{"id":250581,"date":"2026-06-29T11:44:47","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T11:44:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/29\/4-signs-sami-zayn-will-lose-the-undisputed-wwe-championship-before-summerslam-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T11:44:47","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T11:44:47","slug":"4-signs-sami-zayn-will-lose-the-undisputed-wwe-championship-before-summerslam-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/29\/4-signs-sami-zayn-will-lose-the-undisputed-wwe-championship-before-summerslam-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Signs Sami Zayn will lose the Undisputed WWE Championship before SummerSlam 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-content\" data-postid=\"5185342\" data-slug-id=\"2801401\">\n<div class=\"vidazoo-player-container\">\n<span class=\"vidazoo-close-btn  hidden \"><br \/>\n<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Sami Zayn did the unthinkable and defeated Cody Rhodes and Gunther in a triple threat match at Night of Champions this past Saturday for the WWE Championship. He clinched the company&#8217;s top prize for the first time in his career and is sure to be celebrating this landmark career moment. <\/p>\n<p>His newfound glory could be short-lived, however, if WWE decides to have him drop the belt before SummerSlam. The company is known to have had transitional title reigns like the one Drew McIntyre had when he defeated Rhodes for the belt in January, only to drop it back to the American Nightmare following Elimination Chamber. So will WWE trust Zayn with the belt heading into one of its top 5 events, SummerSlam, and have him as the top dog, or will they decide to pull the plug on his title reign before the event? <\/p>\n<p><template id=\"also-read-articles-template\"><\/p>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<p><template id=\"template__newsletter-inline-banner-form-combo-widget\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<p><img id=\"subscribe-img\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\nThanks for the submission!\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<p>In this article, we&#8217;ll explore 4 reasons why Sami Zayn could lose the WWE Championship before SummerSlam<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h2>#4. WWE has teased multiple A-list matches for Cody Rhodes, and Sami Zayn isn&#8217;t one of them<\/h2>\n<p>Despite the poor reception of Cody Rhodes&#8217; title reign from the WWE Universe, as evidenced by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/wwe\/news-surprising-wwe-fan-reaction-cody-rhodes-enters\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">Riyadh crowd booing him as he entered the arena <\/a>for Night of Champions, the company has consistently decided to stick with him being the top babyface.<\/p>\n<p>Rhodes getting boos from fans is nothing new, as he was heavily booed despite being the babyface in his feud against Randy Orton heading into WrestleMania, when the Viper was in his most heelish form. Rhodes&#8217; WWE Title match victory against Randy Orton at WrestleMania 42 ended with Orton putting him down with the formerly illegal punt kick. But due to an injury, the Apex Predator had to go on hiatus, and a return at SummerSlam to face Rhodes could be on the cards. <\/p>\n<p>However, having a match between these two major stars without Orton gunning for his 15th World Title in a rematch would fall flat. This, and Rhodes&#8217; promo with CM Punk before the latter went on hiatus following the RAW episode after WrestleMania 42, indicate that he could have a WWE Title match against either man if they return before the biggest party of the summer. And for that to happen, Sami Zayn would have to drop the belt to the American Nightmare before the event.<\/p>\n<p><strong>#3. Sami Zayn&#8217;s promo after Night of Champions hinted at it<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>An emotional Zayn cut a promo after his big victory at Night of Champions. He said he doesn&#8217;t care what happens to him the next day, week, month, or year; he will forever be the WWE Champion.<\/p>\n<p>Zayn seemed to be basking in the glory of the moment as he soaked in the cheers from the Riyadh crowd as if he wouldn&#8217;t get that chance often. This could mean that Zayn knows he is probably going to have a transitional title reign and might end up dropping the belt in the coming weeks. <\/p>\n<p><strong>#2. Cody Rhodes could complete another story at Madison Square Garden<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Cody Rhodes completed his story when he won the WWE Championship by defeating Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40. Another story he could complete is one he keeps referencing, of his father, Dusty Rhodes, who won the WWE Title at Madison Square Garden in 1977, but it was taken away from him.<\/p>\n<p>Rhodes could walk out as Champion by defeating Sami Zayn at Saturday Night Main Event on July 18th at Madison Square Garden, bringing that story full circle.<\/p>\n<p>However, if WWE were to take this route, Sami Zayn would have to drop his title after having held it for less than a month.