Sami Zayn took the Undisputed WWE Championship back from CM Punk on the September 11 SmackDown in Mexico City, and the reaction split down the middle. WWE made the right call, and the November calendar explains why.
Arena Ciudad de México hosted WWE’s first live broadcast from the city in 15 years, and the main event closed a chase that started in the summer. Zayn won the championship from Cody Rhodes on June 27 and lost it to Punk on July 6, nine days later. Everything since has been built on the claim that the title was stolen. Zayn made that case in every promo leading into the rematch.
The finish in Mexico City was a mess by design. Candice LeRae distracted the referee, Johnny Gargano missed with the belt and ate a Go To Sleep, and Kevin Owens arrived to swing the title at Zayn. Owens connected with Punk instead, then took a low blow, and the Helluva Kick ended it.
Gargano also has a promise in his pocket. Zayn agreed before the match to give him the first shot at the championship if the night went the challenger’s way.
Mike Johnson of PWInsider reported that WWE is looking to run the WWE Champion against World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns as the Crown Jewel main event. Crown Jewel runs November 7th in Riyadh, and the show is built around the two world champions meeting for the Crown Jewel title.
Punk in that spot creates a problem. Reigns beat Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship in the Night Two main event of WrestleMania 42. Running that rematch a few months later in Saudi Arabia burns a marquee match for nothing.
Zayn in that spot creates the opposite. The Last Real Good Guy is of Syrian descent, a practicing Muslim, and one of the biggest babyfaces WWE has in that market. Years of Bloodline history with Reigns sit underneath the match without a single promo needed to explain it.
Five WWE Championship changes have happened in 2026, the most in a single year since 2017. Drew McIntyre took it in January, Rhodes took it back in March, and the belt has moved three more times since June. Critics call that hot potato booking, and the criticism misses what the changes have actually produced.
Each switch has advanced a story rather than reset one. Zayn spent months insisting he was robbed. Paying that off in front of a Mexico City crowd that had waited 15 years for a show is the kind of moment a stagnant reign never generates.
SmackDown also has the challengers to support it. Gargano has a contractual claim, Owens has a grudge that just got personal, and Finn Bálor, Gunther, and Randy Orton are all circling. Orton vowed to take the championship after beating Rhodes at Sunday Night’s Main Event.
Punk does not need the belt to stay in the picture either. A former champion chasing the man who took his title is a stronger position than another defense against the same short list of names.
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Nine days was an insult the first time. Zayn is one of the best promos and one of the most reliably over acts WWE has. Handing him a reign that ended before it started did nobody any favors. Fixing that in Mexico City, in front of that crowd, with that finish, was the correct use of a live show people will remember.
The only real risk is repeating the mistake. Getting Zayn to Riyadh as champion means committing to roughly eight weeks with the belt, and WWE has not shown much patience with this title all year. Book the Crown Jewel main event, protect the champion until then, and let the best story on SmackDown finish properly.
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