Tag: Sami Zayn

WOL: Distraction after distraction after distraction

Posted on by Jim Valley

It’s the Saturday Wrestling Observer Live with Jim Valley.

Five out of six matches on WWE SmackDown had distraction finishes. Do all of these people need to stay strong for the future? In three hours, only one person can lose clean? We discuss.

Plus, you don’t need to make excuses and fantasy book a real life battery charge, especially when there are details listed in the police affidavit. Let it play out. No need to cape for strangers you see on TV.

Plus, the Hana Kimura Memorial Show, Marigold, AEW Double or Nothing and more.

Check it out.

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Sami Zayn defends Gingerbread Man storyline and what he thought ‘was a good piece of business’

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

After recent reports of a creative pushback on the Gingerbread Man storyline emerged, Sami Zayn has now publicly defended the angle.

Recently speaking on Huge POP! Zayn opened up on the ongoing Gingerbread Man storyline on WWE SmackDown, involving Trick Williams, Lil Yachty, and Zayn himself. Despite the online criticism and reports of internal creative pushback, Zayn believes it “was a good piece of business.”

“I don’t know. I think context is kind of key for all of these things, right? A couple of weeks ago — I think these were maybe back-to-back weeks. I get the timeline messed up sometimes in my head, but the one week when Trick (Williams) and Lil Yachty had came out with the Gingerbread Man, and then I ended up being under the outfit and attacked them with the cane and all that. I thought that was great, and then the following week, I just had the Gingerbread Man mannequin in the ring… and beat up the Gingerbread mannequin. So, in both cases, a Gingerbread Man is kind of — I don’t wanna say the focal part of it but, kind of, right?” Zayn said.

“There’s this serious WrestleMania program for the United States Championship that involves a Gingerbread Man. On paper, sounds kind of silly. But the week we did it, where it was me under the suit, and I’m dancing, and then I clock those guys, I thought that was great,” Zayn added.

However, despite defending the storyline, he also addressed the parts where he felt it lacked life. “Then the following week, with the mannequin, it felt a little bit more lifeless to me. Not as great, maybe a little silly. I don’t know. It’s kind of week-to-week and it’s all in execution so I don’t think the concept of involving a Gingerbread Man on its own is ridiculous because this is pro wrestling and we do all kinds of fun things that maybe, you know, if you were on the internet and you were scrolling Twitter or whatever, and you saw a clip of guys in a ring with a Gingerbread Man, you’d be like what? But, in the world of wrestling, there’s context, and it kind of makes sense, and sometimes, these things get really over, actually.”

Sami Zayn further defends and explains WWE’s Gingerbread Man storyline

In the same interview, the former United States Champion opened up in detail and explained why the Gingerbread Man storyline is not silly.

“So, I don’t think the concept of the Gingerbread Man by itself is ridiculous or silly. It’s all in execution and on a week-to-week basis. But I thought that week where the Gingerbread Man showed up with the bus and he was dapping up Trick, and then he had his own locker room, and then I’m dancing and having all this fun, then I’m just part of the celebration because the Gingerbread Man is there to troll me essentially and make fun of me, and I whack them with a cane and I break the cane on Yachty’s back, and that cane was legitimately made of I don’t know what — oak or something. It was so hard. I don’t know how it broke. I felt that was all a good piece of business, and it was all fun so I don’t take a look at things like a Gingerbread Man, and dismiss them.” (H/T Fightful)

Zayn believes a storyline depends on how the wrestlers execute and commit to it. He believes that when someone is invested and committed to a storyline, they can turn it good.

Sami Zayn feels there’s a ‘middle ground’ for who benefits from wrestling on WWE house shows

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

WWE house shows are back, and Sami Zayn has opened up on the benefits of wrestling on them.

With WWE house shows reportedly coming back after a hiatus, former United States Champion Sami Zayn was recently asked to share his thoughts on it.

Looking at a middle ground, Zayn believes wrestling on house shows is crucial for the younger talent, although he believes there should be a “fine line” for the volume of the live events. (H/T Fightful)

“Well, even this, like anything else, there’s polarizing views on all of it, right? So, however, I can say no matter what you think, or I think, or whatever, it’s pretty clear that the best way to get good at anything is to do it over and over again. So I think when you’re starting to look at stars of the future, you’re looking at Trick [Williams], you’re looking at Je’Von [Evans], Bron Breakker, Oba Femi, and guys like this. A lot of these guys just simply don’t have a lot of reps under their belt and they’re doing phenomenal, all things considered. So I just think that there’s no disputing the idea that if they get a few more reps, especially live events where, really, that’s like the true performance,” Zayn said while speaking on Huge POP!

