The fallout from last week’s WWE SmackDown continued on the May 29 episode, as Sami Zayn finally explained why he didn’t help Cody Rhodes during Gunther’s attack.
The issue occurred on last week’s SmackDown, where Zayn faced Rhodes in the main event. In the closing moments of the match, Gunther tried to choke Rhodes with his Sleeper hold, standing on the apron.
After that, it looked like Zayn rushed to hit Rhodes but instead struck The Ring General. Rhodes took advantage of the distraction and hit Zayn with a Cross Rhodes to pick up the win.
After that, Gunther again came back and held Rhodes in his choke. Zayn, on the other hand, stood for a while watching his “friend” getting choked out and then eventually left without saving him.
Sami Zayn Says Cody Rhodes Needed To Learn A Lesson
Now, on this week’s SmackDown, Zayn addressed the controversial moment and said he intentionally stayed out of the situation because he felt Rhodes needed to learn a lesson.
Cathy Kelley was interviewing Rhodes backstage, and before the interview could begin, Zayn walked up and demanded an apology from Rhodes for the way their match ended.
Zayn felt he had been trying to deal with Gunther during the match and believed Rhodes took advantage of the situation to steal the victory.
Rhodes wasn’t interested in discussing the finish. He pointed out that unexpected things happen all the time in wrestling and said the match was fair. He then turned the conversation to what happened afterward, reminding Zayn that he chose not to help when Gunther attacked him.
That led Zayn to explain his side of the story.
The former Intercontinental Champion admitted that his first instinct was to help Rhodes. However, he stopped himself because he believed Rhodes needed a wake-up call.
“I wanted to help, Cody. Every instinct in me was saying, ‘Help him, help him, help him.’ I wanted to do that, because that’s how I’m wired cause I’m a good guy. I’m the last real good guy around here, apparently. And it took everything in me not to help you right there. You know why I didn’t? You wanna know why? Cause as I watched the life fade from your eyes, I realized the right thing to do in that moment was to leave you there so that you could learn a lesson,” Zayn said.
Rhodes wasn’t impressed by the explanation.
The American Nightmare then warned Zayn that once he finishes dealing with Gunther, he would like to teach him a lesson as well.
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