4 Reasons for Sami Zayn’s recent WWE losses

Sami Zayn is one of WWE's most popular performers. Fans worldwide absolutely adore the talented superstar. When he enters an arena, fans explode in cheers. In fact, the audience often even sings along with his incredible theme song.

Beyond just being popular, Sami is also very talented. He is a former WrestleMania headliner, Intercontinental Champion, tag team champion, and NXT Champion. These accolades have all come thanks to his incredible in-ring work and captivating mic skills.

Unfortunately, despite his incredible talent, Sami has been on a tough losing streak. He recently lost to Drew McIntyre, he did not make an impact in the Royal Rumble Match, he failed to defeat Randy Orton, and he was on the losing end in a battle against Shinsuke Nakamura during the latest episode of RAW.

Fans have taken notice of Sami's major losses, and many are curious about what the company may be thinking in having a top star lose so often. This article will tackle that question by looking at a handful of possible explanations for the recent booking decisions.

Below are four reasons for Sami Zayn's recent WWE losses.

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#4. His losses could be to build sympathy

There are a plethora of reasons why superstars can be booked to lose in WWE. The most obvious reason comes down to the simple fact that everybody has to lose at some point. Another well-known reason is that a superstar may have heat with management.

How wrestlers respond to losses can vary, as can how fans respond to a WWE performer regularly failing. For some, the crowd loses faith in the talent. In other cases, the audience gets more behind a superstar because they want to see them succeed and want to see the promotion push the performer to the next level.

Sami has always been a sympathetic babyface. He doesn't look like a behemoth but is a super-talented and athletic individual. He is relatable in terms of his appearance, and as a result, fans get behind him. Having Sami lose to stars like Drew McIntyre and Shinsuke Nakamura could just be an attempt to make him even more sympathetic.

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#3. He may be helping heels get over in a babyface-heavy company

Shinsuke Nakamura in Germany

WWE has been on fire for over a year now. The business started taking a turn once Vince McMahon retired in 2022. Despite the former Chairman's best efforts, his comeback didn't slow down the upward momentum the company had been building under Triple H.

One of Triple H's biggest positives is the way he has made the promotion so focused on top-level babyfaces. Stars such as Cody Rhodes, Sami Zayn, LA Knight, Kevin Owens, Randy Orton, CM Punk, Seth Rollins, Jey Uso, Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair, John Cena, and even AJ Styles are all incredibly over WWE performers.

As a result, the company needs top heels who can be credible opponents ot the many heroes on the card. Sami may be losing so much to help make Drew McIntyre and Shinsuke Nakamura, among others, bigger heels for future rivalries.

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#2. Sami Zayn could be building to a redemption arc for the World Heavyweight Championship

The best babyfaces typically have a few defining factors. They are courageous, likable, and hard-working. With that being said, top-level WWE babyfaces are rarely portrayed as unbeatable. There are some, such as Hulk Hogan or John Cena, in their peak, but those are exceptions to the rule.

Part of this is for the aforementioned reasoning of building sympathy. That remains part of the equation, but there is more to it than that. In modern WWE, where story-telling is so important, losses can help build a character. How they react to those losses and evolve is an incredibly interesting storyline.

In this specific instance, Sami could potentially be torn down just to be built back up. The former Intercontinental Champion may be losing so he can have a Rocky-like climb to the top and then proceed to win the World Heavyweight Championship. Many fans hope he will be able to do precisely that at WrestleMania.

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#1. He could be gearing up for a heel turn in WWE

The Bloodline on SmackDown

Sami Zayn is one of the best babyfaces in the company for the various reasons outlined in this article. He stands up to even the very best heroes in all of WWE. With that being said, one of the positives of Sami as a performer is his versatility.

The Underdog From The Underground plays as good a heel as he does a babyface. His time as a villain on SmackDown was incredibly entertaining. He made a great weasely heel as part of The Bloodline, too.

There's a chance that Sami is losing so often to gear up for a heel turn. Sometimes, performers will routinely lose, which in turn causes them to snap and become violent. Alternatively, he could begin to cheat to succeed. Either way, a heel turn is possible.