Sami Zayn has revisited one of the most debated moments of his WWE career, discussing whether he should have defeated Roman Reigns at Elimination Chamber 2023 in Montreal. Speaking on the INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet podcast, Zayn acknowledged there was a credible argument for WWE to have made him champion that night in his hometown, rather than having Reigns retain.
The Elimination Chamber 2023 match in Montreal remains a landmark moment in Zayn’s run as a top babyface, coming at the height of his association with The Bloodline storyline. Zayn’s comments to Van Vliet reflect a performer looking back on a pivotal crossroads in his career with a mix of pride in the moment and lingering thoughts about what might have been had the finish gone the other way.
During the same podcast appearance, Zayn also looked back on other notable chapters from his WWE tenure, including his unusual WrestleMania match against Johnny Knoxville and the widely remembered “Feeling Ucey” segment from his time embedded with The Bloodline, according to both Wrestling Headlines and PWMania, which separately reported on the interview.
Zayn Retains Title Against Je’Von Evans
The reflections on Montreal arrive as Zayn continues his current reign as Undisputed WWE Champion. On the October 26, 2026 edition of Monday Night Raw, Zayn successfully defended the title against Je’Von Evans, according to WrestleTalk. The outlet noted the match marked only the second time Zayn has faced Evans inside a WWE ring, placing the defense within a short list of first-time and rare opponents Zayn has worked through during his championship run.
The same edition of Raw also featured a face-to-face meeting between Zayn and Roman Reigns, a moment that ProWrestling.net examined in relation to the global viewership figures for WWE Raw on Netflix. The report from Jason Powell at ProWrestling.net raised the question of whether the Reigns-Zayn interaction contributed to the show’s audience numbers, though it did not confirm a definitive causal link between the segment and viewership performance.
Taken together, the reporting underscores how closely Zayn’s current championship storyline is being tied back to his history with Reigns and The Bloodline, with WWE continuing to draw on that history even as Zayn defends the Undisputed WWE Championship against a new generation of challengers like Je’Von Evans.
