Sami Zayn defeats 40-year-old star in first-time-ever match after SmackDown goes off the air

Sami Zayn was advertised for the post-SmackDown dark match in Orlando tonight. Just minutes after a man he turned on, Roman Reigns suffered a brutal fate at the hands of The Bloodline in the closing segment of WWE SmackDown, the four-time Intercontinental Champion beat a 40-year-old veteran for the first time ever.

WWE SmackDown, perhaps due to it having a shorter run-time compared to RAW, normally features two dark matches to send the crowd home happy. The first of two dark matches saw Zayn, who was coming off a devastating loss to Bron Breakker on RAW, facing off against a man he had never been in the ring with.

Sami Zayn faced and defeated the 40-year-old Santos Escobar after SmackDown went off the air.

Santos Escobar has the chance to call himself a champion for the first time on the WWE main roster next week as he faces LA Knight for the US Title. Sami, on the other hand, is in a difficult position as he not only lost his Intercontinental Title to Bron Breakker at SummerSlam, but he also lost a rematch on RAW with a two-out-of-three falls stipulation.

After RAW went off the air this week, Sami endorsed Bron Breakker by predicting that he will be the future face of WWE.

Sami Zayn's good friend Jey Uso competed in the second dark match of the night.