Latest On Sami Zayn's Creative Plans Ahead Of WWE WrestleMania 42

It has been reported in recent weeks that the creative plans for WrestleMania 42 have changed drastically from what they were at the end of 2025, potentially altering the immediate future of fan favorite Sami Zayn. Then again, maybe not.

Prior to those changes being implemented, Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select heard that Zayn had been discussed and tentatively planned for a world championship that would take place ahead of The 'Showcase of the Immortals' this April.

"One source near WWE creative said that this has been a story that many on the team were hoping to get to since the Sami Zayn and Karrion Kross storyline that happened throughout 2025," Ross Sapp wrote, but again, much of the current direction for WrestleMania 42 remains unknown.

Zayn did qualify for the WWE Championship No. 1 Contender's Match that will take place this weekend at Saturday Night's Main Event. The Montreal native will take on Randy Orton, Damian Priest and Trick Williams in a Fatal 4-Way Match with the winner moving on to face Drew McIntyre at the Royal Rumble.

Sami is the current betting favorite to win that match, according to multiple sites that track such things, and that booking decision would make complete sense.

The Royal Rumble is taking place outside of North America for the first time ever this year, and Zayn is absolutely adored in Saudi Arabia. The WWE creative team has also been laying the groundwork for Sami to wrestle Drew McIntyre since before The Scottish Warrior won the title.

If Sami gets his shot against McIntyre and loses... then what?

Drew McIntyre has proudly boasted on more than one occasion that he's a perfect 11-0 in singles matches against Zayn, and with Drew having just won the WWE Championship for the first time in five years, it's very likely that he'd remain undefeated if they were to wrestle at the Royal Rumble.

This would create a very similar creative situation to what happened three years ago when Zayn unsuccessfully challenged Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, only this time around, his road to WrestleMania would be far less certain.

Zayn ended up in the main event of WrestleMania 39 night one that year. He teamed up with Kevin Owens and won the WWE Tag Team Championship from The Usos. The year after that, he had one of best matches of WrestleMania XL weekend when he defeated Gunther to end his record-breaking reign as the Men's Intercontinental Champion.

That match against The Ring General helped solidify him as one of the best WrestleMania performers in modern history, yet he was left off the card entirely in 2025. Hopefully, that won't be the case again this year, but it's tough to feature every WWE star at WrestleMania. Even with the show being stretched across two nights these days.

Sami's prospects of defeating McIntyre for the WWE Championship would vastly improve if that match were to happen at WrestleMania 42. He'd need to win either the Men's Royal Rumble, which would be a great moment for the fans in Saudi Arabia, or the Men's Elimination Chamber Match in February to make that happen.

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