3 reasons why Sami Zayn winning the WWE United States Championship was a mistake

The go-home edition of WWE SmackDown tonight, before Clash in Paris 2025, ended with a shocker. Against all odds, Sami Zayn managed to beat Solo Sikoa in the main event and captured the United States Championship, marking a shocking end to the show.

The surprise title change has now sparked a frenzy among fans, with them having a mixed reaction online and offline to Sikoa losing his gold strap to Zayn.

In this listicle, we look at three reasons why The Honorary Uce winning the US Title was a mistake:

WWE has given up on Paul Heyman? Here's the story!

#3. A major heel star has been buried

Since his debut on the main roster, Solo Sikoa has been booked as a top heel, first as Roman Reigns's enforcer, and soon after, in a faction of his own. He was even looked up to as a future top heel main-eventer.

However, fast-forward to 2025, The Street Champion's entire gimmick has seemingly been ruined, and a title loss against Sami Zayn has made him look fragile. This could easily derail his momentum as a top heel on Friday Night SmackDown.

#2. Jacob Fatu's arc

Solo Sikoa dropping his WWE United States Championship to Sami Zayn on a regular episode of the blue brand show has not only affected him badly, but also screws up Jacob Fatu's revenge arc that he was on since Money in the Bank 2025.

Fans had high hopes for the storyline, with some even considering it a rebirth of The Bloodline saga, with Fatu turning babyface and teaming up with The Usos to take on Sikoa and his MFTs. Fatu was seen as the one destined to dethrone The Street Champion.

However, Zayn's win last night has buried the potential of the storyline.

#1. The new faction is dead in the water

The Stamford-based promotion welcomed two new members to Solo Sikoa's newly formed Bloodline-inspired faction, Solo's MFTs, this year. WWE invested time and resources to get them over with the fans, and the heel group looked like a major force on SmackDown's faction.

The Honorary Uce pulling an upset and capturing the WWE United States Championship has ruined the party for the Sikoa's heel group and has landed them in a bad spot for now, at least.

The WWE Universe will have to wait and see what plans the Triple H-led creative team has in store for Zayn as champion and how Solo and his group recover from the devastating loss.

About the author

Nayan is a WWE News and Features writer at Sportskeeda Wrestling. After completing his bachelor's degree in Mass Communication from Poddar International, he began working as a YouTube script writer. Nayan then transitioned to Pinkvilla as a combat sports writer. He gained valuable experience there before finally coming under the banner of Sportskeeda.

Within 1.5 years, Nayan has written over 1,000 articles, interviewed MFN promotion owners, and conducted a Twitter campaign that gained over 50k retweets and more. He puts fact-checking and mindful journalism above everything by applying a three-check method, where he tries to verify reports from reliable sources and cross-check whether other major publications have covered them.

Looking back at his association with pro wrestling, Nayan recalls being hooked on the sport after watching Shawn Michael vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania 25. Since then, the product has been an inseparable part of his life.

Apart from The Heartbreak Kid being Nayan's favorite wrestler for his confidence and charisma, he is also a fan of Brock Lesnar due to The Beast's "work speaks louder than words" attitude.

Nayan can be found performing mixed martial arts and reading true crime in his free time.

Know More

Why Brock Lesnar is in deep trouble - Check Here!

Edited by Harish Raj S