Former writer says WWE missed a big opportunity with Sami Zayn at Royal Rumble 2025 (Exclusive)

Sami Zayn had quite an unusual night at the Royal Rumble this year. The former tag team champion was forced to watch his best friend Kevin Owens land head-first into a ladder. Zayn then failed to win the Rumble match, losing his chance to main-event WrestleMania in the process.

During the WWE Royal Rumble Review and BreakDown episode, which streamed live on Sportskeeda's official YouTube channel, Vince Russo shared his two cents on the Sami Zayn spot during the ladder match. The former WCW Champion claimed WWE missed a big opportunity with Zayn in the match.

"They had that shot of Cody standing out on the desk and he was cutting the promo on a beaten and bloodied Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn should have said something to Cody. He should have fired back because a friend at that time would have done that."

He continued:

"And it wouldn't have meant that Sami Zayn was a heel. It would have been his true emotions. Like, bro, 'You beat the guy half to death. Okay, you won. You got your hand raised. It's over.' They should have had Sami say something to Cody right there. I just think they missed a good, realistic opportunity." [From 34:27 onwards]

WWE announced that Cody Rhodes suffered multiple injuries during the match against Kevin Owens. As for Owens, there's no word yet if The Prizefighter was okay after the dangerous bump he took on the ladder.

Fans will have to wait to see what's next in store for the two superstars.

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