For a long time, Sami Zayn considered the idea of him winning the Undisputed WWE Championship to be unimaginable. The main event of WWE Night of Champions 2026, however, drastically changed that.During an interview with "ESPN New York," Zayn opened up about the sense of joy and gratitude he experienced in the aftermath of his first WWE world title win over Cody Rhodes and GUNTHER at Night of Champions."There's always going to be things you strive for, but at the end of the day, I did something that I wouldn't even call it a dream," Zayn said. "I would have called it a fantasy if you asked me when I was 13 or 14 years old, a fantasy. Not even something you could actually dream of in a meaningful way whereby you're setting attainable goals for yourself because it's something you can visualize it. It was so unfathomable that it was more fantastical and more of a fantasy than anything and I've done it. So that you can never take away from me if my career ends today, tomorrow, a week from now. If the title reign ends a week from now, a month from now, a year from now, it doesn't matter to me. I did it."Zayn captured the Undisputed WWE Championship after taking a Cross Rhodes from Cody Rhodes, then reversing a second one into a roll-up on him at the June 27 premium live event. Now days removed from his victory, Zayn noted that he is still in a euphoric state of mind; at the same time, he knows that his first challenge as world champion is right around the corner on "WWE Raw," which means he will soon have to seriously concentrate.
"One of the things about being me or being a career underdog, just being the guy who doesn't play the typical part, or whatever you want to call it, is that people think that you can lose it instantly and every time you defend it. So that's almost like a cool advantage in a weird way or a cool way to subvert people's expectations," Zayn said. "Say I hold on to this thing for a year, I think literally every time somebody challenges for it, they would believe, oh, this is it. They're already starting to do that as early as this Monday, so I'm just going to take it one step at a time. I have this first challenger coming up very quick in very short order. Obviously, I'm focused on that, but right now, I really am just trying to enjoy it."Per "WWE SmackDown" taping spoilers, Zayn will meet Rhodes in a rematch for the Undisputed WWE Championship on the July 6 edition of "Raw." This comes after Rhodes defeated his former tag team partner Jey Uso in a number one contender's bout in the main event of "SmackDown," slated to air on Friday in its usual timeslot.Regardless of the outcome of his defense against Rhodes on "Raw,"Zayn reiterated that he'd remain content and thankful for the fact that he had the opportunity to carry such a title to begin with. On the other hand, a part of him would always be aspiring to do more with it.Rhodes himself is a three-time world champion, having initially claimed the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania 40, regained it at SummerSlam 2025, then once more on a March 2026 episode of "SmackDown." His latest reign ended at just over 110 days.If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "ESPN New York" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
