As we all know, Sami Zayn served as the special guest referee for the Undisputed WWE Championship match between Cody Rhodes and GUNTHER on Friday’s episode of SmackDown. During the match, Zayn had several confrontations with GUNTHER.
The finish of the match saw Zayn kick GUNTHER’s hands off the ropes and deliver a quick count, allowing Rhodes to win and retain the title. After GUNTHER and Rhodes requested a restart, Nick Aldis reinstated it. During this restart, Zayn delivered a Helluva Kick to GUNTHER, resulting in a disqualification, and subsequently struck both the referee and Rhodes.
Following these events, Zayn took to his Twitter (X) account to apologize for his performance as referee in the Undisputed WWE Championship match on last week’s SmackDown.
Zayn wrote, “I’d like to apologize. I did my best to call the WWE Championship match between my friend, Goldenboy Cody Rhodes & Gunther fairly. What transpired in the end was not reflective of who I am. I know my Ride or Die fans will have my back regardless, but I promise to do better.”
A Triple Threat Match involving Cody Rhodes, GUNTHER, and Sami Zayn has been scheduled for the Undisputed WWE Championship at Night of Champions. WWE Night of Champions 2026 will take place on Saturday, June 27th, at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The event will be broadcast live on ESPN Unlimited in the United States and on Netflix internationally. Additionally, the first hour of the event will be simulcast on ESPN.
