WWE higher up pushes back on notion Sami Zayn isn't seen as a "top guy" (Patreon)

For all the talk about certain WWE higher ups not seeing Sami Zayn as a main event talent, WWE pushed back on that.

A WWE higher up began speaking with Fightful around the Elimination Chamber PPV, speaking on the progression of Sami Zayn, and the rumors that WWE didn't view him as a top performer. While the higher up spoke on the condition of anonymity, they said that the company has been ecstatic about Zayn's performance and crowd reactions.

"He's headlined a PPV, he is the focal point of our biggest shows. He's main eventing WWE Raw, and is "1B" for the biggest storyline in the company. Elimination Chamber didn't happen in his hometown by accident. For anyone to say that we don't view him as a top guy just hasn't been watching the program or are fabricating things. We had a solid set of plans in order both for him and the championship. Just because he isn't competing for the championship, doesn't mean he isn't viewed at that level. He's been the MVP since last Summer, and I couldn't see many disagreeing with that point," the source said.

Internal WWE documents had Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn slated to compete for the tag team titles as far back as November. The higher up spoke well of Zayn and how easy he's been to deal with throughout his major push. They went as far as to say even when Zayn completely improvised his pre-Elimination Chamber promo, that it ended up better for the company and Zayn himself.