The road toward Sami Zayn’s date with destiny had been a long one, beginning back in April 2022, however, no one could have predicted that it would have ended like this.
From being a comedic character placed firmly in the mid-card, Zayn has risen to become arguably the most popular star in WWE by riding a wave of remarkable fan support.
Like Dusty Rhodes and Mick Foley before him, Sami Zayn has come to carry the hopes of fans across the world, and at Elimination Chamber those fans dared to dream that the impossible wasn’t out of reach.
Roman Reigns entered the cauldron first, serenaded by loud boos and even louder “f*ck you Roman” chants. By contrast, no one else in the world, on this night, could have elicited the kind of adoration that greeted Zayn as he stepped through the curtain.
Once the bell rang, it was almost five minutes before the two men properly locked up. However, once the match began, the crowd at the Bell Centre was enthralled. After some early back and forth, Reigns took control, while Sami fought back valiantly carried on a wave of never faltering support.
As the action hit top gear, Zayn refused to be pinned, while he scored the nearest of near-falls following a Blue Thunder Bomb. From here the match completely broke down.
Sami Zayn’s Montreal Miracle – Almost
Reigns backed Zayn into the corner while also flattening the referee. With the official down, Zayn hit a thunderous Helluva Kick but there was no one there to count the pin. This brought out Jimmy Uso who delivered a series of vicious Super Kicks and an Uso Splash before placing Reigns over his challenger.
Yet somehow, Zayn refused to be kept down.
As the chaos continued in front of a crowd that was now fit to burst, Zayn ducked a Superman Punch which took out a second official. Sensing an opportunity, Paul Heyman handed Reigns a chair, but Jey Uso ran in between the two men before he could use it.
In a call back to the Royal Rumble, Reigns handed Jey the chair but he couldn’t hit either man. While the tension rose, Zayn gathered himself and looked to land a huge Spear but inadvertently took out Jey instead.
This left the way open for Reigns to lay out Zayn with the chair, hitting another Spear for the win.
.@SamiZayn & @FightOwensFight stand tall at #WWEChamber! pic.twitter.com/Z5oMcRbdtr
— WWE (@WWE) February 19, 2023
After the match, Kevin Owens returned for the first time since the Royal Rumble. KO Powerbombed Jimmy Uso through the announce table, Stunnered Reigns, and even Stunnered Heyman.
Zayn landed a Helluva Kick on Reigns as Owens left and the show went off the air.