Sami Zayn

In January 2013, Zayn signed with WWE. On February 13, Zayn made his debut for WWE's developmental territory *NXT*, but did not wrestle. Zayn's *NXT* in-ring debut took place at a live event on March 7 in Tampa, Florida, where he wrestled a tag team match while working under his real name. Zayn made his televised debut on the May 22 episode of *NXT* by defeating two former champions in WWE, first defeating Curt Hawkins in the opening match and then challenging and scoring an upset win over Antonio Cesaro later in the show. The following week he took part in an 18-man battle royal to determine the number one contender to the NXT Championship, but was eliminated by Mason Ryan. On the June 12 episode of *NXT*, Zayn suffered his first pinfall loss in NXT in a rematch with Cesaro. On the July 17 *NXT*, Zayn failed to win another number one contender's match also involving Cesaro and Leo Kruger. On the July 31 episode of *NXT*, Zayn teamed with NXT Champion Bo Dallas against Cesaro and Kruger; after Cesaro and Zayn brawled to the back, Dallas lost the match and later blamed Zayn for the loss. On the August 21 episode of *NXT*, Zayn lost to Cesaro in a two-out-of-three falls match to conclude the feud. On September 6, Zayn made his WWE debut at a house show in his hometown of Montreal, where he defeated Cesaro. When Zayn targeted Dallas' NXT Championship, Dallas cost Zayn his match against Cesaro's fellow Real American Jack Swagger. Dallas held an open challenge to determine the next title contender, but he banned Zayn from competing. However, Zayn masqueraded as the masked **El Local** and defeated Dallas to earn his title shot. The match occurred on the October 16 episode of *NXT*, but NXT General Manager John Bradshaw Layfield restarted the match when Zayn won despite Dallas' foot being on the ropes and then Dallas sent Zayn into an exposed turnbuckle to retain his title.

In November 2013, after tying a Beat the Clock challenge with Adrian Neville by defeating Leo Kruger, Zayn lost a number one contender's match to Neville on the November 27 episode of *NXT*. Zayn moved on to feud with Kruger and the feud culminated in Zayn winning a two-out-of-three falls match on the January 1, 2014 episode of *NXT*. After that, Zayn's obsession with his loss to Cesaro the previous year led to him challenging Cesaro to a rematch at NXT Arrival; At the event, Zayn was defeated again, but Cesaro showed respect to Zayn after the match. Zayn then feuded with Corey Graves, with Zayn losing to Graves via referee stoppage on the April 3 episode of *NXT* after Graves capitalized on Zayn's head injury. On the May 8 episode of *NXT*, Zayn participated in a 20-man battle royal for an NXT Championship shot, with Zayn being involved in a triple threat match tie. As a result, Zayn faced the other two winners, Tyler Breeze and Tyson Kidd in a triple threat match on the next episode of *NXT*, where Kidd won to become number one contender. At NXT TakeOver, Zayn lost to Breeze in another number one contender's match.

In June 2014, Zayn went on to feud with Tyson Kidd after Kidd abandoned him during their match against NXT Tag Team Champions The Ascension. After Zayn defeated Justin Gabriel, both Kidd and Gabriel attacked Zayn, who was saved by his friend, NXT Champion Adrian Neville. Zayn later defeated Kidd twice to end the feud, once in a singles match on the July 17 episode of *NXT* as well in a tag match with Adam Rose against Gabriel and Kidd, which was the first round of a tournament for an opportunity at the NXT Tag Team Championship. Zayn and Rose lost in the second round to The Lucha Dragons (Kalisto and Sin Cara). When Zayn, Kidd and Tyler Breeze each staked a claim for an NXT Championship match, champion Neville agreed to face all three in a fatal-four-way match at the next NXT TakeOver event. To hype that match, Zayn and Neville appeared on the September 8 episode of *Raw*, defeating Breeze and Kidd while making their main roster debuts.