“That’s really what this business is. It’s you in a ring, a live house, not worried about the constraints of television time and hitting break spots and commercials, and you know, it’s really just the art form at its kind of most naked and truthful form. So, I think it’s invaluable experience for those guys. I think it’s a good thing to see some returning for sure. I’m not gonna get into the business side of it, as far as, you know, is it worth it from a profitability standpoint? I don’t know,” Zayn added.

He further opened up and explained why performing at live events is a ‘little harder’ for the veterans. Although he still sees the merit in them.

“I enjoy them, but I’ll also say that there’s two separate generations going at the same time here. You have guys like Roman [Reigns] or Seth [Rollins] or myself or [CM] Punk or Drew McIntyre or Kevin Owens or Finn Bálor, all these guys that are mainstays who are on the later side of our careers and have already put in 20 years. So, doing a bunch of live events is a little harder on our bodies.

“So, I kind of see the merit in, well, these are a lot of your top stars, and you wanna not run them into the into the road while you have ‘em. But I also see the merit in, well, these guys, the JeVons and the Bron Breakkers and the Obas, they need to get there too, so I do think there’s definitely this fine line of the volume of live events,” Zayn said.

“Because I don’t know if you wanna keep a lot of the guys that are current television stars or in their later years, you wanna keep them healthy for the next three, four, five years. The way it was before, with like 160 live events, might be a little much… Understanding the different town-to-town responses and just getting a feel for the audience, I think that’s crucial for these guys, so I do think having some of these live events around is a great thing. But the volume, I think, there’s like a middle ground.”

WWE’s next house show is scheduled on July 11, 2026, at the Pan American Center in New Mexico, the tickets for which are expected to be much more affordable.

Lil Yachty & Trick Williams fool Sami Zayn during WWE SmackDown Gingerbread Man funeral

Posted on by Bryan Rose

The Gingerbread Man has risen from the dead.

Throughout Friday’s SmackDown in Jacksonville, various wrestlers paid tribute to the Gingerbread Man, which drew the ire of Sami Zayn throughout the night. In the final segment of the show, Williams was paying tribute to the fallen cookie with a moment of silence when Zayn interrupted the proceedings. He went on to complain about the costs of the funeral and panned the performance of the choir that had sung just minutes prior. Zayn promised to win back the United States title from Williams at Backlash on Saturday then started to make his exit, but it instead turned into a cheap shot and an attack, leaving Williams reeling in the corner.

Zayn posed with the United States title when suddenly, the Gingerbread Man rose from his casket and took off his head, revealing himself to be Lil Yachty who was taken out a few weeks ago by Zayn. He grabbed a candy cane kendo stick and struck Zayn multiple times, giving Williams the opportunity to recover and lay out Zayn with the trick knee. The final moments of SmackDown had Williams and Yachty standing tall.

The sudden rise and fall of the Gingerbread Man

Although it had been initially introduced as a joke aimed at Sami Zayn, the Gingerbread Man storyline took a dramatic turn on last week’s show after Zayn destroyed the costume. Williams ran out for the save, then grew concerned and threw up the X sign, treating the situation seriously. Joe Tessitore made the grim announcement later in the show that the cookie had passed on.

It was reported on Thursday that the heavy use of the Gingerbread Man character last week got “notable pushback” from some within WWE’s creative, with a source telling Wrestlevotes Radio they felt the angle was “hokey and archaic.”

Sami Zayn addresses WWE in-ring future

Posted on by Joseph Currier

He isn’t putting a timeline on things, but Sami Zayn knows his in-ring career is closer to the end than the beginning.

The 41-year-old Zayn spoke with Witty Whittier this week and opened up about how grateful he is to be in the spot he’s in. He’s accomplished his childhood dream by making it as a professional wrestler. And though Zayn will always be driven by goals like becoming World Champion, he is making sure to appreciate however many years he has left in the ring.

“I remember several years ago being on a European tour thinking like, ‘I don’t know how many more of these there really are.’ When you’re in it, you think it’s just going to keep going forever,” Zayn said. “It’s kind of like when you’re in high school, you just feel like those years are going to last forever. But then when you’re an adult and you’ve been out of high school 10-15 years, like, ‘Man, high school was nothing.’ It’s a blip in your life.

