Sami Zayn recently announced his “Sami 4 Syria” charitable efforts reached a milestone on December 25th.

You guys did it! You raised 5k over the course of Christmas Day for #SamiForSyria, which I will match, dollar for dollar.

That is 10k in ONE DAY to help provide medical aid to those stuck in Syria!

We are not powerless.
When we come together, so much is possible.
Thank you all!

— Sami Zayn (@SamiZayn) December 26, 2017

Zayn had previously Tweeted he would be matching all donations made on Christmas Day, with $5K being raised by fans and another $5K being matched by him.

Sami 4 Syria

His fundraising efforts are to supply mobile medical clinics in parts of Syria.

[vimeo 225255732 w=640 h=360]

WWE made two big announcements during the week which have ground breaking implications across the whole of the company, with careers on the line… or possibly not…

The first announcement came on SmackDown Live:

The second came in the form of WWE’s twitter account:

BREAKING: @WWE presents the Mixed Match Challenge tournament, airing LIVE exclusively on Facebook Watch! #WWEMMC https://t.co/eHsyDsoUhm pic.twitter.com/gdPEueEB8C

— WWE (@WWE) December 13, 2017

Notice anything?

Sami Zayn features in both.  But how can Zayn feature in the Mixed Match Challenge, which airs on Facebook in January, if he’s fighting for his career in WWE at Clash of Champions?

There are a few points to bring up here.  The first is: of course Sami Zayn won’t lose his job, well not permanently.  It is possible that he loses and is brought back in some creative plot twist that leaves the WWE Universe both aghast and annoyed at the same time.  The frustrating part of the Mixed Match Challenge tweet is that it’s an oversight which potentially destroys the kayfabe aspect of the match.

The second point to bring up is the fact that the Mixed Match Challenge tweet was released after SmackDown Live, therefore anyone working behind the advertising/social media campaign could have swapped out Sami Zayn for another competitor.  This heavily suggests that Sami Zayn won’t be losing anything in the long run.

The final point to consider is the specific wording of the Clash of Champions match.

If Zayn and Owens Lose, then They Are fired from all of wwe

This looks at the tweet from the other side of the argument.  It makes sense that they should be working as per normal up until this match.  Therefore the advertising for the new Facebook challenge shouldn’t be affected, with Zayn being removed at a later date if he lost.

Overall, there are two ways of interpreting this clash of information.  You could see it as a mistake and a spoiler for the upcoming PPV.  Or you could interpret this as showing just how much Sami Zayn could lose on Sunday if he were to fall.

Opinion:

I think this is a mistake by WWE, but they could make the most out of it by framing it as presented above.  My heart says Zayn isn’t leaving, but my head says that WWE will mess with the crossover between kayfabe and reality.

– WWE posted the following video in which Sami Zayn reacts to SmackDown Live Commissioner Shane McMahon inserting himself as Special Guest Referee for he and Kevin Owens’ Tag Team match against Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura at Clash Of Champions. If Zayn and Owens lose the match, they will be fired from WWE. Check it out:

.@SamiZayn & @FightOwensFight have their CAREERS on the line at #WWEClash. Sami reaches out to @WWEDanielBryan for help. pic.twitter.com/yz5jNK498C

— WWE (@WWE) December 11, 2017

– FOX 5 in Washington, D.C. did an article in which they discuss the recent social media exchanges between Hulk Hogan and The Rock, teasing a possible WrestleMania rematch between the two icons. John Cena gave his thoughts on the possible rematch in the article, and had this to say:

“My thoughts are the age-old adage that is WWE: Never say never,” Cena said.

SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon announced on tonight’s show that he will be the special referee for Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs. Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura at the WWE Clash of Champions pay-per-view. If Owens & Sami lose the match they will be fired from all of WWE.

Shane also announced that Natalya vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair will be a Lumberjack Match. Confirmed ringside participants include Carmella, Lana, Tamina, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan.

Finally, SmackDown saw Rusev & Aiden English defeat The New Day to earn a spot in the SmackDown Tag Team Title match at Clash of Champions, making it a Fatal 4 Way with champions The Usos, The New Day, Rusev & English and Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin.

