WWE SmackDown: 2 Superstars who flopped and 3 who impressed – Roman Reigns’ next feud, big heel turn teased on the show (Jan 8th, 2021)

#1 Flopped on WWE SmackDown: Sami Zayn

Sami Zayn deserves better on WWE SmackDown

Truth be told, it is borderline criminal to book Sami Zayn on WWE SmackDown in this fashion. It would be unfair to blame him entirely for his current run on the blue brand. Hence, this one is mostly the creative’s fault.

Zayn was one of the contenders in the Gauntlet Match tonight that would determine the next challenger for Roman Reigns.

He walked out to face Rey Mysterio, and while walking down the ramp, Zayn delivered a passionate speech about being unfairly treated in WWE. He led with his usual complaints about the ‘conspiracies’ against him before arguing how he deserves more respect. Unfortunately for him, the next couple of minutes on WWE SmackDown did not help his point.

As soon as Zayn got ready for the match, Mysterio hit him with a 619 before delivering a frog splash. This allowed the latter to pick an easy pinfall while a frustrated Zayn was forced to walk roll outside the ring.

The Great Liberator could have been given a few more minutes to show that he can still pose a threat to the titles on WWE SmackDown. Unfortunately, it now looks like his gimmick is slowly becoming the biggest threat to his in-ring potential.