Sports

Montreal Screw Job Revisited: Zayn And Reigns Delivered

In a hotly contested main event, we could call it the Montreal Screw Job revisited, but no matter what you call it…Sami Zayn and Roman Reigns delivered.

And, in terms of what they delivered? It was an absolute classic.

Will it go down as match of the year? Maybe not.

It may not have been the most spot-filled display of athleticism. But it didn’t need to be (we had two Elimination Chamber matches for that).

What it did do was pure storytelling bliss.

So, let’s talk about…

Montreal Screw Job Revisited: Zayn And Reigns Delivered

source: @wwe, twitter, screenshot

Now, to be completely fair, WWE could have gone super heavy-handed with the Montreal screw job, but it was mostly just alluded to.

But, the title was catchy, so here we are.

On paper, especially given the last 3 years of Reigns’ career, Sami Zayn didn’t belong in the ring with Roman.

But he was in the ring. Main event of Elimination Chamber.

In his home city.

And Sami Zayn (and Roman Reigns) delivered an emotionally powerful match.

Some emotion maybe I could have done without. Seeing the crying children next to Sami’s wife made me think back to Dewey and Noelle Foley, as The Rock pummeled Mick.

Not quite as savage this time, but there are some things that maybe we don’t need?

But that’s about my only issue.

While not physically matched up with Reigns, Sami Zayn hung with the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.

He gave him everything he could take.

It took a couple refs going down, and some outside interference from Jimmy Uso to tilt things definitively in Roman’s favor.

So, let’s talk about some moments where it was nearly Montreal Screw Job revisited…and then some redemption.

The refs…

You knew this was going to happen right before it did, right?

Especially the first time, once the official positioned himself awkwardly behind both Superstars. You knew he was going down.

Then we had the near-hit, with Reigns barely avoiding landing a superman punch on the backup official.

But, eventually there was contact, and pure chaos.

The Bloodline…sort of…

Only Jimmy Uso actually acted out in support of Roman Reigns.

source: @wwe, twitter, screenshot

We did not see Solo Sikoa at all (somewhat surprisingly, I think?).

The biggest one? We saw Jey Uso.

And Jey Uso did not want any part of bashing Sami Zayn with a chair.

There was a ton of buzz in the last week that it would be Jey that would tilt the match in Roman’s favor.

He was not.

Of course, Jey ate a spear from Sami, which Sami had intended for Roman.

So, for the time being, Jey is still…on the fence. Maybe the spear, accidental as it was, tips him back to the family?

Then again, maybe it doesn’t.

source: @wwe, twitter, screenshot

If I had to guess, there was not quite enough done tonight to establish an Usos-Zayn/Owens tag title match at WrestleMania.

I mean, heck, we didn’t even get the old friends and rivals hugging…yet. Kevin made a save, cleared up the ring and walked out.

Did they look like they’d hug? Maybe…but not yet.

The ground work was laid, to be sure, but there’s work to be done there.

But, when it was all said and done, even one of the Bloodline was enough to help Reigns maintain his grasp on the titles.

That crowd!

I mean, do I really have to say more?

That Montreal crowd was electric all night, but once Sami Zayn came out, and for the entire match, they took it to 11.

How the roof of the Bell Center stayed on…it was a miracle. (OK, not a miracle, but that place was loud and those mics picked up every curse and swear).

But when you have a classic story being told…and the crowd is eating it up and living and dying by their every move?

Totally awesome.

To me, something that really lets me know just how amazing the main event was?

We had two exceptional Elimination Chamber matches, with a slew of crazy and inventive spots.

Either of those could have been match of the show, and it would be hard to argue against them.

And yet, the main event made us all forget them, even if just briefly.

It might seem crazy to say a main event stole the show…but it kind of felt like that. This was the Elimination Chamber PLE, and 2 of those matches were crazy good.

And yet, the main event, which had nothing to do with the Chamber itself? That main event stole the show.

source: @wwe, twitter, screenshot

So, we could have had an absolute Montreal screw job revisited, but we didn’t.

Having Zayn lose the match and miss the belts was a screw job enough, but there was almost no chance of Reigns dropping the belts before Hollywood.

While a Zayn title win would have been, and still could be, epic…there’s not much I would change about this match.

John Deegan

Introduced to professional wrestling in the 1980's thanks to Superstars and Saturday Night's Main Event, John's passion for the medium was reborn thanks to ECW in the 90's. A former in-ring "talent" with a career 0-2 record, he finds it more rewarding, and far less painful, to write about wrestling now.

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