Update on Sami Zayn’s WWE Return

Sami Zayn made his WWE main roster debut this year on the May 4 edition of Monday Night Raw. He answered John Cena’s U.S. Open Challenge to a thunderous ovation in his hometown of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Despite battling a shoulder injury throughout the duration of the match, Zayn’s bout with Cena was outstanding. Apparently Zayn was suffering with shoulder problems for a while, even before his match with Cena.

In June, after an MRI and further analysis, it was decided that Zayn needed surgery and would likely be out of action until October. However, Zayn’s recovery hasn’t gone as well it was expected to. In August, during the WWE NXT Takeover event in Brooklyn, Zayn said that he’s doing his absolute best in rehab but told fans not to hold their breath. When asked about his return he said he’d be out of action for a few more months.

New information on this story has recently come to light as PWInsider is reporting that Zayn was seen doing some light training at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. It has apparently been a few weeks since he’s last been there and he wasn’t doing any in-ring training to practice for an actual match. Unfortunately, this news means that Zayn will probably not be making his return for a while longer.

Mark’s reaction:

This news is upsetting to me because like the rest of us, the last I heard about Zayn was that he was due back in October. Since it’s now November, I’ve been thinking that the WWE’s going to surprise us any week now with Zayn’s return; especially with the gap left from all the injuries and time off being taken by other wrestlers (Rollins, Orton, Rusev, Cena). However, this news throws a wrench in that theory.

Next year’s Royal Rumble PPV takes place on January 25. Maybe that’s enough time for Zayn to recover completely and feel comfortable enough to get back in the ring as it would be another “few more months” from now. However, Zayn obviously knows his body a lot better than we do so he should take as long as he feels he needs to be 100% again. I wouldn’t want to see him injury himself even worse just because he rushed back from an injury.

With that being said, I definitely think he’ll be ready by the time WrestleMania 32 rolls around (which isn’t until April 3). The question is, does the WWE keep him in NXT upon his return or do they put him on the main roster? I say leave him on the main roster. Fans don’t have the short memories and attention spans that the WWE sometimes likes to think they do. I think that most people will remember Sami Zayn and even if they don’t, all the WWE really needs to do is just show a video package of Zayn beforehand. He’s got a feud for the IC title waiting for him when he gets back and I’d love to see it culminate in a match between him and Owens at WrestleMania. Since Owens claims that he’s the one who injured Sami, they had a great rivalry in NXT, and the two are lifelong friends who grew up together, a rivalry upon returning just seems like the next logical step.

Now knowing that Zayn will be out for a little while longer, when and how would you like to see him make his return? Leave us your thoughts in the comment section below.