WWE SmackDown star "a hundred percent" deserves world title, JBL says

John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL) held the WWE Championship for 280 days from June 2004 to April 2005. In a recent podcast episode, the 58-year-old addressed whether Sami Zayn has the potential to win a world title one day.

Zayn defeated Solo Sikoa on the August 29 episode of SmackDown to capture the United States Championship for the first time. The Canadian previously held the NXT Championship, Intercontinental Championship, and tag titles with Kevin Owens. However, he has never claimed a main roster world title.

Speaking to host Conrad Thompson on Something to Wrestle, JBL agreed that Zayn deserves to win the World Heavyweight or WWE Championship.

"Yeah, absolutely. He's been right at the edge this whole time, and for whatever reason he has not gotten it, so I think yes, a hundred percent."

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Zayn's most memorable world title opportunity came at Elimination Chamber 2023. On that occasion, he unsuccessfully challenged Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship in his hometown of Montreal.

JBL on Sami Zayn's versatility as a WWE star

In recent years, Sami Zayn has evoked strong crowd reactions as both a babyface and a heel. While the 41-year-old currently performs as a fan favorite, he received an overwhelmingly negative response against John Cena on the September 5 episode of SmackDown.

In JBL's opinion, Zayn's character arc throughout his WWE career should lead to a world title reign.

"Sami, to me, is one of the most talented guys I've ever been around, and he's a smart guy, he knows how to perform, he knows how to do anything, and he's been terrific at so many different things that anything you put him in, which for a world title you have to have a lot of different shapes, and I think he'd be good at it."

JBL also gave his thoughts on whether John Cena's Wrestlepalooza match against Brock Lesnar could jeopardize his retirement tour.

Please credit Something to Wrestle and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.

About the author

Danny Hart is a journalist who has been reporting on pro wrestling (WWE) at Sportskeeda since 2017. He grew up as a massive fan of football/soccer and wrestling, leading him to pursue a career in sports journalism.

Before assuming his current role, Hart worked as a football writer at Goal.com between 2009 and 2016. He prides himself on writing original content that is fact-based and highly accurate. Hart thoroughly proofreads his work before submitting it and relies only on credible sources for information.

Hart’s favorite pro wrestler is The Undertaker. He admires the 2022 WWE Hall of Famer’s ability to reinvent his character and remain relevant across his decades-long career. If given the keys to WWE’s creative department, he would bring back The Phenom for a farewell bout against AJ Styles in a stadium full of fans. Not only that, but he would love to have the multi-time world champion’s greatest rivals seated at ringside for the spectacle.

When not watching and covering sports, Hart enjoys long-distance running, playing video games, and listening to audiobooks and podcasts.

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Edited by Danny Hart