Sami Zayn not disqualified despite interference from former Universal Champion on SmackDown; 30-year-old WWE star taken out mid-match

By Sunil Joseph

Modified Dec 28, 2024 03:19 GMT

Sami Zayn competed against a rising star on this week's SmackDown. However, he was not disqualified despite interference from a former Universal Champion.

Carmelo Hayes has been feuding with Braun Strowman for the past few weeks. Two weeks ago, these two men locked horns and Strowman picked up the win. Hayes managed to get a rematch against the former Universal Champion last week and won via countout.

Tonight on SmackDown, Carmelo Hayes interrupted Sami Zayn's discussion with Nick Aldis to hand the latter a Christmas card. Sami confronted Hayes about the interruption and challenged him to a match later in the night, which was immediately made official.

During their match, Hayes did everything in his power to win but Sami Zayn showed why he is a former Intercontinental Champion. Tired of not being able to get the job done, Hayes tried to run away from the match when Braun Strowman came out and picked him up before the former escaped his clutches. He then chased Hayes to the back.

Interestingly enough, this wasn't enough to cause a disqualification and the referee kept counting to 10. Sami was then attacked from behind by The New Bloodline as the match ended.

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It looks like Braun Strowman is still not done with Carmelo Hayes after last week's loss.

About the author

Sunil is a pro wrestling journalist, covering AEW and WWE news stories at Sportskeeda. He holds an MBA degree in Marketing, and has nearly 7 years of experience. A wrestling aficionado since childhood, Sunil used to imitate his favorite wrestlers as a young kid, and started writing professionally about the sport via Sportskeeda’s revenue-sharing opportunity.

Sunil admires former world champions AJ Styles, Will Ospreay, and Kenny Omega for their ability to consistently deliver great matches as well as entertain crowds with their mic skills.

If ever given a chance to change a storyline, Sunil would have booked Roman Reigns to end The Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak instead of Brock Lesnar. According to him, The Tribal Chief needed the victory more than Brock Lesnar, as the latter was already an established performer when he defeated ‘Taker. He would’ve also made that as Taker’s final match.

Always focused on making his work accurate and reliable, Sunil thoroughly checks his facts before writing his articles. When not writing for pro wrestling, he spends his time watching cricket.

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Edited by Harish Raj S