Should Sami Zayn Go Back to NXT in WWE Return?

By Dean Siemon | Dec 4, 2015

While many fans are excited for the return of Sami Zayn, it might be best if he spend some extra time in NXT before coming up to the main roster.

There is a lot of hype among fans with the vignettes preparing for Sami Zayn coming back from his shoulder injury he suffered in his WWE main roster debut on May 4, 2015. When Zayn came out to accept the U.S. Open Challenge against John Cena that night in his hometown of Montreal, it was easily the match of the night.

The injury couldn’t have come at a worse time in his career as that was expected to be the start of his run on television. It’s been about nine months since he last wrestled in his rematch for the NXT Championship against Kevin Owens at NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable. As of right now, Zayn is being advertised for a number of shows during NXT’s upcoming tour in the United Kingdom.

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Maybe his dates during the UK tour will provide tune-up matches before he goes back to the main roster. It happens all the time in sports like baseball and hockey where star athletes coming off of injuries play a few games with a minor-league affiliate, which is sort of what NXT is for WWE.

But maybe Zayn could have a little more time in the NXT rounds for at least a few months to get himself “ready” for the main roster. The problem with sending him back up to the main roster too quickly is that he only really had that one match to make himself known to the WWE Universe and there is a good chance the fans may have forgotten all about Zayn.

Plus, there are a number of dream matches that would be perfect for Zayn against guys like Samoa Joe, Finn Balor and other rising stars like Tomasso Ciampa.

If he does go to NXT for a few months, have him earn a chance to compete in the Royal Rumble in 2016, similar to what has been done in the past with Hideo Itami gaining a spot at WrestleMania last year. The Royal Rumble could be a good time to possibly ignite a feud between Owens and Zayn on the main roster.

Zayn can eliminate Owens and then vice versa. The following months would allow the fans to learn more about their past and that could eventually lead to the two facing each other for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania this April.

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That booking would solve a few problems, giving Owens a quality storyline that helps put the Intercontinental Championship over. This would also allow for a quality storyline overall that helps bring Zayn into the main roster spotlight that makes sense and doesn’t feel forced at all – which has been one of the biggest problems with the creative team that many fans have continued to criticize (with good reason, too).

The important thing is to have Zayn spend some time in the NXT developmental system so that he can get himself back up to full speed in the ring. By the time the January pay-per-view rolls around, he should be 100 percent ready for that return to being a regular competitor on Raw and SmackDown.