Below is the updated card for Clash of Champions, which takes place on December 17th from the TD Garden in Boston:

WWE Title Match
Jinder Mahal vs. AJ Styles

Lumberjack Match for the SmackDown Women’s Title
Natalya vs. Charlotte Flair

Triple Threat for the WWE United States Title
Dolph Ziggler vs. Bobby Roode vs. Baron Corbin

Fatal 4 Way for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles
Rusev & Aiden English vs. The New Day vs. Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable vs. The Usos

Special Referee: SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura
If Owens & Sami lose the match they will be fired from WWE.

It was reported last month that Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens were kicked off WWE’s recent European tour. The reason for them being sent home was the pair not feeding for the New Day at the end of their Smackdown segment.

The most recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter noted that the backstage heat on Kevin Owens is now gone but the same can’t be said for Zayn. Unfortunately, that was all the report said.

“It appears that all the controversy regarding Owens from when he and Zayn were sent home is gone, but the same isn’t the case of Zayn”. – Wrestling Observer (no further comment was made)

Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn Backstage Heat

The Observer did not make further comment or provide any reasons for why Zayn might still have heat and not Owens.

Unfortunately, the update from the Observer creates more questions than it answers.

– Below is the opening video used for tonight’s WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFW8xwChd-0?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

– Michael Cole announced a sold-out crowd of 14,478 fans in attendance at the Toyota Center in Houston, TX for tonight’s Survivor Series pay-per-view.

– As seen on tonight’s WWE Survivor Series Kickoff pre-show, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens defeated Breezango. Below is post-match video of Sami saying they did prove a point tonight but it was the same point they prove each week – that they’re the two best on SmackDown but here they are relegated to the pre-show when they should be leading Team SmackDown. Sami says there are no others even close to them and tonight the point was how it was a mistake to leave he and Owens behind. Sami says they just saw Stephanie McMahon and he gives her props for being delightful. The RAW Commissioner then appears. Sami says he thought he got the shaft on RAW but Stephanie was right about what she said about Shane McMahon. Sami apologizes and Stephanie shakes their hands. Stephanie says she’s also sorry, sorry that her brother doesn’t recognize them as the true talents that they are. Stephanie pats Owens on the back several times and walks off.

.@SamiZayn and @FightOwensFight comment on not being chosen for Team #Smackdown … and are offered kind words by #Raw Commissioner @StephMcMahon! #SurvivorSeries pic.twitter.com/yyhtuV7yi2

— WWE (@WWE) November 20, 2017

WWE has announced two new matches for tonight’s Survivor Series Kickoff pre-show – Matt Hardy vs. Elias plus Breezango vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn. Remember to join us for live coverage beginning at 5pm EST.

Below is the updated card for tonight:

5-on-5 Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match
Team Captain Kurt Angle, Braun Strowman, Finn Balor, Samoa Joe, Triple H vs. Team Captain Shane McMahon, Randy Orton, Bobby Roode, Shinsuke Nakamura, John Cena

5-on-5 Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match
Team Captain Alicia Fox, Nia Jax, Asuka, Sasha Banks, Bayley vs. Team Captain Becky Lynch, Carmella, Tamina Snuka, Naomi, Natalya

RAW vs. SmackDown
WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar vs. WWE Champion AJ Styles

RAW vs. SmackDown
WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz vs. WWE United States Champion Baron Corbin

RAW vs. SmackDown
RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair

RAW vs. SmackDown
RAW Tag Team Champions Sheamus and Cesaro vs. SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos

RAW vs. SmackDown
The Shield (Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose) vs. The New Day (Kofi Kingston, Big E, Xavier Woods)

Kickoff Pre-show: WWE Cruiserweight Title Match
Kalisto vs. Enzo Amore

Kickoff Pre-show
Matt Hardy vs. Elias

Kickoff Pre-show
Breezango vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn

As we’ve noted, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn were sent home from WWE’s European tour last week after a taping of SmackDown Live in Manchester, England. After Zayn’s loss to Kofi Kingston on SmackDown it was reported that Owens and Zayn went against a creative decision and instead “went into business for themselves.” Owens and Zayn returned to work this past Tuesday for SmackDown Live’s taping in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Per a report from Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Vince McMahon planned for Owens to attack Kofi Kingston after defeating Zayn, before Big E and Xavier Woods hit the ring to beat the pair down for the save. Owens and Zayn would then run off before facing The New Day in a Tag Team match the following week. Everything went according to plan, except Owens and Zayn didn’t stay in the ring to receive their beatdown from The New Day.

