AJ Styles has weighed in on Sami Zayn’s brief reign as Undisputed WWE Champion following Monday’s shocking title change on WWE Raw.
Zayn’s championship run came to an end just nine days after it began when CM Punk defeated him to capture the Undisputed WWE Championship. The result sparked plenty of debate among fans, with many questioning why Zayn’s long-awaited world title reign was cut so short.
Speaking on the latest episode of the Phenomenally Retro podcast (see video below), Styles admitted he doesn’t fully understand the creative decision but believes fans should be patient and allow the story to unfold.
“I don’t understand. It’s not for me to understand, I get it. I didn’t write the show, I don’t know what’s happening. But, I’m hoping there’s an actual reason. From what I’ve saw on the internet, you know, backstage with Sami after the match, he’s pretty pissed off. Let’s see where this story goes before we start getting mad about everything that’s going on. This is a story that’s happening. Before we get our panties in a wad and just be as negative as we can be, let’s see what happens. This may be a transition in where Sami is a total different character. That might be what we need. It might be another match to do. What is the next match we’re looking forward to with CM Punk, is it him and Cody?”
Styles also floated a potential scenario that could see Zayn’s loss ultimately lead to an even bigger storyline involving Punk and Cody Rhodes.
“Is it Cody and Punk, Sami comes out and Helluva Kicks both of them. The match is thrown out, there’s no winner, Sami’s pissed off. Then, it leads to the three way. There’s things that can happen. Let’s see where it goes is all I’m saying. Before we start judging and being mad, even though I didn’t want a transitional champion, let’s see where it goes.”
While Styles acknowledged he wasn’t a fan of the idea of a transitional champion, he stressed that there are multiple directions WWE could take from here and encouraged fans to reserve judgment until the full story plays out.