“So I’ve been lucky that WWE and my time in this business has been more than a blip. But I realize that this time will probably be coming to an end within the next — I don’t want to put a number of years on it, but definitely closer to the end than the beginning. So I’m just very, very grateful to be a part of it still. It’s just not lost on me. It’s not lost on me. This is great.”

Zayn held the United States Championship before dropping the title to Trick Williams at WrestleMania 42. He told Witty Whittier that there was a little bit of a “strange” vibe around WrestleMania this year. His character was in a weird place with fans starting to give him negative reactions. And other elements like Pat McAfee being added to the Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton build contributed to the vibe of the event as well.

“My character at the time of WrestleMania was a bit more undefined than it’s been in many, many years,” Zayn said. “Usually, I walk into Mania and I know exactly where I’m at and what I’m doing. This year, it’s like this character shift and this sea change has been going on at the same time with Trick kind of rising and me getting these — I would say polarizing reactions, but it’s kind of started to swing all the way in the other direction now to where I’m unliked and I’m kind of, as a character, saying like, ‘What did I even do here? Why is this happening?’ and all of that kind of stuff. Week-to-week, audience-to-audience is all different, so it felt a little less sure-footed, you know what I mean?

“And then the vibe around WrestleMania was a little strange this year, like with the Pat McAfee thing being added at the last minute. I don’t know. There was just so many things that felt a little strange about this year’s WrestleMania.”

Zayn said WrestleMania in general can feel overwhelming sometimes, but it’s a privilege to be busy and have a packed schedule.

A U.S. title rematch between Williams and Zayn is taking place this Saturday at WWE Backlash. Before that, tonight’s SmackDown will include a segment with Williams holding a funeral for the Gingerbread Man mascot that Zayn beat down last week.

Gingerbread Man angle on WWE SmackDown reportedly got internal pushback

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

Reports of internal pushback on the Sami Zayn Gingerbread Man creative on WWE SmackDown have emerged.

Before WWE WrestleMania 42, the veteran Sami Zayn got involved in a feud against Trick Williams. At WrestleMania 42, Williams defeated Zayn to crown himself the new WWE United States Champion. At the same time, fans also saw the introduction of the Gingerbread Man on SmackDown with Williams and Lil Yachty.

The conclusion of that story saw Zayn seemingly turn heel and kill the Gingerbread Man on WWE SmackDown. And now a report from Wrestlevotes Radio on Fightful Select has emerged, citing that many in WWE were against the storyline.

The report noted that there were several creative members pushing against the heavy use of the Gingerbread Man gimmick on SmackDown. A Wrestlevotes Radio’s source close to the creative team called the angle “hokey and archaic.”

In addition to this, there was also a “notable pushback” from the WWE’s creative members while the storyline direction was discussed.

Sami Zayn explains his heel/babyface character dynamic in WWE

Days after killing off the Gingerbread man gimmick on SmackDown, Sami Zayn recently appeared for an interview with The Toronto Sun, where he opened up about his current character direction.

“I’ll disagree with your statement that I’ve fully turned heel here. I don’t think I have. I think I’m trying to play this one a little different because this one is kind of different. We’re kind of riding these reactions which are kind of different week to week.

“I had this idea for a slight character shift that would be a little outside the box, that would split the audience a little bit, but sometimes things just don’t work out exactly how you envision it. Sometimes you think you’re going to be somewhere on the timeline and you’re not,” he said.

Sami Zayn explains recent babyface/heel dynamic: ‘This one is kind of different’

Posted on by Ian Carey

Sami Zayn discussed his character’s recent heel/babyface dynamic in a new interview.

During an interview with The Toronto Sun, Zayn said that he doesn’t feel his character has fully turned heel. He said things are “organically unfolding” and there are still multiple places the story could go.

Zayn said:

“I’ll disagree with your statement that I’ve fully turned heel here. I don’t think I have. I think I’m trying to play this one a little different because this one is kind of different. We’re kind of riding these reactions which are kind of different week to week.

I had this idea for a slight character shift that would be a little outside the box, that would split the audience a little bit, but sometimes things just don’t work out exactly how you envision it. Sometimes you think you’re going to be somewhere on the timeline and you’re not.”

