The WWE captured a lot of headlines in 2021 with batches of wrestlers being released every few months, but that's not the only way the company’s made moves as of late. Vince McMahon’s organization also worked on negotiating contract extensions to shore up some job security and keep some of its Superstars around for the future. The latter was reportedly the case for Sami Zayn, who will apparently stick with the WWE for a while, despite rumors hinting at the opposite outcome.
Sami Zayn is reportedly the latest WWE superstar to renew his contract after reports surfaced last year regarding the then-imminent expiration of his previous contract. Some thought Zayn might exit the company and become a free agent, but Fightful (via Wrestlinginc.com) has reported Zayn signed the dotted line on a multi-year contract with the company, though the exact terms of the deal are unknown. Current speculation is that Zayn’s contract is for a length of three years, which is standard for rostered talent.
The reports of Sami Zayn re-signing comes not long after fans learned Kevin Owens signed his own big deal with WWE. Zayn and Owens have a long real-life friendship and worked together in the indies long before either joined a WWE roster. With that said, neither one is working in the same brand at the moment, so it’s hard to know whether or not Owens’ signing had anything to do with Zayn’s resigning.
As far as what’s ahead for Sami Zayn in the near future, he’s heading into a feud with Johnny Knoxville ahead of the upcoming Royal Rumble, marking the most recent time the worlds of Jackass and WWE have combined. Fans also recently saw Zayn challenge Roman Reigns for the Universal championship, though he lost that match in about fifteen seconds due to an attack by Brock Lesnar. Zayn hasn’t been one of the most strongly booked wrestlers within the brand thus far, but he’s frequently a presence on television and paired with other top talents quite often. And the future will hold more of that, no doubt.
Contract renewals within the WWE are a point of interest at the moment, especially in the face of so many recent departures. Signing Sami Zayn and others may signify where the company sees their future and which superstars could become the top guys in the coming years. Zayn had a memorable run as the NXT champion in 2014 and captured the Intercontinental championship twice in his WWE career thus far. He still hasn’t held the WWE or Universal championship yet, though. With more years on his contract, there’s now a chance we can see that. Perhaps his time to shine is coming in the Royal Rumble?
Sami Zayn appears on SmackDown, which airs on Fridays at Fox at 8:00 p.m. ET. Hopefully, he’ll get another title shot soon, though I’m not sure he’s ready for the Universal Title just yet.
