Coming off the heels of WWE Night of Champions 2026, Sami Zayn is now finally the Undisputed WWE Champion.
With the WWE SummerSlam 2026 premium live event ahead, Zayn will be looking to headline against a high profile opponent for this major show.
From former friends to longtime rivals, there are a ton of compelling options for Zayn to battle come SummerSlam from Minneapolis.
Here are eight potential Sami Zayn WWE SummerSlam 2026 opponents.
8. Cody Rhodes
At WWE Night of Champions 2026, Sami Zayn defeated Cody Rhodes and GUNTHER to win the Undisputed WWE Championship.
Over the past few months, the relationship between Zayn and Rhodes has deteriorated and become estranged in a massive way.
Based on jealousy towards Cody’s continued success, Sami has expressed his frustrations towards the treatment his friend has received in WWE.
Now that Zayn is the Undisputed WWE Champion, it could be time for his challenger to be Cody Rhodes, who could be a tough test for the new titleholder.
7. GUNTHER
On the June 19 edition of Friday Night SmackDown, Cody Rhodes defeated GUNTHER to retain the Undisputed WWE Championship thanks to special guest referee Sami Zayn.
With Sami Zayn costing him his opportunity twice now, GUNTHER now has to deal with Zayn as a champion coming off the heels of their triple threat with Cody Rhodes at WWE Night of Champions 2026.
‘The Ring General’ is someone who knows Zayn quite well from their previous battles over the Intercontinental and World Heavyweight Championships.
With Zayn now holding the Undisputed WWE Championship, it should make for a formidable challenge against GUNTHER at the SummerSlam 2026 premium live event.
6. Jey Uso
Over the past month, Jey Uso has been on a mission to bring the other world title back to The Bloodline.
After receiving his marching orders, Uso made his way through the King of the Ring tournament where he went on to the final at WWE Night of Champions 2026.
However, Oba Femi overcame The Bloodline member and former World Heavyweight Champion in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Considering there is a new champion that he has plenty of history with from The Bloodline, Jey feels like an interesting opponent for Zayn at WWE SummerSlam 2026.
5. Trick Williams
At the WWE WrestleMania 42 night two premium live event, Trick Williams defeated Sami Zayn to win the United States Championship.
Then following Mania, Williams and Zayn continued their rivalry that saw The Gingerbread Man become a central figure on WWE TV.
This led to Trick scoring another victory over Zayn for the US Title at WWE Backlash 2026.
With two wins over the new Undisputed WWE Champion, Trick Williams feels like a strong candidate to be his challenger for the title at WWE SummerSlam 2026 on August 1 and 2.
4. Drew McIntyre
Drew McIntyre has not been seen on WWE television since losing to Jacob Fatu in an unsanctioned match at WrestleMania 42 night one.
During his absence, reports have circulated that McIntyre has been away to be part of the Highlander reboot film that has now completed filming.
Now that he will be making a return, it might be time for another battle between McIntyre and Zayn over the top prize on Friday Night SmackDown,
After his win over the new champion back at WWE Royal Rumble 2026, McIntyre feels like a logical option to return to face Zayn for the title once again at SummerSlam in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
3. Randy Orton
Another WWE star that fans have not seen on the company’s programming in the past few months is Randy Orton.
At WWE WrestleMania 42 night one, Orton lost to Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship.
Following this loss, Orton attacked Rhodes with a title belt shot and a Punt Kick to the skull.
Considering that he closed Mania with the Undisputed WWE Championship in hand, Orton returning to challenge Sami Zayn for the gold at SummerSlam 2026 would feel like an intriguing battle for the main event this summer.
2. Oba Femi
At WWE Night of Champions 2026, Oba Femi defeated Jey Uso to win the King of the Ring final and earn a shot at the world title of his choosing at SummerSlam 2026.
‘The Ruler’ was then confronted and laid out by a returning Brock Lesnar on the June 29 edition of Monday Night Raw. This led to Femi forgoing his title shot to face Lesnar in a Hell In A Cell Match at ‘The Biggest Party of the Summer.’
While he has seemingly put his title opportunity on hold, Femi could still choose to work double duty during SummerSlam 2026 weekend.
Femi facing Lesnar on night one and then challenging Sami Zayn for the Undisputed WWE Championship on night two would center the focus of SummerSlam 2026 completely on him in a major way.
1. CM Punk
On the April 20 WWE Raw after WrestleMania 42, CM Punk stated that he would always stay ready, so that he will not have to get ready.
This led to a confrontation with Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes who teased a future title match between the two.
Reports have circulated that Punk is on his way back to WWE and could make the move to Friday Night SmackDown.
Zayn defending the Undisputed WWE Championship against Punk would make for an exciting headliner for the WWE SummerSlam 2026 premium live event.
To make sure you stay up to date with all the biggest wrestling and WrestleTalk news, follow us on Threads by clicking this link!
Comments.
Loading comments…