He said there are still multiple directions his character could take, but admitted his recent actions towards the Gingerbread Man on SmackDown were always going to get a negative reaction.

“I still think there’s a ways to go and it could still go in a number of different ways, which I find very interesting and refreshing. Although to be fair, if you kick a mannequin gingerbread man below the belt, I know that might upset some people because people want to have fun.”

Elsewhere during the interview, Zayn mentioned that he wouldn’t call Trick Williams a full-blown good guy, despite the positive reactions he gets from crowds.

“I don’t think Trick Williams is a full-blown (babyface), even though he’s getting really great reactions, I don’t know if I would call him a full-blown good guy or babyface or whatever. But certainly he’s getting these huge cheers and what’s gotten him cheered is maybe not the same thing that’s gotten me cheered in the past.”

Zayn also discussed his recent comments on SmackDown about his “ride or die” fans.

“I think this kind of polarizing thing and talking about my fans, like the ride or die fans that haven’t turned their back on me or whatever, that kind of stuff, I just think there’s something fun there. And I like giving fans a choice. You can be on either side of the fence a little bit, but again, we’ll kind of see because everything is organically unfolding. We’ll see where things land.

But I don’t think I’ve fully committed or fully embraced the dark side as you would maybe put it.”

Zayn’s full interview with The Toronto Sun is available below:

Two new matches announced for WWE Backlash

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Two new matches are set for next weekend in Tampa.

On SmackDown, Sami Zayn brought the Gingerbread Man outfit to the ring and eventually became irate over being disrespected. He took out his frustrations on the Gingerbread Man outfit, ripping it apart. Trick Williams came to the ring for the “save” but somehow determined the Gingerbread Man was “injured” as if he were an actual physical being. Later backstage, Trick Williams appeared at WWE’s medical area and said Zayn had crossed a line, setting up their match for next Saturday.

Later, the announcers confirmed that the Gingerbread Man had “died” and a funeral would be held next week on SmackDown. 

Also on Friday, The Miz and Kit Wilson were once again fooled by Danhausen, falling for a trap they had set up for him and covering themselves in powder as a result. As Danhausen was throwing out merchandise, the two arrived and started to argue with one another, with The Miz saying he wanted to become Danhausen’s mentor. But it was all a trap as Miz laid out Danhausen with the skull crushing finale, leaving him laying.

Backstage, Nick Aldis told Danhausen he could face the two at Backlash, but would need a tag team partner.

WWE Backlash (May 9)

  • World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns defends against Jacob Fatu
  • United States Champion Trick Williams defends against Sami Zayn
  • IYO SKY vs. Asuka
  • Seth Rollins vs. Bron Breakker
  • The Miz & Kit Wilson vs. Danhausen and a tag team partner TBD

WWE SmackDown notes: Sami Zayn & Lil Yachty, Jordynne Grace, Danhausen

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Notes from Friday’s WWE SmackDown.

Prior to the show Jordynne Grace made her in-ring return, squaring off against Zelina Vega in a match that will air on Main Event. Grace had been gone for the last month after suffering an ankle injury during a match against Alba Fyre that was also taped for the same show.

Later on SmackDown, Sami Zayn came out for a promo and declared that he didn’t care what fans thought about him because he only cared about those who had his back since day one. Trick Williams and Lil Yachty then arrived, with Williams promising he was going to whoop Zayn at WrestleMania. 

During Williams’ match against Matt Cardona, the former NXT Champion dared Zayn to take him on. Zayn got on the apron but it was a trap, as Yachty tripped Zayn back to the floor. Zayn responded by laying out Yachty with the helluva kick on the outside. Williams was rolled up by Cardona due to the distraction but Williams quickly took out Cardona anyway with the trick shot for the win.

Danhausen wrestled his first match on Friday against Kit Wilson, who had the better of the mysterious new WWE star towards the end. However, Danhausen proceeded to curse Wilson again, leading to pyro bursting out of the turnbuckle and sending Wilson crashing to the ground. Danhausen then scored his first-ever WWE win with a running kick. After the match, the Miz popped up and looked to take out Danhausen, who proceeded to vanish before Miz could get to him.

WWE SmackDown notes: Lil Yachty, Carmelo Hayes, Nikki Bella

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Notes from Friday’s WWE SmackDown.

Trick Williams brought out rapper Lil Yachty on Friday’s show in St. Louis and asked him if he would come to WrestleMania ahead of Williams’ match against Sami Zayn for the United States title. Yachty agreed, adding another celebrity to the mix for the upcoming two night event in Las Vegas.