At NXT TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way, Zayn nearly won the four-way match and the NXT Championship, but champion Neville stopped him by dragging the referee out of the ring as he went on to win and retain his title. This caused tension within Neville and Zayn's friendship. After Zayn lost another match, this time to Titus O'Neil, he vowed to start a "road to redemption" leading to the NXT Championship, which saw him defeat Tyson Kidd, Titus O'Neil and Tyler Breeze in singles matches. Zayn was rewarded with a title match against Neville on the November 13 episode of *NXT* in which Neville appeared to injure himself during the match, but he took advantage on Zayn checking on him to win the match and retain the title. Neville agreed to Zayn's request for a title rematch, with Zayn vowing to quit NXT if he lost. On December 11 at the NXT TakeOver: R Evolution live special, Zayn defeated Neville to win the NXT Championship. After the win, Zayn was congratulated by many other NXT wrestlers, including Neville and Kevin Owens. The show ended with Owens powerbombing Zayn onto the ring apron to ruin their reunion. In his first title defense, Zayn defeated Neville in a rematch on the January 14, 2015, episode of *NXT*, but suffered another post-match attack by Owens. After an irate Zayn demanded a match against Owens, even if it meant putting the title on the line, a title match was set for NXT TakeOver: Rival. At the event, Owens captured the title from Zayn via referee stoppage, having powerbombed a disorientated Zayn five times, ending his NXT Championship reign at 62 days.

On the May 4, 2015 episode of *Raw*, Zayn was introduced by Bret Hart as John Cena's opponent for his weekly "U.S. Open Challenge" for his United States Championship; taking place in his hometown of Montreal, Zayn was heavily favored by the crowd over Cena, but ultimately lost the match. After the match, Cena let Zayn have the ring to an outstanding ovation from the live crowd following the match. However, Zayn had injured his shoulder before the match and underwent an MRI for further analysis. At NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable, Zayn's NXT Championship rematch against Kevin Owens ended in a no contest when Zayn was unable to continue the match. Owens continued assaulting Zayn until the debuting Samoa Joe made the save. After a seven-month hiatus, Zayn returned from injury on the December 23 episode of *NXT* (taped at the NXT TakeOver: London event on December 16) and defeated Tye Dillinger. On April 1, 2016, Zayn lost to Shinsuke Nakamura in the latter's debut match at NXT TakeOver: Dallas, after which both were given a standing ovation and while Nakamura left the ring he was left waving goodbyes to the NXT fans, signaling his final appearance in NXT.

On January 24, 2016 at the Royal Rumble, Zayn competed in the Rumble match as the number 20 entrant, eliminating Kevin Owens before being eliminated by Braun Strowman. On the March 7 episode of *Raw*, Zayn made a surprise return to the main roster and attacked Owens, who was attempting to attack Neville after their match. This led to a tag team match on *SmackDown*, in which Zayn and Neville defeated Owens and The Miz. Zayn continued to score victories against the likes of The Miz and Stardust. At WrestleMania 32, Zayn competed against Owens, Dolph Ziggler, The Miz, Stardust, Sin Cara and Zack Ryder in a ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship, which was won by Ryder. On the April 4 episode of *Raw*, Zayn was scheduled to compete in a fatal four-way match against Owens, AJ Styles, and Chris Jericho to determine the number one contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, but was attacked by Owens, who attacked him with a powerbomb through a table backstage, and replaced by a returning Cesaro. Because of the actions of Owens, Shane McMahon gave Zayn another opportunity on the April 11 episode of *Raw* to become a number one contender by having him face Styles, who had won the contender's match the week before, but Zayn lost to Styles. On the April 18 episode of *Raw*, McMahon booked Zayn and Owens in a match at Payback, which Owens won. On the May 9 episode of *Raw*, Zayn defeated The Miz to enter a fatal four-way match for the Intercontinental Championship at Extreme Rules, but Miz retained the title. On the May 23 episode of *Raw*, Zayn defeated Sheamus to qualify for the 2016 Money in the Bank ladder match, but he was unsuccessful as the briefcase was won by Dean Ambrose. On July 19 at the 2016 WWE draft, Zayn was drafted to Raw. At Battleground, Zayn defeated Owens.

