be defeating up and coming superstars. However, that’s not what happened. Y2J hit Zayn with a codebreaker, and won the match.
Chris Jericho Beating Sami Zayn Makes Sense
Typically, Chris Jericho wouldn’t need a victory to remain relevant. His achievements in the ring speak for themselves, and even as a heel, he’s beloved by the WWE Universe. However, there is one situation where having Jericho pick up a couple of wins is completely necessary.
The End of Jeri-KO
It’s true that Jericho’s history in wrestling has made him a fan favorite, but it’s also true that he’s become a bit of a jobber. Jericho hasn’t held any kind of championship in the WWE in almost six years, and has lost feuds to the likes of Fandango. The reality is that whenever Jericho starts a feud with somebody, he’s expected to put on a good match but ultimately make the other person look strong. Nobody is expecting Jericho to win another singles title in his WWE career.
So when his relationship with Universal Champion Kevin Owens inevitably falls apart, he needs to be taken seriously. If Jericho had come out on the losing end of all of his feuds leading up to a title opportunity, he wouldn’t be taken seriously at all. Frankly, even with the win over Zayn, he probably still won’t be taken seriously against his future former best friend. But for the sake of the story-line, you have to make your contender look strong.
The Underdog From The Underground
For the readers that have faithfully been watching NXT since it’s inception, you might already know what’s coming. For those of you who don’t, here’s a quick history lesson. Back in the beginning, Sami Zayn was the lovable underdog of NXT. He would put on fantastic matches (like his feud with Cesaro), but he’d always come up short in the big bouts. The likes of Neville (the NXT Champion at the time), Tyler Breeze, and Tyson Kidd would always cheat to steal victory from Zayn.
For months, Zayn would come painfully close to winning the belt, only to have someone steal victory from him. Zayn actually experienced a bit of a losing streak right before his big championship push. The road to the NXT Championship forced Zayn to overcome his demons, defeating the likes of Kidd, Breeze, and ultimately Neville before claiming gold. When Zayn did finally win the NXT Championshpi, it was a beautiful, emotional moment. A moment that Kevin Owens promptly ruined.
The WrestleMania Moment
While Chris Jericho will be unsuccessful in his quest to take the Universal Championship off of Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn won’t be. Like Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens are destined to fight forever. The two need to be apart for a bit longer, but if Owens is still Universal Champion come WrestleMania 33, don’t be surprised if it’s Sami Zayn facing off against Owens at the grandest stage of them all. The ultimate underdog, Sami Zayn will finally exercisehis demons, winning the greatest prize in sports entertainment against his best friend in the whole world.
