Former WWE Writer Explains Recent Success Of Sami Zayn And Chad Gable

Since helping Sami Zayn defeat GUNTHER at WrestleMania 40 for the Intercontinental Championship, Chad Gable has become obsessed with capturing the title, causing him betray Zayn, turn heel, and belittle his Alpha Academy teammates in a critically acclaimed storyline that's been getting the best ratings on "WWE Raw." On a recent edition of the "Cheap Heat" podcast, former WWE writer Brian Gewirtz praised WWE for taking a chance on Gable's new heel persona, and credited Gable with sticking it out through cringeworthy gimmicks like "Shorty G," which was briefly Gable's nickname in 2019-2020.

"Now, you can tell that there's someone you know, whether it's [Chief Creative Officer Paul Levesque], whoever, that says 'You know what, this guy's an amazing talent, he's got a great personality' ... You could see him being this overbearing, uncomfortable, truly malicious heel," Gewirtz said. "They're just letting him take off, and it's paying off in spades, and it could very easily have been 'Yeah, no thanks, we're gonna stick with this Shorty G thing. We're going to see this out until the end.' And then you'll see, on a very small section of the WWE website, 'We have come to terms with the release of Shorty G, aka Chad Gable' ... He's earned this push."

Gewirtz also noted that it's appropriate for Gable to debut this character against Zayn, who he says had a very similar path to success.

"Sami was the same way," Gewirtz said. "It really didn't work for Sami and take off until he got to show his personality, and show his range, and his amazing talent in terms of being able to be a compelling character and suck you in, whether it's heel stuff with Johnny Knoxville or the ultimate babyface turn with The Bloodline ... Faith in talent pays off sometimes."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Cheap Heat" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.