WWE officials yelled at Zayn and Owens backstage before sending them home. One version of the story going around labeled the entire incident a huge misunderstanding, and Owens and Zayn actually did what they believed they were told to do. Those claims have been heavily shot down by some people, and the common belief amongst talent backstage is that Zayn and Owens went into business for themselves.

This could also help explain Owens’ recent Twitter beef with Randy Orton. A fan Tweeted about getting married in Epcot back on November 11th, and since Owens was taking his family there the same day he decided to stop in and surprise the fan during his wedding reception. The groom of the wedding sent out a Tweet about meeting Owens for dessert at his wedding, to which Owens responded that it was nice meeting him and wished him well in his new marriage. Randy Orton saw this and responded with another shot at Owens’ weight, and it all escalated to a rather personal level from there:

Wow. @FightOwensFight just stopped by my wedding dessert party in Epcot. Made this day even better. Thank you! pic.twitter.com/DeXyTLvi6J

— ScaryMask (@MTAVSK) November 12, 2017

https://twitter.com/FightOwensFight/status/929538544560992258?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Of course he stopped by…… it was a DESSERT PARTY.????? https://t.co/FsCOsEkiFw

— Randy Orton (@RandyOrton) November 12, 2017

https://twitter.com/FightOwensFight/status/929855822796087298?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

I actually quit vaping this European tour, but you wouldn’t know because you ain’t here. https://t.co/PjDtQIo95N

— Randy Orton (@RandyOrton) November 12, 2017

https://twitter.com/FightOwensFight/status/929865752395513857?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

https://twitter.com/FightOwensFight/status/929867973115904000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

As noted earlier this afternoon, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn were sent home from WWE’s ongoing European tour.

Owens and Zayn are being disciplined for ‘conduct deemed detrimental to the WWE.’ The issue is that Owens and Zayn were ‘going into business for themselves’ during their on-air segments on last night’s episode of WWE Smackdown Live from Manchester.

Owens and Zayn went off script following Sami’s match against Kofi Kingston. Kevin Owens entered the ring after the match and attacked Kofi as planned. According to Pro Wrestling Sheet, Owens and Zayn were supposed to get beat down by New Day, but they left the ring abruptly, leaving the New Day wondering what was going on.

The decision was reportedly approved by Vince McMahon and they flew back to the United States today. You can watch what transpired below:

Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn have been sent home from WWE’s ongoing European tour, according to a report at PWInsider.com. It’s unclear at this time why they were sent home, but the word going around is that it was a result of ‘unprofessional behavior.’

Both men appeared at Tuesday’s SmackDown Live from Manchester, with Zayn competing against Kofi Kingston. Zayn and Owens are not currently booked for Survivor Series.

It’s worth noting that Kevin Owens also left last month’s tour of South America early, later revealing that he had to fly home to deal with a family situation.

We’ll post an update when we get more information on this developing story.

SmackDown Live Superstar Sami Zayn recently appeared on E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness podcast where he talked about his recent heel turn and more. Below are some of the highlights from his interview:

Vince McMahon’s vision being different than others:

“Vince’s vision is super-different and I kind of get when people call him a ‘genius’, I kind of get it in a sense because call it ‘genius’ or call it whatever you want, but there’s no debating that his mind works different than everybody else’s does, so everybody else will see things one way and he’ll see it one completely different way. So his vision for me as a heel was completely different from how I viewed it, but as soon as I did it for the first week or the second week, and now I’ve gotten a couple of house shows under my belt, I’m like, ‘oh, man. He’s so right!’ He’s right.”

His interactions with the Boss:

“My interactions with Vince have been a little bit more limited because I haven’t been involved in as many prominent storylines, so now, this is something that I feel he sunk his teeth into and just getting to pick his brain a tiny bit about how he views the character. But he didn’t even get into detail. Like, some of it was just, he would just say, ‘smile out there.’ I go, ‘really? Smile?’ He goes, ‘big smile out there.’ And then, I’d do it and I’m like, ‘oh, man! Of course! Like, it’s so much more heat than going out there and scowling and being like, ‘you guys all did me wrong! if you’re smiling, it’s just so much more obnoxious and so much more dislikable. And, again, it’s just such a simple thing and you start to see it. Once you execute it and it works, that’s like another little lightbulb that goes off in your head.”