At SummerSlam, Zayn and Neville defeated The Dudley Boyz on the Kickoff Show. On the September 12 *Raw*, Zayn appeared on Chris Jericho's *Highlight Reel* segment, where he was attacked by Jericho, leading to a match at Clash of Champions, where Zayn lost to Jericho. On the October 17 episode of *Raw*, Zayn began a feud with Braun Strowman after preventing him from confronting Raw General Manager Mick Foley. On the October 31 episode of *Raw*, Zayn participated in a battle royal to qualify for Team Raw at Survivor Series, but was last eliminated by Strowman. On the November 1 episode of *SmackDown Live*, Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler made an open challenge to any wrestler from the Raw brand. On the November 7 episode of *Raw*, Zayn stated that Mick Foley wanted him to face Ziggler, but Commissioner Stephanie McMahon, who preferred Rusev, made Zayn face Rusev with the winner going on to face Ziggler for the title and he then defeated Rusev to earn the title match. On the November 15 episode of *SmackDown Live*, The Miz defeated Ziggler for the championship and Zayn instead faced The Miz for the Intercontinental Championship at Survivor Series, which Zayn lost (had Zayn won, the championship would have transferred to Raw). On the November 21 episode of *Raw*, Mick Foley ordered Zayn to compete in a match with Braun Strowman as punishment for failing to bring the Intercontinental Championship to Raw. Strowman attacked Zayn before the match and attacked him until Foley came out to stop the match. On the November 28 episode of *Raw* during Stroman's match, Zayn attacked Strowman, which led to a faceoff between him and Foley. On the December 12 episode of Raw, after Zayn defeated Jinder Mahal, he refused to be traded to SmackDown and wanted a match with Strowman—the match was made for Roadblock: End of the Line with a time limit of 10 minutes, which Zayn won after completing 10 minutes. On the January 2, 2017 episode of *Raw*, Zayn lost a Last Man Standing match to Strowman, ending the feud.

On the January 23 episode of *Raw*, Zayn defeated Seth Rollins to win Rollins' opportunity in the Royal Rumble match after Rollins was distracted by Triple H. In the 2017 Royal Rumble, Zayn entered at number 8 and lasted over 47 minutes before being eliminated by The Undertaker. On the January 30 episode of *Raw*, Zayn defeated United States Champion Chris Jericho in a non-title match, but failed to win the title the following week. On the February 13 episode of *Raw*, Zayn defeated Rusev. After the match, Zayn responded to comments made by Samoa Joe during a backstage interview. Zayn was cut off by Joe's music, and the latter ambushed him, attacking Zayn before applying the Coquina Clutch on him. Zayn faced Joe at Fastlane in a losing effort and continued feuding with Joe the next night. On the next Raw, Zayn and Jericho defeated Owens and Joe by disqualification after Owens and Joe attacked Jericho. On the March 20 episode of *Raw*, when then Raw General Manager Mick Foley was fired by Stephanie McMahon, Zayn stood up for Foley and said McMahon should feel ashamed of herself, prompting her to book Zayn in a match with Joe, which Zayn lost by submission. On the March 27 episode of *Raw*, Zayn defeated Owens in a no disqualification match to end their feud, saving his job and qualifying for Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 33, which he failed to win.

On 11 April, Zayn was traded to SmackDown as part of the Superstar Shake-up. The following week on *SmackDown Live*, Zayn failed to become the number one contender for WWE Championship after losing a six-pack challenge match. Zayn defeated Baron Corbin at Backlash. Zayn was later announced as one of the participant in Money in the Bank ladder match at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view along with AJ Styles, Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, Kevin Owens and Shinsuke Nakamura in which he was unsuccessful. Zayn later participated in the Independence Day battle royal for the United States Championship on the July 4 only to lose to AJ Styles, being last to be eliminated. At Battleground, Zayn defeated Mike Kanellis.

On October 8, at Hell in a Cell, Zayn turned into a villainous character for the first time in his career by saving Kevin Owens from an elbow drop off the Hell in a Cell structure through an announcer's table by Shane McMahon, then dragging Owens onto Shane for the pinfall. On the October 10 episode of *SmackDown Live*, Zayn referred to Owens as his "brother" and explained that his actions were due to McMahon not giving Zayn opportunities despite the SmackDown brand being dubbed the "Land of Opportunity".

On the October 24 episode of *SmackDown Live*, Zayn was defeated by Randy Orton for a spot on Team SmackDown to face Team Raw at Survivor Series. At the Survivor Series kick-off show, Zayn and Owens defeated Breezango (Tyler Breeze and Fandango). Later that night, Owens and Zayn interfered in the main event and attacked Shane, but it backfired after Shane attacked both with a steel chair and Orton delivered an *RKO* to Owens. Owens and Zayn faced Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura in a tag team match at Clash of Champions with SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon and SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan as special guest referees and their jobs on the line. At the event, they defeated Orton and Nakamura after a fast count by Bryan. Later on, Zayn and Owens both scored non-title victories over WWE Champion AJ Styles on respective episodes of *SmackDown Live*, thus earning a title opportunity against Styles in a handicap match at the Royal Rumble. Both men failed to win the title at the event. Zayn later stole Tye Dillinger's number 10 spot at the Royal Rumble match but was eliminated by the eventual winner Shinsuke Nakamura.

