If promos were wrestling matches, Sami Zayn would be the Undisputed WWE Champion following Friday Night SmackDown.
In a triple threat promo segment, Zayn crushed champion Cody Rhodes and Gunther like a pair of rookies from Evolve after delivering conversation’s most protected finisher: the one-liner.
It began with Zayn calling out Gunther for complaining about his loss to Rhodes at Clash In Italy. Gunther dismissed Zayn, telling him this was about WWE Championship business and should thus take a hike.
Bad move, Gunther.
“When it comes to the World Championship, I might not know much about that. I’ve never held the World Championship,” Zayn confessed. “But I do know a thing or two about beating you for championships.”
Zayn’s callback to WrestleMania XL, where he ended Gunther’s record-setting reign as Intercontinental Champion, brought the Austrian tank to a dead stop.
Next came Rhodes.
When “The Last Real Good Guy” suggested that he was the biggest threat to Cody’s title, the champ bowed up to him. Like Randy Orton hitting a draping DDT as a setup before the RKO, Zayn’s passive-aggressive response set Rhodes up for an emphatic challenge.
“I’m just saying,” Zayn began, while backing away, grinning, with his hands up, “you’re the one who said you were going to beat Gunther and teach me a lesson. Well, you beat Gunther. When do you want to teach me that lesson?”
The fans let out a collective “ooh,” indicating Zayn had scored a knockout.
Unlike modern matches littered with finisher spam, a great one-liner is a verbal finisher that, once it lands, the conversation is over. In this case, Zayn handily shut down both men, earning a decisive victory on the mic worthy of an immediate title shot.
