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What's the story?
It's been nearly a year since we've seen Sami Zayn. The Underdog from the Underground hasn't been on WWE TV since last June, and finally made his way back to Raw tonight where he challenged Finn Balor for the Intercontinental Championship.
In case you didn't know...
Sami Zayn's final match of 2018 was against a recently returned Bobby Lashley. The Dominator had been ridiculed by Zayn for months, but would ultimately put an end to his shenanigans at Money in the Bank 2018. After suffering a brutal loss to the former ECW Champion, Zayn would undergo double rotator cuff surgery, keeping him out for an undisclosed amount of time.
Back in December, vignettes began to play on both Raw and SmackDown hyping up the return of Zayn. However, he never arrived. At the Royal Rumble, many believed the former NXT Champion would be a surprise entrant in the iconic match. Again, he was nowhere to be found.
Finally, after ten months, Zayn returned on Monday Night Raw.
The heart of the matter
Zayn came out to a huge eruption from the crowd who began serenading him with his own theme song. After taking it all in for a moment, Zayn got right down to business, stating that he's here looking for a match. His opponent? New Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor.
After a tough back-and-forth contest, Balor pulled out a hard-fought victory. A missed Helluva Kick allowed Balor to capitalize and connect with the Coup de Grace. After the loss, Zayn immediately trolled the WWE Universe, saying that the WWE is completely toxic mainly because of the fanbase.
He claimed that fans can only get joy out of being critics and that their voices should not be heard, but muted. Zayn believes that the fans have become the new evil force in the WWE. He finished his rant by saying that he plans on holding the fans accountable for their actions each and every week.
What's next?
With Zayn back just in time for the Superstar Shakeup, we may very well see him reunited with Kevin Owens on Raw or SmackDown. Wherever he goes, Zayn is sure to quickly climb the ladder in hopes of finally capturing his first main roster title. And he'll do it with a smug look and pure disdain for the fans in his heart.