Zayn later walked out on Kevin Owens during a tag team match against Styles and Nakamura two nights later on *SmackDown Live*. Zayn faced Owens on the February 6 episode of *SmackDown Live* to determine who will face Styles for the WWE Championship at Fastlane. The match ended in a double disqualification after Styles, who was on commentary, attacked Zayn and Owens. This led to SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan scheduling a triple threat match for the WWE Championship involving both Owens and Zayn. Zayn then said that he would lay down for Owens but in a fatal five-way match, Zayn ended up pinning Owens after a Helluva Kick. At Fastlane, AJ Styles was victorious in the six-pack challenge. On the March 20 episode of *SmackDown*, Zayn and Owens were (kayfabe) fired by Bryan as punishment for an attack against McMahon the week prior. Zayn and Owens attacked Bryan after the announcement. At WrestleMania 34, Owens and Zayn were defeated by Bryan and McMahon (had Zayn and Owens won, they would have been rehired to SmackDown).

On the *Raw* following WrestleMania, Zayn and Owens, as free agents, would ask Raw General Manager Kurt Angle for a job, Though reluctant, Angle would make a match between the two, with the winner earning a Raw contract, however, the match would end in a no contest, leaving Zayn and Owens free agents. On the April 16 episode of *Raw*, Zayn and Owens would be awarded Raw contracts by *Raw* Commissioner Stephanie McMahon. Later that night, they would be put in a 10-man tag team match, teaming with The Miz and The Miztourage (Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel) against Braun Strowman, Bobby Lashley, Finn Bálor, Seth Rollins and Bobby Roode in a losing effort. Zayn then entered a short feud with Bobby Lashley where Zayn mocked Lashley's family and questioned his military service.

At Money in the Bank, Zayn lost to Lashley. After the event, it was reported that Zayn had surgery to repair both of his rotator cuffs. He was later reported to have undergone a successful double shoulder surgery. In December WWE begun airing vignettes to promote Zayn's return. In early 2019, Zayn trained at the WWE Performance Center, preparing for his return to action.

He returned at the *Raw* episode following WrestleMania 35, wrestling an impromptu Intercontinental Championship match against Finn Balor. Zayn was cheered and acted as a face throughout the match. However, after losing the match, Zayn got on the microphone and said that he felt like the crowd missed him, but he reassured them that he did not miss them at all, staying heel. Zayn went on to ridicule the fans and ended his promo with, "see you in hell" before he went backstage. Zayn continued these type of promos over the following weeks with Zayn ranting to the audience. This lead to Braun Strowman attacking him on the May 6 *Raw*. The following week he defeated Strowman with the help of Baron Corbin and Drew McIntyre. This earned him Strowman's spot in the 2019 Money in the Bank match. On May 19, at Money in the Bank, Sami Zayn was attacked backstage by what was believed to be Strowman, however it was later revealed to be Brock Lesnar. After this event, Zayn reformed his tag team with Owens. On the June 11 episode of *SmackDown*, The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) defeated the team of Dolph Ziggler, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn, the latter appearing via the wild card rule. On the following *Raw*, wild card guests The New Day defeated the team of Owens (also appearing via the wild card rule), Zayn, and Baron Corbin in a two out of three falls match. At Stomping Grounds, Zayn and Owens defeated New Day's Big E and Woods. The duo of Zayn and Owens drifted apart again after Owen's face turn. On the August 19 episode of Raw, Zayn snapped after his loss to Cedric Alexander in the 2019 King of the Ring tournament. At that point Zayn had lost fifteen out of his last sixteen televised singles matches. The following day on *SmackDown Live*, Zayn joined forces with Shinsuke Nakamura, as they attacked Miz on an episode of Miz TV. Zayn was then positioned as Nakamura's mouthpiece. He then managed Nakamura against The Miz at Clash of Champions, where he involved himself in the finish securing the win for his new partner. As part of the 2019 draft, Zayn was drafted to SmackDown alongside Nakamura. At Survivor Series , Zayn accompanied Nakamura in his match against AJ Styles, and Roderick Strong. On December 9, 2019 edition of *Raw* he would also become the manager of Mojo Rawley. He was able to appear on both *Raw* an*d SmackDown* due to acquiring a managerial license. This angle, however, was dropped by the following week.

