Video: Sami Zayn Loses IC Title Match to Finn Balor in WWE Return from Injury

Sami Zayn made his return to WWE programming Monday night on Raw after missing nine months with a pair of shoulder injuries.

Zayn showed up on Raw and challenged somebody backstage to step inside the ring. Finn Balor answered the call and went a step further, putting the Intercontinental Championship on the line.

One night after beating Bobby Lashley for the title, Balor successfully defended the belt. Zayn hit the exploder suplex and attempted to follow up with the Helluva Kick. Balor ducked out of the way and immediately climbed to the top rope for the Coup de Grace.

The 34-year-old underwent surgery to repair both of his rotator cuffs following a loss to Bobby Lashley at Money in the Bank in June last year and had been out of action ever since.

WWE first built anticipation for Zayn's return when it aired a vignette hailing his eventual comeback in December.

Prior to landing on the shelf, Zayn was in the middle of an entertaining heel run after previously spending most of his WWE career as a face. His turn occurred at Hell in a Cell 2017 when he helped Kevin Owens beat Shane McMahon in a Hell in a Cell match.

That led to a huge WrestleMania 34 match with Zayn and Owens teaming up to face Shane-O-Mac and the returning Daniel Bryan, who had been out for a few years due to injury.

The heel pairing lost, which resulted in them being moved from SmackDown Live to Raw as part of the Superstar Shake-up.

Over the next couple of months, the two men became a thorn in the side of many of Raw's top babyfaces. Zayn mixed it up with the likes of Lashley, Braun Strowman, Finn Balor and Roman Reigns before undergoing surgery.

While The Underdog from the Underground has yet to win a championship on the main roster, he represented a significant loss for the red brand. He had found his stride as a villain and was consistently cutting strong promos designed to get under the skin of his opponents and the fans.

Zayn was arguably on the best roll of his career in terms of his time on the main roster, so his injuries came at a somewhat inopportune time.

Injuries can be a blessing in disguise at times, though, and the Canadian already has some momentum since the WWE Universe was excited to see him back after so much time away.

Zayn has shown over the years he is capable of excelling in almost any role, and his status as a utility player makes him valuable for WWE. Regardless of how the company decides to use him moving forward, it is fortunate to have another supremely talented Superstar back in the fold.

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