{"id":140990,"date":"2025-08-29T16:04:22","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T20:04:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=140990"},"modified":"2025-08-30T23:04:21","modified_gmt":"2025-08-31T03:04:21","slug":"sami-zayn-wins-title-in-france-on-wwe-smackdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/08\/29\/sami-zayn-wins-title-in-france-on-wwe-smackdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Sami Zayn Wins Title In France on WWE SmackDown in a Thriller Bout"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Sami Zayn went into <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/08\/29\/wwe-tag-team-title-contenders-decided-for-wwe-clash-in-paris\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">WWE SmackDown<\/a> in <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/08\/29\/wwe-smackdown-spoilers-results-8-29-25-live-updates\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Lyon, France<\/a>, with one thing in mind: to become champion once again. After an excellent 2024 and 2023, 2025 did not start that well with Sami Zayn. The &#8220;Underdog of the Underground&#8221; failed to win his first major world title in WWE. However, Zayn was not discouraged, aiming for a title he had never won: the United States Championship that was held by his arch-rival, Solo Sikoa.<\/p>\n<p>Even earlier in the night, ahead of his main event clash with Solo Sikoa, Zayn was highly confident that he would climb back up the mountain, and that he did. Despite the interference of MFT, Zayn had people who had his back, with Jacob Fatu and Jimmy Uso running the wolves out of the LDLC Arena.<\/p>\n<p>Sikoa would not go quietly, though, as late in the match he would execute a devastating Splash that almost helped him retain the United States Title. But on this night, Sami Zayn would not be denied. Zayn would duck a Samoan Spike attempt and turn it into an Exploder Suplex on the turnbuckle.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_140674\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-140674\" style=\"width: 1920px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-140674 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/08\/11-78.jpg\" alt=\"A WWE SmackDown preview graphic for August 29, 2025, in Lyon, France, featuring Sami Zayn and Solo Sikoa.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/08\/11-78.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/08\/11-78-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/08\/11-78-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/08\/11-78-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/08\/11-78-1536x864.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-140674\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Credit: WWE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Sami Zayn would capitalize on this opportunity, hitting Sikoa with the Helluva Kick. For good measure, Sami would hit another one, go for the pin, and leave Lyon, France, as the new United States Champion. Zayn went from last, challenging for a title back in October 2024, to securing a title he has never won in a matter of weeks, showcasing his grit.<\/p>\n<p>If one thing&#8217;s for sure, no one should ever underestimate the heart of one Sami Zayn. As mentioned, this is the first time Sami Zayn has ever had a run with the United States Championship. If opportunity permits, Zayn is one title away from being a grand slam champion. For now, big congratulations to the #AndNEW United States Champion, Sami Zayn.<\/p>\n<p><strong>More From LWOS Pro Wrestling<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em><i>Header photo \u2013 WWE \u2013 Stay tuned to the\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/\" target=\"_self\"><em><u><i>Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i> for more on the Sami Zayn, Solo Sikoa, WWE SmackDown, and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.<\/i><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><i>You can check out WWE programming on\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.netflix.com\/title\/81788927\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>Netflix<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(Raw),\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usanetwork.com\/wwe-friday-night-smackdown\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>USA Network<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(SmackDown),\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cwtv.com\/shows\/wwe-nxt\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>The CW<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(NXT),\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/tubitv.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>Tubi<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(WWE Evolve),\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aetv.com\/wwe\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>A&amp;E<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(WWE Superstar Sunday \u2013 Rivals, WWE LFG, and Greatest Moments), and\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peacocktv.com\/watch\/home\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>Peacock<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(WWE Main Event as well as archives and premium live event streaming). Follow WWE on social media to relive top moments and matches on\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/wwe\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>YouTube<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>, and catch fast-paced action on X (<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/i\/events\/1773457579022155776?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>WWE Speed<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>).<\/i><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sami Zayn went into WWE SmackDown in Lyon, France, with one thing in mind: to become champion once again. After an excellent 2024 and 2023, 2025 did not start that well with Sami Zayn. The &#8220;Underdog of the Underground&#8221; failed to win his first major world title in WWE. However, Zayn was not discouraged, aiming [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3735,"featured_media":140674,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12,2192,26,4,3],"tags":[106,8343],"class_list":["post-140990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-wrestling","category-smackdown","category-wwe","category-wwe-universe","tag-sami-zayn","tag-solo-sikoa"],"modified_by":"Michael Joseph Sugue, Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140990","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3735"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140990"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140990\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":141107,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140990\/revisions\/141107"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}