Sami Zayn‘s program with the Bloodline was arguably WWE’s marquee story of 2022. It culminated with his turn on Roman Reigns at the Royal Rumble when he hit the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion in the back with a chair, setting up what became a terrific match at Elimination Chamber in February.
Zayn and Reigns arguably had a WrestleMania-worthy feud, but they did not meet at the Show of Shows in April. While he still exited SoFi Stadium as an Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champion with Kevin Owens, Zayn believed he would have faced Reigns for the ultimate prize that weekend.
In an interview with Mark Andrews on My Love Letter to Wrestling, Zayn said he thought he and Reigns would “be the best story, but that just wasn’t in the cards” (h/t Fightful for transcription).
“There was a time period going from Survivor Series building into the Rumble and especially right before and right after the Rumble. I 100% thought it could go to me and Roman at Mania and it would be the best story, but that just wasn’t in the cards. We talk about plans, and it’s very hard to have a plan and stick with it, there are all these other variables. A variable pops up, which is Cody’s return. It was a good thing. There was no rejection, he was widely accepted, and they wanted him and they wanted him in the role he came back in. They were happy to see him win the Rumble, they wanted him to dethrone Roman Reigns. The stories even rubbed up on each other, where Cody rubbed up on us, we rubbed up on him, and the whole thing was helping each other. Everybody was lifting everybody. That’s when wrestling is done right. Everyone is elevating one another. Obviously, Roman Reigns is the biggest star, but when you put me in there, because it adds a new layer, even if it’s not something you could say out loud, ‘Sami Zayn could elevate the Bloodline’ because they are a top act. I gave it a new dimension. I helped them, but they helped me immensely at that point. Me interacting with the Bloodline and Roman brought my stock up so much. It was a case of the tide rising for everybody. When Cody came back, it was the same thing. He’s a huge a star, I was rubbing up with him. The tide was going up for everybody. That’s what made that eight – nine month period exciting. It was fun to watch the whole tide rise for everybody involved.”
Zayn indeed added a layer that created one of WWE’s top stories of 2022. While it did not result in a singles match at WrestleMania 39, he still had a payoff bout at Elimination Chamber in front of a red-hot Montreal crowd, one that only elevated his program with the Bloodline and led to a headline spot on the first night of the Grandest Stage of Them All. Everything that happened proved successful.