In recent weeks on Smackdown Live, one of their champions has had a noticeable absence. This is WWE Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn, who has not been seen since he was able to defend his title against Daniel Bryan in one of the worst matches from Wrestlemania 36. Has Sami Zayn followed the lead of Roman Reigns, and left WWE during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Sami Zayn Was Booked For Smackdown Live, But Chose To Not Show Up
As noted by Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Sami Zayn was intended to be on Smackdown Live alongside Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura, but he took the option to not show up on this show or the attached taping. This means we will not be seeing Zayn next week on Smackdown either, meaning we will not see the WWE Intercontinental Champion until after the upcoming Money In The Bank PPV.
WWE has been offering the choice to not appear on TV without consequences since this pandemic happened, with Sami Zayn taking advantage of this. Most fans wouldn’t have noticed this, but with Zayn being a champion his absence has been much more noticed.
Zayn Recently Got His Wisdom Teeth Out
Nearly two weeks ago, Zayn would announce on Twitter that he had undergone surgery to get his Wisdom Teeth removed. This is a very routine surgery, and recovery time can vary, and could help to explain his absence from WWE taping as of late. It can take up to two weeks to fully recover if you get dry-sockets, and this would explain why Sami opted to not take part in the Smackdown tapings this week. The tweet revealing this was as followed. “In lighter news, I had my wisdom teeth taken out last week so I’ve been on an #AllPuddingDiet for days and now I’m ripped to shreds.”
Should He Be Stripped Of His Title?
With it being over a month since we have seen Zayn defend his championship, it could be time for WWE to pull out an old storyline trick where if a champion has been unable to defend for over 30 days, they will be stripped of the title. This would allow the Intercontential Champion to be used again on TV to help elevate matches, with potential champions in Drew Gulak & Shinsuke Nakamura.
Do you think Sami Zayn should be stripped of the title due to his abscence? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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