Sami Zayn entered WWE Money in the Bank 2024—as per usual—as the ultimate underdog, but he left Toronto still the Intercontinental Champion.
Heading into Money in the Bank, the odds were overwhelmingly in favor of Zayn’s opponent Bron Breakker, the former two-time NXT Champion. The widespread expectation was that Breakker would capture his first title on the main roster at WWE’s latest pay-per-view and continue his lightning quick rise to the top of Monday Night Raw. But athletic powerhouse who’s taken the red brand by storm, Breakker can’t call himself champion. Not yet, at least.
Perhaps the best pick of the 2024 WWE Draft, Breakker had gone from rookie upstart to potential future face of the company in the blink of an eye. And a victory over Zayn? Well, that would have propelled him to the next level, but with it looks like Breakker’s ascension to championship gold has hit a temporary snag.
Now, it’s back to the drawing board—or perhaps this will be what catapults Breakker’s rage to the next level and turns him into an even bigger heel.
After Breakker’s main roster run got off to a rocky start on SmackDown in early 2024, WWE moved the second generation star to Raw in April, and he hasn’t looked back. In fact, WWE reportedly “considerably altered” initial creative plans for Breakker on Raw and now has significant plans to make him a centerpiece of the red brand when WWE’s flagship show moves to Netflix in January 2025.
A well-rounded star who can work as a babyface or heel, Breakker has been playing somewhat of a tweener role in recent weeks. Just a couple of weeks ago, he was the clear babyface in a televised match against Ludwig Kaiser, but a feud with Zayn—one of WWE’s most beloved stars—has firmly entrenched him as the fastest rising villain on Raw.
The sky is the limit for Breakker, but after a head-scratching clean loss to Zayn in Toronto, WWE needs to ensure that Breakker’s momentum doesn’t come to a screeching halt.
After all, of all of the recent NXT call-ups, ranging from Blair Davenport to Tiffany Stratton, Breakker has had perhaps the best booking of the bunch—until Money in the Bank, that is. His initial main roster showing, a dominant performance in the men’s Royal Rumble that was originally scripted for Brock Lesnar, gave an early hint of what Breakker could be on Raw or SmackDown.
While WWE hit some bumps in the road in order to get Breakker where he is today, it’s safe to say that his long-term trajectory is as promising as anyone on the main roster. Indeed, at just 26 years old, Breakker is perhaps the most must-see prospect in all of WWE, a freak athlete with a pro wrestling pedigree, strong character work and a consistent push.
It’s no wonder that Breakker has been widely praised as a potential future face of WWE by legends like Hulk Hogan, Lex Luger and Shawn Michaels. Whatever “it” is, Breakker has it and is well on his way to becoming a world champion and cornerstone star for WWE.
The path Breakker ideally would resemble that of Gunther, who was a dominant star in NXT and recently held the Intercontinental Championship for more than 600 days. Now, Gunther is a King of the Ring and set to challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam.
Will Breakker’s loss to Zayn in Toronto derail him? It shouldn’t. Breakker will take a similar route to world title glory. He’s already made an instant impact on the main roster, and after falling short against Zayn, WWE should use that loss as motivating to turn Breakker into an even bigger wrecking machine.
And if it doesn't? That’s a big miss for Triple H and the creative team.