This brought out Sami Zayn, who exchanged words with Williams. Carmelo Hayes then came out wanting a rematch, pointing out that if it wasn’t for Williams’ involvment last week, Zayn might not be champion. Zayn seemed hesitant to give Hayes the match, but ultimately agreed. Some more teasing by Williams led to Zayn giving him a clothesline out of the ring.

Zayn ended up retaining his title in the main event of SmackDown, though in a controversial way. Hayes tweaked his knee after landing off the turnbuckle and was being checked on by the referee in the corner. Zayn decided to use this to his advantage, hitting the helluva kick and pinning Hayes to score the win. After the match Yachty cut a promo, distracting Zayn long enough for Williams to connect with the Trick shot to end the show.

Earlier in the night, it was brought up that Nikki Bella had rolled her knee during last week’s match against Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss. It was noted on commentary that Bella was undergoing rehab and still intends on competing at WrestleMania 42, where she will team with sister Brie against Flair & Bliss, The Irresistible Forces, and Bayley & Lyra Valkyria in a match for the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles.

Updated WWE SmackDown preview for April 3

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Update —

WWE has announced that Rhea Ripley vs. Michin will take place on SmackDown tonight, with Ripley looking to get revenge after recent attacks by Jade Cargill, Michin, and B-Fab. Ripley is challenging Cargill for the WWE Women’s Championship at WrestleMania.

Plus, Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss will take on Bayley & Lyra Valkyria.

**********

New United States Champion Sami Zayn will be on SmackDown tonight one week after his title win.

WWE has announced that we’ll hear from Zayn on tonight’s show. He regained the United States Championship from Carmelo Hayes last Friday and is now headed toward a title defense against Trick Williams at WrestleMania 42.

Over the past week, there’s been some backlash on social media with fans unhappy over Hayes dropping the U.S. title and not being factored into WWE’s WrestleMania plans. We’ll see how WWE handles that tonight, and we’ll find out if Zayn plans to continue the United States title open challenge series that he instituted during his August-October 2025 title reign. Ilja Dragunov and Hayes continued that tradition during their respective U.S. title runs.

Williams appeared on the Mornings with Mero radio show this week and said he believes Hayes “deserves” a WrestleMania moment and hopes that Hayes ends up getting one.

Counting tonight, there are only three SmackDown episodes left before WrestleMania. The Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri is hosting tonight’s show.

WWE SmackDown (Friday, April 3) —

  • Cody Rhodes looks to spoil Randy Orton’s homecoming
  • Rhea Ripley vs. Michin
  • Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley & Lyra Valkyria
  • We’ll hear from Drew McIntyre and Jacob Fatu
  • We’ll hear from new United States Champion Sami Zayn

Trick Williams thinks Carmelo Hayes ‘deserves’ WWE WrestleMania moment

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Trick Williams hopes Carmelo Hayes still gets to have a WrestleMania moment despite dropping the United States title.

On WWE SmackDown last Friday, Sami Zayn defeated Hayes to win the U.S. Championship just a few weeks shy of WrestleMania. The title change resulted in some social media backlash from fans upset over Hayes losing the belt and not having a spot at Mania. It was announced that Zayn will defend against Williams at the April 18-19 event, with Hayes not currently being factored into those plans.

Williams addressed that backlash while appearing on Mornings With Mero on Hot 97 in New York City today. He thinks Hayes “deserves” a WrestleMania moment and still thinks it’s possible that Hayes will get it.

“Me and Melo, we go way back, of course. And I would love to see him get his moment, and he deserves that. And you never know, he probably still will,” Williams said. “You know what I mean, he carried that US title great. So he deserves his moment and I’m sure he’s going to get his moment.”

During their time in NXT, Williams and Hayes were both rivals and partners. They’re now among a new wave of stars breaking onto the main roster. Williams spoke with Mornings With Mero about the young Black talent that exists in WWE right now, which also includes the recently called up Oba Femi and Je’Von Evans.

“First of all, what a time, man,” Williams said. “Some of these things you can’t control. It is the right time. I got to say, shout out to the guys who came before us who laid down the foundation that made us be able to shine in this light that we’re doing — the Booker Ts, The Rock, the Bobby Lashleys, etc.

