Sami Zayn's Moment Has Arrived: WWE Finally Giving Fans What They Want

Sami Zayn is poised to be able to shed the labels that have defined him since he joined the WWE main roster: underused, underrated, underappreciated.

After a long stretch of sitting on the bench, WWE has called Zayn into the game and given him the ball. And the former NXT champion is going to run with it.

The Underdog from the Underground has suddenly been thrust into the spotlight. He's gone from low-card talent to a key part of the blue brand in just weeks. WWE has decided to start showcasing Zayn and let him put his grade-A storytelling skills to good use.

It's about time.

Whether a part of Raw or SmackDown, the company didn't seem to know what to do with Zayn. He mixed it up with Mike Kanellis in low-stakes matches or didn't make the card at all. Aiden English scored more wins. James Ellsworth got more screen time.

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Zayn is the kind of wrestler who can connect deeply with the audience. He produces in the ring, captivating against a giant like Braun Strowman or an athlete like Seth Rollins.

Then he yanked Kevin Owens off the announce table to save him from a Shane McMahon elbow drop at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view on Oct. 8 and everything changed.

The Quebec native immediately moved into a prominent storyline featuring Owens. He explained on SmackDown the next night that he was once again good friends with KO despite their intense rivalry over the past few years. Zayn showed himself to be more arrogant, ruthless and grating as he transitioned into a heel role.

This segment represented a major increase in his usual mic time.

The opportunities didn't stop there. Zayn opened and closed Tuesday's SmackDown.

He and Owens antagonized the brand's general manager, Daniel Bryan, to kick off the show. And he ended the night by battling Shinsuke Nakamura and Randy Orton in the main event.

And rather than lose to English as he had been not too long ago, he pinned a future Hall of Famer.

That's a massive shift from where he was. Suddenly, Zayn is tangling with the show's authority figures, getting matches filled with star power and showing bona fide character development.

He's essentially in the same spot Chris Jericho was in earlier this year opposite Owens as one half of a high-profile heel duo. That role led to arguably Jericho's best stretch with the company. He got to be funny, trade blows on the mic and fight top names.

Now, Zayn has a chance to make that same kind of impact. Chances are, he'll nail it. 

As former WWE Superstar Lance Storm said, the former NXT titleholder has shown he can pull off just about anything:

This all didn't come the way one would have expected, as Zayn as a heel was hard to imagine, but the fans clamoring for more Zayn are going to get what they asked for. He's set to have a blast goofing around with Owens and will likely clash with big-name babyfaces in the coming months.

For the first time since NXT, Zayn has a shot—a real shot—to show what he can do.