On the January 31, 2020 episode of *SmackDown*, Nakamura lost the title to Braun Strowman, despite interferences from Zayn and Cesaro. At the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view on March 8, Zayn, along with Nakamura and Cesaro, defeated Braun Strowman in 3-on-1 handicap match to win the Intercontinental Championship, ending his 5-year WWE title drought since he won the NXT Championship. On the March 13th episode of *SmackDown*, Sami Zayn began a feud with Daniel Bryan. Drew Gulak earned Daniel Bryan an Intercontinental Championship match at WrestleMania 36 by defeating Zayn's stablemate Shinsuke Nakamura. Zayn successfully defended his title against Bryan at the event. His reign would end on May 12, when he was stripped from the championship after refraining from competing.

On the August 28, 2020 episode of *SmackDown*, Zayn returned with the Intercontinental Title, the title he refused to relinquish, following Jeff Hardy's successful title defense against Shinsuke Nakamura, and attacked Hardy declaring himself the "real" Intercontinental Champion. Later on during the show, Zayn reunited with Cesaro and Nakamura backstage; however, Cesaro dismissed him from the locker room so that he and Nakamura could have some discussion by themselves. At Clash of Champions on September 27, Zayn defeated Hardy and AJ Styles in a triple threat ladder match to reclaim the Intercontinental Championship. On the October 2 episode of *SmackDown*, Zayn defeated Hardy to retain the title. On the November 13 episode of *SmackDown*, Zayn defeated Apollo Crews by countout to retain the title. On November 22 at Survivor Series, Zayn was defeated by United States Champion Bobby Lashley. On December 25 episode of *SmackDown*, he lost the Intercontinental Championship to Big E.

At Royal Rumble 2021, Zayn competed in his fourth Rumble match but was eliminated by Big E. On the February 12 episode of *SmackDown*, Zayn and King Corbin defeated Dominik Mysterio and Rey Mysterio to qualify for the Elimination Chamber match. At the event, Zayn was the second man eliminated in the match by Kevin Owens. Following the event, Zayn's gimmick would tweak into a deranged conspiracy theorist that believed the WWE was holding him down. Soon after, Zayn would reignite his feud with Owens after Zayn tried to convince Owens to believe in the conspiracy theories, but Owens doesn't believe them. Owens challenged Zayn to a match at WrestleMania 37, which Zayn accepted. At the event, Zayn would be defeated by Owens. Over the following weeks, Owens and Zayn would rekindle their feud, leading to a match at Hell in a Cell in which Zayn defeated Owens. Their rivalry would end on the July 2 episode of *SmackDown* in a Last Man Standing match to qualify for the men's Money in the Bank ladder match at the namesake pay-per-view; Owens won the match.

On the August 27 episode of *SmackDown*, Zayn was the mystery opponent of Dominik Mysterio, successfully defeating him that night. In October, Zayn entered the King of the Ring tournament, where he defeated Rey Mysterio in the first round, but lost to Finn Bálor in the semi-finals. On the November 12 episode of *SmackDown*, Zayn faced Jeff Hardy in a match with the stipulation that whoever lost was removed from the *SmackDown* Survivor Series team, which Zayn lost, thus removing him. On the November 26 episode of *SmackDown*, Zayn would compete in a battle royal to determine the number one contender for the Universal Championship, and he would last eliminate Jeff Hardy to win the match. On the December 3 episode of *SmackDown*, Zayn would face the champion Roman Reigns for the title, but lost in fifteen seconds due to Brock Lesnar attacking him before the match. On the December 24 episode of *SmackDown*, Zayn won a twelve-man gauntlet match to become the number one contender for the Intercontinental Championship.