<\/p>\n<p><strong>#1. WWE may be looking at a tried and tested top Champion for SummerSlam<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Despite Sami Zayn&#8217;s decades-long experience in wrestling, he has never held the WWE Championship before. With a major event like SummerSlam, WWE would be looking for a superstar who has proven their mettle and can draw big crowds, regardless of how fans feel about them at the moment.<\/p>\n<p>Cody Rhodes is the only wrestler on SmackDown capable of being in the main event scene as a household name. The American Nightmare has earned a lot of fans in the past two years and has been part of high-profile bouts and storylines. Zayn may be a great wrestler, but since he has just now climbed into the top title scene from the mid-card, it would be a risk for the company to go with the Last Real Good Guy as WWE Champion heading into SummerSlam.<\/p>\n<p>That said, it would be a pleasant surprise if WWE decides to go into the event with Sami as the Champion, and with Rhodes&#8217; title reigns growing stale, it could very well be intriguing to have Zayn as the top star. It could also help WWE create a new star, something that the company hasn&#8217;t done in quite a while.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-post-rating-widget\">\n<p><template id=\"post-rating-feedback-modal-template\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-feedback-box\">\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-content\">\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-data\">\n<p>Why did you not like this content?<\/p>\n<p><textarea id=\"dislike-feedback-text\" rows=\"4\" placeholder=\"Please type your feedback...\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n<button class=\"close\">Cancel<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"submit\">Submit<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-widget-parent hidden\">\n<div class=\"rating-parent-container\">\n<div class=\"rating-content-holder\">\n<p>Was this article helpful?<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-action-container\">\n<div class=\"like-container\">\n<button class=\"post-rating-like-button post-rating-button\" data-action=\"like\" title=\"like article\"><br \/>\n<img class=\"post-like-image post-rating-image\" data-lazy=\"\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/like-articles\/upvote-icon-grey.svg\" height=\"20\" width=\"20\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"like selected\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dislike-container\">\n<button class=\"post-rating-dislike-button post-rating-button\" data-action=\"dislike\" title=\"dislike article\"><br \/>\n<img class=\"post-dis-like-image post-rating-image\" data-lazy=\"\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/like-articles\/upvote-icon-grey.svg\" height=\"20\" width=\"20\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"avatar selected\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\nThank You for feedback\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"bottom-tagline bottom\" data-tab=\"bottom\">\n<p>Get all the hottest wrestling news FIRST by clicking <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=sportskeeda.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\" class=\"bottom_tagline_link\" data-tab=\"bottom\">here<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tag-cloud\">\n<div class=\"tags-text\">\n<div class=\"scrollable-content-holder  article-padding\">\n<p class=\"article-p  \">Quick Links<\/p>\n<p><button id=\"pnAdvancerLeft\" class=\"pn-Advancer pn-Advancer_Left \" type=\"button\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"background: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/skm\/assets\/article\/article-scroll-left.svg\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button><\/p>\n<nav id=\"pnProductNav\" class=\"pn-ProductNav\">\n<\/nav>\n<p><button id=\"pnAdvancerRight\" class=\"pn-Advancer pn-Advancer_Right \" type=\"button\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"background: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/skm\/assets\/article\/article-scroll-right.svg\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<p>More from Sportskeeda<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n<span class=\"publisher-name\">Edited by Harikesh Shekhar<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/wwe\/4-signs-sami-zayn-will-lose-undisputed-wwe-championship-summerslam-2026\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sami Zayn did the unthinkable and defeated Cody Rhodes and Gunther in a triple threat match at Night of Champions this past Saturday for the WWE Championship. He clinched the company&#8217;s top prize for the first time in his career and is sure to be celebrating this landmark career moment. His newfound glory could be [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":250582,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6806],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-250581","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-gossip"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=250581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250581\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/250582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=250581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=250581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=250581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}