His heel persona being similar to an ex-girlfriend:

“I’ll try to sum [the character] up as easily as I can. The analogy that I would give is it’s almost like when you’re dating a girl and she kind of has these quirks, but they’re lovable. But once you break up, it’s like, ‘oh, God! She was so annoying! She would always hog the blankets, she always wanted the room at 65º,’ or whatever. Do you know what I mean? Like, the things you used to love about her, now, you hate about her because you don’t love her anymore. So it’s almost to me, that’s where I’m at right now. It’s like, the character isn’t all-of-a-sudden dying his hair black and wearing eyeliner or something like that. It’s just he’s the same kind of he, now it just means something different because his intentions are different.”

On how he wanted to remain a babyface throughout his career but is now excited about being a heel:

“It was kind of a fantasy in the back of my head to one day kind of do the same thing as Steamboat, like have a great career, but have always been like a straight-laced babyface through-and-through, beginning to end. And I’ve done, like, a good job. I’ve done tiny, tiny heel stints, but nothing of substance. So, again, it was another one of those little heartbreak moments, but the second it’s over, it’s like, ‘man, what do we do now? There’s so much that can be done.’ So I’m very, very excited, but in full disclosure, the part that I don’t have full confidence in yet, but I’m sure it’ll come, is actually working, working, as a heel. I’m going to need to relearn this a little bit.”

Quotes via WrestlingInc

– As seen on SmackDown Live last night, Sami Zayn came out during the main event of the show between Kevin Owens and Shinsuke Nakamura to try and help his best friend.

During the match, Owens instructed his friend to clear the announcer’s table, but in doing so Zayn accidentally hit a fan in the face with a piece of the table.  The incident can be seen in the video below:

When the pro wrestling is all too real pic.twitter.com/1w79CcNPhL

— Deadspin (@Deadspin) November 1, 2017

– Chris Jericho recently posted a photo from his Instagram account, announcing that the Young Bucks will be joining The Cruise Of Jericho:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ba8kLb5FS1G/

The hype for Survivor Series got kicked into high gear last night as the SmackDown roster invaded RAW in an attempt to display the supremacy of their brand.

One SmackDown star who was conspicuously absent from the melee was Sami Zayn.

Zayn, who aligned himself with Kevin Owens at Hell in a Cell, said that he doesn’t fight for tyrants, playing off his storyline beef with SmackDown commissioner Shane McMahon.

I fight for what's right, I don't fight for tyrants. #UnderSiege

— Sami Zayn (@SamiZayn) October 24, 2017

– Sami Zayn took to Instagram to post the following picture of he and Kevin Owens embracing on SmackDown Live earlier this week. Zayn stated that it was ‘a cold day in hell’:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BaIK-H6Fwya/

– Former SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Becky Lynch was featured on the latest installment of WWE’s “My First Job.” Lynch discussed her various jobs before getting into pro wrestling such as a pizza chef and a flight attendant:

– As you all most likely know, Sami Zayn turned heel at Hell In A Cell this past weekend to assist Kevin Owens in defeating Shane McMahon in the evening’s main event. In response, “KO” helped Zayn defeat Mike Kanellis at last night’s (Mon. October 9, 2017) WWE live event from Lansing, Michigan. After the match Owens cut a promo and proclaimed that he and Zayn defeated Shane together this past Sunday.

– We previously reported that Kalisto dedicated his Cruiserweight Championship win last night to Rey Mysterio and the late WWE Hall Of Famer Eddie Guerrero (as it was his birthday last night). Mysterio later responded to Kalisto and claimed that Guerrero is smiling after the win:

Eddie… @reymysterio this one is for you!.. #ImagineLuchaAchieve pic.twitter.com/smVKXgPdF8

— Samuray Del Sol® “Manny $” (@gloat) October 10, 2017

Gracias- What a B-Day present for Eddie, He Smiling! You guys killed It! First time ever CW match in the main event for #RAW #MakingHistory https://t.co/G1LdOLbjYV

— ?Rey Mysterio? (@reymysterio) October 10, 2017

Before the shocking events of Hell In a Cell PPV where Sami Zayn unexpectedly helped Kevin Owens in winning his match against Shane McMahon, Owens had an interview with In Your Corner Podcast. Below are some of the highlights from his interview:

On his matches with Sami Zayn:

“Sometimes you have chemistry with people that is undeniable, and it just works, and sometimes you have matches with someone you think you are going to have good chemistry with, and it just doesn’t turn out that way. Sami and I have known each other for well over 15 years, so being here is the latter stage for us. We’ve been friends, we’ve been enemies, and have been at each other’s throats, and have been at each other’s side, we have done it all. We have been in every match possible. We’ve put each other through a lot, but also have been there for each other, so I think that translates to good chemistry at times.”

