Bully Ray praised Sami Zayn’s actions during the August 21 episode of WWE SmackDown, saying the former Intercontinental Champion earned “monster heat” after attacking Kevin Owens and Undisputed WWE Champion CM Punk. He also believes the ending gave WWE several options for continuing the championship story.
Owens challenged Punk for the Undisputed WWE Championship in Toronto, where the hometown crowd firmly supported him. The two immediately began fighting and worked a physical match built around strikes, clotheslines and their personal history. Sami entered near the end and attacked Punk by driving him into the ring post. He then returned the champion to the ring and attempted to help Owens win the title.
Owens refused to take the victory that way. Sami responded by hitting his longtime friend in the face with the championship. Punk then delivered the Go to Sleep and pinned Owens to retain the title. Sami returned after the match and attacked Punk as well, making it clear that he had not interfered to help the champion.
Speaking on Busted Open, Bully said Sami appeared to enter the match intending to hurt Punk and help Owens. The situation changed only after Owens rejected the assistance.
“We still got the shock and awe of Sami Zayn, which I really, really liked,” Bully said. “I had no problem with what they did with Sami. Sami turned on both of them. Sami laid both of them out. It didn’t look like Sami wanted to lay Kevin out. It looked like Sami wanted to help Kevin because he despises Punk for what happened a couple of months ago. Kevin didn’t want the help. Sami introduced the championship to Kevin’s face, knocked him out, Punk picked him up—Go to Sleep, boom, one, two, three.”
Bully felt the attack worked because Sami’s initial motivation was understandable. Zayn had repeatedly complained about being passed over for championship opportunities, while his problems with Punk had continued to grow. Owens’ refusal made the moment more personal. Sami had presented his friend with a clear route to the championship, but Owens chose not to accept a victory created through outside interference. Bully said the post-match attack completed the segment and prevented Sami from appearing to have helped Punk intentionally.
“Afterwards, we see Punk gloating and Sami attack him,” Bully continued. “It was pretty shocking. It was really well executed. Sami affected the outcome. Sami had monster heat on the back end, and this opens up options for creative to go in a direction,” Bully said. “I would not be surprised if, as early as Saturday Night’s Main Event, we got a three-way dance.”
WWE has not announced CM Punk vs. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn. Bully’s Triple Threat suggestion was his prediction based on what happened during the title match, rather than confirmation of WWE’s plans.
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