Sami Zayn Reportedly Not Seen Internally As A WWE WrestleMania Headliner

Despite overwhelming praise from WWE fans, and even Paul Heyman, the dream of Sami Zayn main-eventing WrestleMania will reportedly remain just that — a dream. As it became clear that WWE wouldn't be able to secure Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson for WrestleMania 39, the company opted for their second choice to challenge Roman Reigns, allowing "The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes to earn his way to the main event via the Royal Rumble. Now, Rhodes will take on Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship on "The Grandest Stage of Them All," and evidently, not Zayn.

A new report in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter indicated that despite getting so "hot" amidst his journey into, and now out of, The Bloodline, two key figures didn't believe Zayn "was a guy who could headline WrestleMania," those being WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque. Zayn will now reportedly main event Elimination Chamber instead.

A similar scenario unfolded in 2019, as Kofi Kingston gained major traction heading into WrestleMania season, prompting WWE to pull the trigger on his push and have him overtake a spot originally planned for Kevin Owens. At WrestleMania 35, Kingston defeated Daniel Bryan to capture the WWE Championship, cementing the payoff for "Kofi-Mania." Unfortunately for Zayn, though, it appears that this same plot won't play out for him. On February 18, Elimination Chamber will take place in Zayn's home city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and the pieces for the premium live event, and Zayn's involvement, will likely begin to be forged together tonight on "WWE SmackDown."