On his relationship with Zayn:

“I would say that we are more like brothers than we are friends because we don’t choose our relatives, or who your brother and sister are; you don’t choose your family. You are born into your family, and in this case we weren’t born into each other’s family, but from the start of our careers when we started wrestling, on the Independent scene in the United States, or even back home in Canada, once we started to get our names out there and become more recognized, people just started booking us together all the time, which wasn’t our choice, they just paired up the ‘guy in the mask’ and Kevin Steen together and it just snowballed from there into where we are now.”

The former NXT Champion’s limited position on SmackDown Live:

“I don’t think anybody deserves anything than what they already have because I believe everyone gets what they deserve. I’m not saying Sami doesn’t deserve a bigger role; I’m saying Sami will get a bigger role eventually. I think everyone deserves a bigger role, but I don’t think that is being taken away from them on purpose, and I believe everyone will get what they will get, which is what I believe. Some will tend to disagree with me on that, but that is okay, I’m not one to worry about popularity with my co-workers, I’m just who I am and that’s just how it is. Sami will get his on his time; you will eventually get to where you belong if you believe you deserve to be there.”

In the main event of last night’s (Sun. October 8, 2017) WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view (PPV) former Universal and United States Champion Kevin Owens went head-to-head with SmackDown Live Commissioner Shane McMahon inside “The Devil’s Playground.” The finish to the match saw Shane head to the top of the cell in attempt to recreate his WrestleMania 32 bump off the top of the structure and onto Owens who was laid down on top of an announce table down below.

Right before Shane came down crashing on Owens, however, Sami Zayn came out to make the save and pull Owens off the announce table just in time. It seems Zayn will be working as a heel moving forward and has rekindled his alliance with “KO,” and Shane McMahon’s son isn’t a fan. A fan captured a screenshot of Shane’s son reacting to Zayn’s heel turn, and he was giving the ex-NXT Champion the one-finger salute:

Shane’s son flipping Sami off is the hidden gem of the evening #HIAC pic.twitter.com/j5GXvWTpv7

— Kelsey (@__Mochahontas) October 9, 2017

– WWE SmackDown has a live event tonight from East Lansing, Michigan. Tomorrow’s SmackDown Live will broadcast from Grand Rapids, Michigan.

– WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus wrote a blog post on her website talking about Natalya breaking her pay-per-view match record at last night’s Hell in a Cell PPV:

“I’m not surprised, Nattie is hands down the hardest working WWE Superstar male or female! In the ring she is as solid as it gets, as a performer she always delivers, and she is a excellent representative of not only the company but of woman in wrestling. She truly exemplifies what you can accomplish through hard work and what can happen when you follow your passion.. And it is for all of those reasons and more that I have always said following my retirement, that I wish I had worked with Nattie.”

– The conclusion of Sunday’s WWE Hell in a Cell pay-per-view saw Sami Zayn turning heel, saving longtime rival Kevin Owens from a top-of-the-cage attack by Shane McMahon and helping Owens get the victory in their Falls Count Anywhere match.

Following the show, Owens took to social media to share the following throwback photo of himself and Zayn.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BaBM0jBHXy-/?taken-by=ko_fightowensfight

WWE Superstar Sami Zayn recently spoke with Joe.co.uk to talk about various topics. Here are the highlights:

What happened to his El Generico gimmick:

“There a lot of parallels between my style and his, I suppose, but I never actually met the man. But from what I hear I think he’s still running an orphanage, still fighting the good fight in Mexico. That’s as far as I know.”

