Kevin Owens was right to give Sami Zayn a big title on WWE SmackDown, says veteran (Exclusive)

WWE Superstar Kevin Owens recently hailed Sami Zayn as the promotion's MVP over the last 12 months, and Dutch Mantell agreed with KO's statement.

Zayn appeared as a guest on The KO Show this week on SmackDown. Host Kevin Owens praised his "brother" for his incredible work in WWE over the last several months and acknowledged his popularity among fans. He then hailed Sami Zayn as the "MVP," and the crowd quickly broke into MVP chants, echoing the sentiment.

Dutch Mantell was asked if he agreed with the aforementioned claim on the latest edition of Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk. He said that Zayn's work with The Bloodline, especially with The Usos, was sometimes the only interesting storyline on the blue brand.

The veteran stated that Sami Zayn has earned the right to be named MVP.

"I think he is [the MVP]. I have a go there, because a lot of time he was the only thing that kind of The Usos and their stories was the only thing going. He was in that spot because he knew they were gonna turn on him at some point. And they turned on him at the right point, the closer we got to WrestleMania, the bigger the probability. And I would say yeah he deserves that award, I would give it to him," said Mantell. [From 01:03:47 to 01:04: 18]

Additionally, Kevin Owens also presented Sami Zayn with a new t-shirt. It read KOMania at the back and WrestleZaynia at the front.

Zayn loved the surprise from his best friend. However, he couldn't celebrate for long as they fell victim to The Usos' surprise attack.

Political reasons allegedly forced WWE to compromise Sami Zayn's epic WrestleMania moment

WWE fans were desperately waiting for Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn to reunite and challenge The Usos for the Undisputed Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania 39.

Fans expected that the dramatic build-up to this title match would lead to their bout main-eventing WrestleMania's Night One.

However, backstage reports have claimed that backstage politics allegedly led to the SmackDown Women's Championship being picked as the closing match for the first night.

In a recent interview with Forbes, Charlotte Flair stated that Royal Rumble winners should ideally be in the main event on both nights.

WWE also revealed on the latest edi tion of SmackDown that John Cena vs. Austin Theory would kickstart WrestleMania this year. As of this writing, there is no confirmation on the first match scheduled for Night Two, but Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes will close the biggest wrestling show of the year.