WWE: Sami Zayn is Back, and He is Not Messing Around

After over nine months on the bench due to bilateral shoulder surgery, Sami Zayn finally made his triumphant return last night on WWE Raw. And boy, did he have plenty to say for himself.

You might be forgiven for thinking that so much time off from WWE would leave Sami refreshed, relaxed and ready to return in a far sunnier frame of mind than when he left. Being forced into a lackluster feud with Bobby Lashley would make anyone cranky. But, while Sami Wow Wow was all smiles and skanking, it soon became apparent that fiery babyface Sami has long left the building.

Now, the fan-blaming heel shtick is nothing new. CM Punk famously rode high on cutting sharply contrarian promos. Sami himself justified his initial heel turn by blaming the fans for their lack of support. It was a tactic WWE tried – unsuccessfully – in their attempts to turn the fans against Becky Lynch. So what was it about Sami’s promo that led to such a well-worn trope hitting the mark so perfectly?

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The Raw-After-Mania has become a bit of a Thing in the past few years. The famously smarky Mania crowd spill over onto the following night’s programming, making for a rowdy atmosphere which can be both a blessing and a curse.

The crowd popped big for Sami’s return (though imagine how much bigger the pop might’ve been had WWE not inexplicably spoiled it a few moments before…) A mighty singalong ensued. If you’re going to welcome back a superstar who’s been on the shelf for the best part of a year, the Raw-After-Mania is surely the best time to do it.

In some ways, the nature of the crowd also made them the perfect target for Sami’s rant. The kind of crowd for whom Beach Ball Mania might run wild; who proceeded to shower Sami with the ever-imaginative ‘What?’ chant in response to his criticism. When Sami says that “the only joy you get is not even from coming out and enjoying the shows as fans – you only get joy and satisfaction out of being critics”, it may seem like he’s being a little harsh. Like he’s heeling it up, as is his brief.

But here’s the thing. He’s not actually wrong.

Sure, the ending to Raw was all kinds of screwy. It was lazy and ill-devised. But it’s fascinating to watch a crowd go from zero to obnoxious in thirty seconds flat. And if you think the live crowds are fickle, just check Twitter, or Reddit, or the comments section for an education in complaining about every possible thing there could be to complain about. People getting undeserved pushes, or not being pushed enough. Storylines are too predictable, or too random. Too much backstage content. Not enough story. It’s not that the criticism is undeserved – WWE are not too big to be beyond reproach. It’s that the criticism is relentless.

And the problem is, these same fans – the ones who chant for AEW when something is badly done, who write entire treatises on how bad WWE suck – they’re the ones who’ll be tuning in again next week, and the week after that, and the week after that. So while Sami might be a little off the mark in suggesting the McMahons aren’t to blame, he’s got a solid point about the fans. At this point, it feels as though a significant proportion of WWE viewers watch for the sole purpose of picking the shows apart. Wouldn’t it be easier, you wonder, if they just switched off and watched something else?

For his part, Sami was pitch perfect. Always underrated on the mic, he cut a promo full of spite and fire, and although I mourn the proto-Gargano babyface we’ve lost, Sami has the chops to pull off the righteous, angry heel. There are shades of CM Punk and Daniel Bryan in his words and delivery. Even his in-ring style seems to accommodate his personality shift: teasing familiar moves without fully delivering, pulling out old favorites like his Arabian Press.

There’s a lot of potential for Sami Zayn to tear it up, should WWE give him the time and space to flourish. For now, though, let’s just be glad that Sami is back, and on top limb-flailing, aggressively-skanking form.