WWE SmackDown general manager Daniel Bryan has been very open about his desire to bring a few (arguably under-utilized) stars from the Raw roster over to his rival show, and after the events of Monday night’s episode, it seems like a roster swap could soon become a reality.
Sami Zayn had a chance to win the Intercontinental Championship and bring the title to Raw at Survivor Series, but interference from Maryse allowed The Miz to retain his title. The loss left Zayn in a weird spot on the Raw roster – he’s not a part of the Universal title picture, there are currently no challengers for Roman Reigns’ U.S. title, and the championship he would logically be pursuing (the Intercontinental belt) is stuck on the other show.
In a strange turn of events, Mick Foley chose to punish Zayn for his loss – even though there was a controversial finish – by forcing him to have a match against the colossal Braun Strowman last week. It didn’t end well for the 210 pound Canadian.
Last night, Zayn rushed to the ring after Strowman reduced R-Truth to dust to pick a fight with Strowman, only to have Foley show up and chastise him for even trying. Foley passionately argued that he was saving Zayn from himself – losing his teeth in the process – and Zayn responded that he needed to be saved from Foley.
Right on cue, Daniel Bryan made his pitch to Zayn on Twitter.
Zayn seems like he’d be a perfect fit for SmackDown, where he could flourish in feuds with The Miz or Dolph Ziggler, or even move up into the WWE World title picture with AJ Styles and Dean Ambrose. He could stay on Raw and continue his David vs. Goliath spat with Strowman, but that’s a lose-lose proposition for WWE. If Zayn defeats Strowman, the former Wyatt family member no longer looks like the most intimidating foe on the roster – while if Zayn loses, he’ll look bad. A move to SmackDown would give Zayn a fresh start, and if Raw needs someone in return, Baron Corbin has been trying to get himself fired by Daniel Bryan for a while.
It should be noted that Zayn is currently one of the stars already being advertised for the Raw-exclusive pay-per-view Roadblock on December 18th, and that’s usually a pretty definite sign that they’ll be there barring injury.
Daniel Bryan’s also been a huge supporter of Cesaro.
