WWE Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn recently spoke on how much he is looking forward to his first match on the SummerSlam main card and evaluated the performance of two young Superstars who have made their way to RAW. Zayn has finally gotten the recognition he deserves after all his years in WWE.
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Sami Zayn was relegated to the lower mid-card for a long time in WWE. However, in the last few years he has shown the world how good he is. He did this by helping to elevate The Bloodline storyline, winning the Tag Team Championships with Kevin Owens, and then he did something which was thought unthinkable. Zayn defeated the longest-reigning Intercontinental champion of all time, GUNTHER.
Sami Zayn is the current Intercontinental champion and will defend his championship at SummerSlam in a week. He was recently interviewed by Wrestling Inc. and discussed this being his first time on the SummerSlam main card and what it means to him. he stated the following:
“But it is funny that you mentioned, I’ve never actually been on SummerSlam. People don’t know that because I’ve had a really pretty decent career, and especially these last few years, I’ve had a really good WrestleMania track record, if you look back at all my WrestleMania’s, especially over the last three years.
“But if you go back my entire career, I’ve had a great WrestleMania track record. SummerSlam, I’ve never even been on the show. I did work one SummerSlam pre-show, I want to say maybe 2015 [2016] or something. And believe it or not, it was actually the Dudley Boyz last ever match as a team. So we do all that distinction myself and Adrian Neville at the time, Pac, as he’s known today.”
– h/t to WrestlingInc.com for the transcription
Two Young Stars Looking to Dethrone Sami Zayn
This year’s SummerSlam will take place on Saturday, August 3. Zayn has a big test in front of him. He will have to face someone who dominated in NXT and will be dominating the main event in just a few years, if not less time, Bron Breakker. Breakker and Zayn are not strangers to each other. Breakker has made his intentions very clear in his constant attacks on Zayn. It isn’t the first time the two men have wrestled over the Intercontinental Championship either. Earlier this month they faced off at Money in the Bank and Zayn came out on top after a brutal match that he barely survived.
Fortunately for Zayn and unfortunately for Breakker, there is another player in the mix when it comes to the Intercontinental Championship, Ilja Dragunov. Zayn was asked to assess Breakker and Dragunov time on the main roster. He said it is too soon to evaluate them, but he sees a bright future for both. Zayn continued:
“It’s fresh as a daisy, you can’t judge it just yet, but I’d say they’re both off to great starts. And Breakker especially. Bron has definitely been packaged and presented, and he definitely holds up his end of the bargain when it comes to it, but just sort of this intense athletic freak of nature. So I think they both have extremely promising careers.”
– h/t to WrestlingInc.com for the transcription
Breakker is a two-time NXT champion and a NXT Tag Team champion with Baron Corbin. He is also the second-longest-reigning NXT champion ever. In February he was called up to the main roster. Since then he hasn’t won any championships, but did end Ricochet’s WWE career. His path of ruin has led him to Zayn and Zayn barely survived last time, but he may not be so lucky this time.
Dragunov is also a former NXT champion and a former NXT United Kingdom champion. He and Breakker were the two big fish in NXT and faced and beat some of the same guys. They have faced each other in the past, so they are no strangers to each other. Their paths crossed many times in NXT and that has continued on RAW. Breakker may have cost Dragunov the Intercontinental Championship when Breakker attacked Dragunov during a match with Zayn.
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Sami Zayn also talked about what he thinks of Dragunov on the main roster so far. He admitted that Dragunov has something special that most Superstars don’t have. The reigning WWE Intercontinental Champion added on Dragunov:
“And Dragunov, I love his style. I love his in-ring work. I’ve been watching him for a minute. I think he’s really good. He has something that not a lot of people have, which is an innate understanding of the struggle that makes wrestling a beautiful thing. When he’s in there, it looks like he’s fighting for his life.
“And there’s a lot of great guys, a lot of great performers in WWE, but very few have that quality where you just really believe that this guy is deep in the trenches and it’s taking everything in him just to keep his head above water. I think that’s a great quality to have in a wrestler, and he’s got it, and I don’t see it very often, and he’s definitely got it.”
– h/t to WrestlingInc.com for the transcription
Sami Zayn vs. Bron Breakker is just over a week out. We also know Dragunov will probably factor in somehow. We just don’t know how. It may turn into a Triple-Threat match or maybe Dragunov will do a run-in. No matter what happens in the match, what we can be sure of is that it will be a great match and a great first SummerSlam match for Zayn.
Were you surprised to hear this is Sami Zayn’s first main card SummerSlam match? Do you think Zayn vs. Bron Breakker is a good first SummerSlam match for him? Will Breakker walk out as champion? Do you agree with Zayn’s assessment of Breakker? What about Ilja Dragunov? Let us know on social media if you think Dragunov will play a factor in the match and how.
SOURCE: Wrestling Inc.
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