Sami Zayn came within a fraction of a second of ending Roman Reigns’ dominant run.
However, when the final bell rang at WWE Elimination Chamber 2023 at the Bell Center in Montreal, Canada on Saturday night, the “tribal chief” was acknowledged as the king. Reigns will now take on 2023 Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania in April.
After several close calls that could have gone either way, things took a dramatic turn when Reigns backed his way into Zayn, crushing the referee in the corner. Zayn blasted Reigns with a Helluva Kick and would have gotten the pinfall victory if an official had been present. That absence gave an opening for Jimmy Uso to interfere with a superkick on Zayn and the Uso Splash. Despite the onslaught, Zayn somehow managed to kick out, much to the delight of his Montreal hometown crowd.
Moments later, after a second referee was knocked down, Jey Uso emerged and stood between Reigns, who had a steel chair in his hand, and Zayn. To test Jay’s loyalty to The Bloodline, Reigns handed him the chair. But when Jay hesitates, Rance punches him in the face in disgust. This moment left an opening for Jayne to recover enough to attempt a spear on Reigns, however, Winners quickly moved out of the way and the move fell Jaye. Reigns punished Zayn with several chair shots and crushed him with a spear to retain his crown.
Kevin Owens would save Zayn from post-match punishment, ruining both Reigns and Jimmy Uso in the process. KO then dropped an Abominable Reigns to end Zayn with a Helluva Kick in the corner of the ring.
Here’s how the full WWE Elimination Chamber 2023: Reigns vs Zayn panned out.