Sami Zayn has been a fixture in WWE for almost a decade, continually raising the bar and delivering top-notch performances. He has a knack for taking any character he’s given and turning it into a hit, as evidenced by his most recent portrayal as a member of The Bloodline. Despite his impressive track record, it appears that Paul Heyman passed on the opportunity to draft Zayn in 2019.
The annual WWE Draft follows WrestleMania, typically bringing about significant shifts as superstars are selected to move from one brand to another. This was the case in the draft of 2019 as well.
In 2019, Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff held positions within WWE. Heyman was appointed as the head of the RAW roster, while Bischoff was responsible for managing the SmackDown roster.
During an episode of his “83 Weeks” podcast, Eric Bischoff disclosed that Paul Heyman declined to draft Sami Zayn, resulting in him being sent to SmackDown.
“SmackDown was about to debut on FOX Network, which is a very, very big deal. I didn’t know Sami [Zayn], so as we sit down, and we’re shuffling the deck and looking at the names on the roster and all of that. Sami was in the category where Paul would say, ‘No, you take him.’”
Fast forward four years, and Sami Zayn has established himself as one of the most prominent superstars in WWE. He will be facing off against Roman Reigns for the Undisputed Universal Championship at the upcoming WWE Elimination Chamber event. The outcome remains to be seen, and fans will have to wait and watch.