On the January 7, 2022 episode of *SmackDown*, Zayn would enter a short feud with Johnny Knoxville, after Knoxville announced he would be entering the Royal Rumble match. At the Royal Rumble event on January 29, Zayn would enter his fifth Royal Rumble match, eliminating Knoxville before being eliminated by AJ Styles. On the February 18 episode of *SmackDown*, Zayn defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to win the Intercontinental Championship for the third time in his career. Three weeks later however, Zayn would drop the championship to Ricochet after interference from Knoxville, ending his reign at 21 days. Later the same night, Zayn would challenge Knoxville to a match at WrestleMania 38, which was made official shortly after. At WrestleMania 38, on night two, Zayn lost to Knoxville after the latter's *Jackass* co-actors interfered in the match. Zayn was then involved in several matches with Drew McIntyre, during which he would use underhanded tactics like fleeing the arena and losing via count-out. On the April 22 episode of *SmackDown*, Zayn faced McIntyre in a lumberjack match which ended in an inconclusive manner. Subsequently, Adam Pearce scheduled Zayn to face McIntyre on April 29 in a steel cage match, which he would go on to lose. Around this time, Sami Zayn started associating himself with the Bloodline, acting as a lackey for the group. At Survivor Series WarGames on November 26, Zayn along with the Bloodline, defeated the team of The Brawling Brutes (Sheamus, Ridge Holland and Butch), Drew McIntyre and Kevin Owens in a WarGames match. After the match, due to Zayn showing his loyalty to the stable by delivering a low blow to Owens, Jey finally accepted Zayn as part of The Bloodline and the stable celebrated. However, in January 2023, Zayn would be in a conflict with the Bloodline, which led to a "Tribal Court" for Zayn at *Raw is XXX*, where he would be found "not guilty, for now" in regard to betraying the Bloodline.

At Royal Rumble, Reigns proceeded to have the rest of The Bloodline beat Owens down following the match, but Zayn refused to join the beatdown and eventually hit Reigns with a chair, leading to the entire Bloodline (excluding Jey) attacking Zayn, turning Zayn into a face for the first time since 2017. On the February 3 episode of *SmackDown*, Zayn attacked Reigns and challenged him to a match for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at Elimination Chamber in his hometown of Montreal, which Reigns accepted. At the event on February 18, Zayn failed to win the titles from Reigns. On the March 6 episode of Raw, Jey Uso would interfere in a match between Zayn and Jimmy Uso, costing Jimmy the match, Jey would hug Sami but would end up betraying him, hitting him with a superkick then proceeding to beat him along with Jimmy and Solo Sikoa, Cody Rhodes would come to Sami's aid. On the March 10 episode of *SmackDown*, The Usos would cut a promo in the ring, with Jey explaining why he turned on Zayn, Cody Rhodes would interrupt them and Zayn would jump Jey, with Cody joining in on the fight. On the March 17 episode of *SmackDown*, Cody Rhodes would attempt to reunite Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, with Kevin Owens refusing and leaving. In the main event, Zayn would face Jey Uso until Jimmy Uso would interfere, which caused Owens to come out and save Zayn from the Usos. The two would then hug in the ring, officially reuniting Owens and Zayn. During the main event of WrestleMania 39's night one, Zayn and Owens defeated The Usos for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship. This match also marked the first time a tag team match main evented WrestleMania since its inaugural show. On the April 28 episode of *SmackDown*, Zayn and Owens would retain their titles in a rematch against The Usos. Zayn and Owens were drafted to the *Raw* brand in the 2023 WWE Draft. At Night of Champions, Zayn and Owens retained their Undisputed Tag Team Championships against The Bloodline (Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa). Owens and Zayn lost the titles to The Judgment Day's Finn Bálor and Damian Priest in a Steel City street fight at Payback on September 2 after interference from stablemates Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley as well as JD McDonagh, ending their reign at 154 days. They were unsuccessful in a rematch for the titles on the September 25 episode of *Raw*. Also at Payback, Cody Rhodes had Jey Uso reinstated as a member of *Raw* and it was revealed that someone would be traded to *SmackDown*. The following month on the October 13 episode of *SmackDown*, new *SmackDown* General Manager Nick Aldis revealed that Kevin Owens had been traded to *SmackDown* for Jey, in turn splitting Owens and Zayn.

Zayn had his first match since splitting from Kevin Owens on the October 23 episode of *Raw*, against Drew McIntyre in a losing effort after outside interference from Rhea Ripley. On the October 30 episode of *Raw*, Zayn interrupted the Judgment Day and stated that despite being alone, he would continue to fight them until the group was dissolved. Later that night, a match between Zayn and JD McDonagh was announced for the Crown Jewel kickoff show, which he would go on to win at the event on November 4.