WWE SmackDown - Flops and Hits - Brock Lesnar bullies Roman Reigns, Finn Balor brings back the Demon (10th September 2021)

#1 Honorable mention: Sami Zayn pulls off a brilliant heel move on WWE SmackDown

Guess who's back in @TheGarden?! 🧊#SmackDown @TheTraeYoung @ATLHawks pic.twitter.com/ow7VyTsAci

— WWE (@WWE) September 11, 2021

This week's first match on WWE SmackDown saw Big E, Shinsuke Nakamura, Rick Boogs, Rey Mysterio, and Dominik team up to take on Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, Robert Roode, Otis, and Apollo Crews. It was a good match that eventually ended with Mr. Money in the Bank picking up a victory for his team, but the biggest highlight was Sami Zayn’s bold move right before the bout.

Zayn sported a New York Nicks jersey before the match, which earned him massive applause at MSG. However, fans felt betrayed when he revealed that he had invited Atlanta Hawks’ Trey Young to Knicks’ home. The NBA star was subjected to overwhelming boos as fans struggled to digest that WWE SmackDown really brought back the city’s villain to “The Garden.”

In case you didn’t know, Young’s 27 points and nine assists led Atalanta Hawks past the New York Knicks in the first round of playoffs in May 2021. If you don’t watch NBA, maybe this analogy would help understand how disrespectful yet clever this looked on WWE SmackDown.

The act was equivalent to Lex Luthor inviting The Joker to Wayne Manor for drinks and striking up a conversation about his parents. Except this time, Batman could only stand and boo from the stands. (Sorry, not sorry.)

YOU'RE OUTTA HERE, @TheTraeYoung!!!#SmackDown @TheGarden @ATLHawks pic.twitter.com/KVncvB3YwE

— WWE (@WWE) September 11, 2021

The point being, it was exceptionally sinister on Zayn’s part to bring someone who is despised at the venue for tonight’s WWE SmackDown, and that’s exactly what you expect from great heels. It was a genius call on the creative’s part, and Sami Zayn deserves credit for pulling it off after he previously brought Logan Paul to similarly thunderous boos.

WWE cannot -- and we can’t stress this enough -- afford to lose a talent like Zayn, and they must look to involve him in more compelling storylines.