JBL is firmly in Sami Zayn’s corner following his shocking WWE Championship win, and he pushed back on the notion that Zayn is merely keeping the title warm for someone else.
Filling in as host on Something to Wrestle, JBL addressed the “transitional champion” chatter surrounding Zayn’s reign, invoking an old-school term for the concept.
“You talk about the transitional champions, you know, like Stasiak, at one point,” JBL said, explaining that promoters would historically use a “mailman” to carry a title from one babyface to another. In his view, that label doesn’t apply here. “I don’t think Sami’s a mailman, my opinion. I think he’s a champion, and they’re gonna give him a shot,” JBL said. “Sami is just a champion, not a transitional champion, not a mailman. I think he should be treated as such.”
JBL compared the gamble on Zayn to past instances where WWE bet on beloved underdogs over prototypical stars, pointing to Eddie Guerrero dethroning Brock Lesnar and Daniel Bryan overcoming the odds at WrestleMania XXX.
“You got the future of the company, there’s nobody that looks like Brock, and it turned out to be true. And you put it on this Latino star that was really popular. People thought that was wrong too,” JBL said of the Eddie Guerrero decision, noting Guerrero is now remembered by many as one of the greatest ever.
For JBL, Zayn’s long track record of connecting with audiences is the strongest argument in his favor. He recalled Zayn’s memorable performance during the empty-arena era of the pandemic.
“He became his own soundboard. He became his own crowd. It was really entertaining to watch,” JBL said. “Some guys just figure out a way to get over. Sami Zayn has always done that.”
JBL also praised Zayn’s scene-stealing work in the Bloodline saga as further proof of his ability. “That stuff with the Bloodline was just freaking entertainment. You can’t be that entertaining and not be really good at your craft,” he said. “Everything he’s done, he’s been great at. And so I think he’s going to be great at this too.”
Ultimately, JBL acknowledged that only time will tell, but he’s rooting for the new champion. “Sami Zayn is worth a shot, and I think he’s going to be good,” he said. “We’ll know in two months whether it’s the right thing or not. I think it was, and I hope it was.”