“Also, I got to say, shout out to Triple H, Nick Khan for giving us the platform. Every single week, I lie to you not, he says, ‘Go out there and do your thing.’ He says, ‘Nobody can be Trick Williams. We can’t write for you, you go out there and you be Trick Williams.'”

Two matches added to WWE WrestleMania 42

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Two new matches are set for WrestleMania 42.

New United States Champion Sami Zayn will defend his title against Trick Williams after the two have traded barbs for the last several weeks. And after the two brawled for the vast majority of last week’s SmackDown, an unsanctioned match is now set between Jacob Fatu and Drew McIntyre.

Zayn was upset by the news on Friday that Nick Aldis had no plans for him at WrestleMania, right after the SmackDown GM told Trick Williams that there were, in fact, plans for him. A dejected Zayn walked away, but turned right back when Williams started to taunt him and smacked him, telling Aldis he would find a way. He ended up taking Carmelo Hayes’ open challenge for the United States title and won the match after Williams interfered, knocking out Hayes while Zayn ducked, allowing Zayn to win the helluva kick.

After the match Aldis’ tune changed, telling Zayn he would defend the title against Williams at WrestleMania.

Both Fatu and McIntyre arrived to Friday’s show banged up after the two spent most of last week’s show fighting, with the closing moments of the show seeing them fall off a platform. Fatu called out McIntyre, saying he was banged up but he was going to dogwalk McIntyre regardless. The former WWE Champion came out to declare himself the victim before going personal by bringing up Fatu’s children. Aldis arrived and made the unsanctioned match for WrestleMania, saying WWE would take no responsibility for what would happen.

WWE WrestleMania 42 card — 

  • World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk defends against Roman Reigns
  • Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes defends against Randy Orton 
  • WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill defends against Rhea Ripley 
  • Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer defends against Liv Morgan 
  • Women’s Intercontinental title: AJ Lee defends against Becky Lynch
  • WWE United States title: Sami Zayn defends against Trick Williams
  • Unsanctioned: Drew McIntyre vs. Jacob Fatu
  • Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi

Sami Zayn wins United States title on WWE SmackDown

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Sami Zayn has WrestleMania plans after all.

Zayn picked up the win over Carmelo Hayes on Friday to win the United States title for a second time. During the match, Trick Williams came out to watch, upset after Zayn attacked him earlier in the night. The new SmackDown star grabbed the United States title and gave it to Zayn, distracting the referee in the process. That allowed Williams to knock out Hayes, allowing an unassuming Zayn to take advantage with the helluva kick for the win.

The match came about when Zayn walked in on Nick Aldis telling Williams that he had a spot on the WrestleMania card. Zayn asked Aldis about his status and was stunned to find out that Aldis didn’t have a spot for him. Dejected, Zayn started to walk away but overheard Williams taunting him about going to catering. Zayn punched out Williams and told Aldis he was goign to find a way to get to WrestleMania, answering Hayes’ open challenge for the United States title.

Following his victory, Zayn spoke to Aldis again, asking him if there were plans for him at WrestleMania now. Aldis replied that there were, and announced a title match between Zayn and Williams for WrestleMania 42 next month.

Kevin Owens to appear at WWE World

Posted on by Rosanne Raphael

Though he’s sidelined due to injury, Kevin Owens will be in town for WWE WrestleMania 42 weekend.

It was announced today that Owens will make a public WWE appearance next month at WWE World. He’ll be doing a meet and greet at the fan event, which takes place annually and helps set the tone for WrestleMania.

Owens, his friend/rival Sami Zayn, and the recently retired AJ Styles have all been added to the convention. It’s being held at the Las Vegas Convention Center from April 16-20.

Owens’ last WWE match was at Elimination Chamber 2025. His rivalry with Randy Orton was building toward WrestleMania 41, but Owens had to be pulled from the show due to needing neck surgery. 

Along with this appearance, Owens has been confirmed as a coach for the new season of WWE LFG (Legends and Future Greats) that premieres on A&E on April 26. Reports suggest that Owens is not expected to make an in-ring return anytime soon, though WWE is hopeful that it will happen before the end of the year. Owens did share a brief clip of himself at the Performance Center doing some cardio work back in November 2025.

Styles, who retired at the Royal Rumble, is slated for a Hall of Fame induction during Mania weekend after a nearly three-decade long career. He recently revealed his new backstage role in WWE where he’ll be mentoring and assisting talent.