Sami Zayn Pays Tribute To AJ Styles Ahead Of Possible WWE Retirement
The former Intercontinental Champion, Sami Zayn, paid tribute to AJ Styles in a unique way.
Sami Zayn and AJ Styles had big nights at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event in Montreal for different reasons.
In the main event of the show, Sami Zayn defeated Damian Priest, Randy Orton and Trick Williams in a Fatal 4-Way match to earn a shot at Drew McIntyre’s Undisputed WWE Title at the Royal Rumble on January 31st. Zayn got the win when he hit Priest with a Helluva Kick, and Orton was unable to make the save.
As for Styles, he had an excellent match at SNME when he beat former rival Shinsuke Nakamura in what could be the final match between the two men since Styles plans to retire this year.
In a social media post, Nakamura also claimed that Styles planned to retire at the Royal Rumble, but Nakamura deleted the message after posting it. Nakamura could have been telling the truth, but plans could also change. At the Royal Rumble, Styles faces Gunther in a match with the stipulation that Styles will retire if he loses.
Zayn had Styles on his mind while posting an Instagram story featuring AJ’s action figure sitting beside Rey Mysterio, Jacob Fatu, and Jimmy Uso.
Zayn has a young son who was at ringside for his SNME match and may have been playing with his action figures in front of his dad.
Sami Zayn Enjoyed US Title Reign On SmackDown
After beating Solo Sikoa for the US Title on WWE SmackDown, Sami Zayn brought back the United States Open Challenge that John Cena did about a decade earlier.
Zayn went on to hold the title for eight weeks before losing it to Ilja Dragunov. In a social media post after his championship reign ended, Zayn reflected on it with his usual positivity.
Been reflecting on my run as US Champion. One of my favorite things I’ve done in WWE. 8 weeks, 8 very different opponents, 8 bangers in a row.
It’s hard to do something great. In the age of content, it’s even harder to do something memorable. It felt like this was both.
Grateful.
Here’s the updated lineup for the WWE Royal Rumble on January 31st.
- Men’s Royal Rumble Match
- Undisputed WWE Championship: Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Sami Zayn
- Women’s Royal Rumble Match
- AJ Styles vs. Gunther – If Styles loses, then he must retire
The Royal Rumble streams live on Saturday, Jan. 31, at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT, exclusively on ESPN in the United States and Netflix internationally.