Mick Foley briefly held the WWF Championship three times during his various runs with the WWE. While he never looked like the typical world champion wrestler WWE often gravitates to, his undeniable connection to the audience resulted in him consistently landing in big matches against the likes of The Rock, Triple H and The Undertaker. The latest episode of his podcast, Foley is Pod, touched on the current main event scene in WWE and how, despite Sami Zayn being widely over with the fans, all signs point to WWE moving on to Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes as the main event of WrestleMania 39 after Zayn’s title match with Reigns at Elimination Chamber a week from Saturday.ย
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While some have maintained that Zayn’s story doesn’t necessitate him winning the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, Foley cautioned the WWE that fans might turn on Rhodes if Zayn winds up getting left out of the world championship picture by WrestleMania. Based on every backstage report and the current advertising for WrestleMania, that’s exactly what the company plans to do.
“This is where the storytelling โ the storytelling has been so strong. WWE has to be really careful in how they treat what they have in Sami Zayn. So if it’s a one-off, I think fans will be upset and subconsciously take that out on Cody,” Foley said (h/t Fightful). “So I think it’s really important that Sami be treated reverently by the people in charge. Because, you know, we call him ‘The gift that keeps on giving.’ We want him to just keep on giving. You don’t want this title shot to be the peak of his storyline and then soon forgotten.”
Do you think fan backlash is on the way for Rhodes? Or will WWE find a way to keep Zayn’s story going without him needing to challenge Reigns at WrestleMania? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!
WWE Elimination Chamber 2023 Card
- Undisputed WWE Universal Championship:ย Roman Reigns vs. Sami Zayn
- United States Championship:ย Austin Theory vs. Seth Rollins vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Bronson Reed vs. Damian Priest vs. Montez Ford (Elimination Chamber)
- Raw Women’s Championship No. 1 Contender:ย Asuka vs. Liv Morgan vs. Nikki Cross vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Natalya vs. Carmella (Elimination Chamber)
- Edge & Beth Phoenix vs. Finn Balor & Rhea Ripley