Kevin Owens re-signed with WWE. It is now being reported that Owens' good friend and former rival Sami Zayn has also chosen to stay with the company.
Sami Zayn's WWE contract was set to end this month as per reports. It was reported that he had not re-signed with WWE at the time Owens signed a contract. However, the former Universal Champion staying with WWE could have played a big part in Sami Zayn also choosing to stay.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has stated that locker room talk indicates that Sami Zayn has re-signed with WWE even though there has been no official confirmation as of yet:
''In conjunction with being featured more heavily on television, Kevin Owens (Kevin Steen, 37), signed a multi-year deal with WWE. There has also been locker room talk that Sami Zayn (Rami Sebei, also 37) did as well, but WWE sources have not confirmed Zayn having signed to us yet,'' said Meltzer.
The report also said that much like Owens' contract, Sami Zayn will also not have a no-cut clause in his contract.
Reason why WWE is pushing Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens
It was suggested that Sami Zayn's increased time on SmackDown was essentially to motivate Zayn to stay with WWE.
The Great Liberator has become one of the focal figures on the blue brand of late thanks to his comedic storyline with Brock Lesnar. Kevin Owens has also become a mainstay in the RAW main-event picture.
Meltzer shed some light on what has happened with Zayn recently and the depth of his push:
''Zayn was given more television time, and while he’s been portrayed more as a comedy figure than a serious main eventer, he has been featured on television with the two biggest stars in the company - Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns.''
Sami Zayn is a former Intercontinental Champion in WWE and will hopefully get a big push now that he has chosen to re-sign with Vince McMahon's company.
Although it is unlikely that he will stay in the Universal title picture, another run with the IC title could be on the cards.