If he’s worried about long-term sustainability with high-risk moves:

“Well, there was a time when I would have said yes. But I think even that is scaling down a little these day. Definitely, we are performing more moves now, and they are high impact moves. The game has changed since the ’80s, where you could punch and kick and headlock, and do one suplex, and that’s a 25 minute match. Those days are gone and you’ve got to adapt accordingly. But I think when I started wrestling on the independents it was definitely a time when people were pushing the envelope on how risky or dangerous some stunts could be. Whereas now I think a lot of the stunt show aspect of it has gone down. There’s a lot more technical skill executing these moves than it is falling off a giant scaffold or something like that. I think the stunt show aspect of the business has regressed, which is a good thing.”

You can read the entire interview here.

Sami Zayn was a recent guest on The Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast and spoke about WWE moving beyond stereotypical gimmicks, his successful Sami for Syria campaign, his love of ska music a more.

During the interview, Sam Roberts suggested that Zayn’s WWE character might come off to some fans as “annoying.” Zayn defended himself, saying that his supporters actually find him charming and endearing.

“I hate the word ‘annoying!’ I don’t know, ‘enthusiastic’ perhaps. Well, not to get into the whole thing, but it’s all about the interaction with these other characters, so if you’re going to roll your eyes at me, I’m annoying, but if you find it, like, charming, which it could be, and because it’s aspects of my real life personality, and there have been times, I’m sure, that I’ve annoyed people. And there have been some times, I’m sure, that I’ve charmed some people.”

He continued, “If you’re going to sell it, so to speak, as endearing, it’s endearing. But if you’re going to have guys rolling their eyes, then, ‘ugh, this guy.’ Then, it’s whatever you make it to be.”

Whether you love or hate the character, Zayn admitted that his character is in a “strange position” and state of flux. One week he’s the lovable underdog going up against Braun Strowman, the next week he’s channeling Seinfeld’s ‘George Costanza.’

“The character is in flux, I would say definitely because there [are] aspects of the character, and I don’t want to drone on and on about this too much, but there [are] aspects of the character that’s about always standing your ground, and fighting the good fight, and always trying to do things the right way, like an upstanding guy.”

“And again, aspects of that were more in display, let’s say, when I was doing a program with Braun Strowman, this insurmountable oppressor, so I was, like, standing up to an oppressor and standing up to tyranny. Right. And then, like a week later, I’m George Costanza, so the character is in this strange sort of position at the moment. Yeah, and exactly, I think there is a balance and I think the balance, the middle ground, is me, the real me, because I am both of those.”

You can listen to the full appearance here:

Sami Zayn to match donations to his Syria campaign until SummerSlam

Sami Zayn’s campaign reached it’s goal of $48,000 and that money will be donated to the Syrian American Medical Society. It will prepare a vehicle as a Mobile Medical Unit to provide assistance to those in need in Syria. Sami has now announced that he will match any additional donations up to $10,000 before next week’s SummerSlam PPV.

WE DID IT.

…now let's do some more!https://t.co/gvJde51MvN#SamiForSyria pic.twitter.com/I9U1kajxKN

— Sami Zayn (@SamiZayn) August 13, 2017

Neville offers up some motivation 

WWE Cruiserweight Champion Neville took to Twitter earlier today to offer some words of encouragement to those that have experienced failure. Neville will defend his Cruiserweight Championship against Akira Tozawa at WWE SummerSlam on August 20th.

To all those who have endured failure..

YOU WERE NEVER GOOD ENOUGH TO BEGIN WITH!

HAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA !!

— BASTARD (@BASTARDPAC) August 13, 2017

Finn Balor on teaming up with The Hardy Boyz

WWE is having a Live Event tonight in Worcester ahead of tomorrow night’s RAW in Boston, MA. Finn Balor posted on Twitter that he sat in the crowd in the DCU Center 17 years ago and watched The Hardy Boyz perform. Balor noted that he will be tag team partners with Matt and Jeff Hardy at tonight’s event.

RAW June 26th 2000
I sat in these seats to watch #WWEWorcester
The Hardy Boys wrestled that night
Tonight they are my tag team partners pic.twitter.com/ds78hlw08L

— Finn Bálor (@FinnBalor) August 13, 2017

NJPW stars The Young Bucks produce a popular YouTube series alongside Bullet Club/Elite member Kenny Omega called ‘Being The Elite.’

The Bucks took the show to Montreal over the weekend and managed to get some of their old friends from WWE on camera, including AJ Styles, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn.

Matt and Nick Jackson were both appearing in Canada for an International Wrestling Syndicate event, you can check out the latest episode of ‘Being The Elite’ below.

It’s not so often you see longtime rivals Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn working together, but that’s exactly what happened at Saturday night’s WWE live event from Montreal, Canada.

The main event saw WWE Champion Jinder Mahal defend against local hero Sami Zayn. After interference from the Singh Brothers, WWE Hall of Famer Pat Patterson got involved to break up the action. Just as Jinder and his henchmen were about to make Patterson regret his actions, Kevin Owens’ music hit and he charged to the ring. Owens cleaned house and then went face to face with Zayn. Jinder Mahal attacked, but Zayn and Owens joined forces to take out the heels.

What happened after Zayn and Owens took out Jinder Mahal and the Singh Brothers and were left alone in the ring together? Find out below, courtesy of David Bédard:

WWE Superstar Sami Zayn recently did an interview with Main Event Radio to talk about a variety of professional wrestling topics. Zayn talked about being an underdog, who he wants to seen called up from NXT, a potential rematch with Shinsuke Nakamura, main eventing the Bell Center in Montreal with Kevin Owens earlier this year, and his #SamiForSyria campaign. Here are the highlights:

Being an underdog:

“It’s a double-edged sword. You don’t want to sell yourself short. At a certain time I viewed it as if the deck was stacked against me. When I first signed with WWE almost five years ago now, the landscape was very different. I think certainly back then I would’ve viewed myself as more of an underdog, but nowadays the WWE is full of people I’ve come up with and traveled the roads with. I no longer view myself in that way to be honest. It’s still a good story though.”

Who he wants to see called up from NXT:

“I think Bobby Roode has been doing really well so I wouldn’t be surprised to see another Canadian coming up with us pretty soon.”

A potential rematch with Shinsuke Nakamura:

“I think it’s a matter of time. When you work in WWE, eventually you cross paths with everyone. Eventually me and Shinsuke [Nakamura] will cross paths again. I don’t know if it will really capture the magic of that one night. It’s really hard to capture the magic like that. The match that we had at NXT Takeover: Dallas was really special. Time will tell.”

Main eventing the Bell Center in Montreal with Kevin Owens earlier this year:

“I split my time between Orlando, Florida and Montreal. Montreal is always home and I’ve spent most of the summer there. It was very symbolic to wrestle Kevin in the main event of the Bell Center. Both of us starting in front of really small crowds in the suburban Montreal scene to then go all the way and main event the Bell Center in a street fight. When the chains are off, we could really go and have some exciting matches.

“It was a fond memory for me, one of the most special matches for me not only in WWE but in my entire career. Kevin [Owens] was about to leave the ring, and I grabbed the microphone and said, ‘We’ve been beating each other up for years and to have the main event of this show be two Montreal boys who just tore the house down, for that there is certain amount of respect there.’ Kevin being Kevin said ‘I hate you,’ and left.”

His #SamiForSyria campaign:

“Recently I’ve realized the reach that we have. I’ve launched this fundraising campaign, partnering with a humanitarian group named Syrian American Medical Society to launch a mobile clinic to help people who don’t have access to health care in Syria. I’m very grateful for the platform that WWE gives me to be able to do something positive and to make a difference in the world. Being Syrian-Canadian, to help the people over there I am very grateful for that.”

You can listen to Zayn’s interview with Main Event Radio by clicking this link.

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

Sami Zayn defeated Mike Kanellis at Battleground last night. The win ties the series between the 2 at 1 win a piece, as Kanellis defeated Zayn on Smackdown earlier this month.

WWE.com reporters caught up with Sami after his match:

Sami Zayn vs. Mike Kanellis

The feud between Kanellis and Zayn appears to be continuing. Now with each SuperStar having won and lost once, it’s almost certain a 3rd match between the two is scheduled shortly.

Zayn and Kanellis have had one singles match outside the WWE previously. That took place in 2011 on a Ring of Honor show, when El Generico defeated Mike Bennett.

Battleground was just Zayn’s 3rd ever win on a WWE main roster PPV. He’s now 3W-5L in PPV singles matches, with his other wins coming against Baron Corbin and Kevin Owens.

Winning isn't everything.

…but it does feel good.#WWEBatleground

— Sami Zayn (@SamiZayn) July 24, 2017