History of Sami Zayn in Timeline

Rami Sebei, known as Sami Zayn in WWE, is a Canadian professional wrestler currently performing on the Raw brand. He is known for his high-energy performances and his dedication to his craft.

Sections (2)

Full Timeline Career & Achievements

July 12, 1984: Rami Sebei's Birth

On July 12, 1984, Rami Sebei, the Canadian professional wrestler known as Sami Zayn, was born.

Others born on this day/year

March 1, 2002: Professional Wrestling Debut

On March 1, 2002, Rami Sebei made his professional wrestling debut for the FLQ promotion in Quebec as Stevie McFly.

2002: Professional Wrestling Debut

In 2002, Rami Sebei made his professional wrestling debut as Stevie McFly and also started competing for IWS.

October 18, 2003: Triple Threat Match Loss

On October 18, 2003, at Blood, Sweat and Beers, El Generico and Kevin Steen were defeated by Pierre Carl Ouellet in a triple threat match.

June 15, 2004: IWS World Heavyweight Championship Win and Loss

On June 15, 2004, at IWS "V", El Generico defeated PCO to win his first IWS World Heavyweight Championship, but lost the title to Kevin Steen on the same night.

December 26, 2004: Ring of Honor Debut

On December 26, 2004, El Generico debuted for Ring of Honor (ROH) at Final Battle as The Weapon Of Mask Destruction #2, where he was defeated by Jay Lethal.

2004: PWG Appearances Begin

In 2004, El Generico began making appearances in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG).

February 19, 2005: Chikara Debut

On February 19, 2005, El Generico made his debut for Chikara in the 2005 Tag World Grand Prix, teaming with Kevin Steen as Team IWS.

2005: Westside Xtreme Wrestling Appearances Begin

From 2005 onwards, El Generico made several appearances for the German Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw) promotion.

2005: First Battle of Los Angeles Tournament Appearance

In 2005, El Generico participated in his first Battle of Los Angeles tournament and consecutively appeared in the first eight tournaments.

November 25, 2006: ROH Return

On November 25, 2006, El Generico returned to ROH at Dethroned, where he was defeated by Brent Albright.

February 17, 2007: Tag Team Formation with Kevin Steen

On February 17, 2007, El Generico formed a permanent tag team with Kevin Steen in Ring of Honor, facing the Briscoe Brothers at Fifth Year Festival: Philly.

February 24, 2007: PWG World Championship Win

On February 24, 2007, Generico defeated Tornado to win the PWG World Championship during his title reign with Cape Fear.

2007: Travel to Japan

In 2007, El Generico traveled to Japan, where he worked for the Dragon Gate (DG) promotion as the gaijin representative of the New Hazard stable.

2007: Race to the Top Tournament

In 2007, Generico competed in the Race to the Top tournament, defeating several opponents before losing to Claudio Castagnoli in the final round.

February 16, 2008: IWS World Heavyweight Championship Win

On February 16, 2008, Generico defeated Steen for the IWS World Heavyweight Championship at Violent Valentine.

June 6, 2008: ROH World Tag Team Championship Tournament

On June 6, 2008, Steen and Generico participated in a one night tournament to crown new ROH World Tag Team Champions, losing in the finals to Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black.

July 2008: Return to Dragon Gate

In July 2008, El Generico returned to Dragon Gate as Tozawa-juku's "foreign exchange student."

2008: King of Trios Participation

In 2008, El Generico returned to Chikara for the King of Trios, teaming with Player Uno and Stupefied as Team IWS.

January 31, 2009: ROH World Championship Match

On January 31, 2009, El Generico failed to win the ROH World Championship at Caged Collision.

October 2009: Dragon Gate Tour as Kamikaze Member

In October 2009, El Generico made his third tour of Dragon Gate, wrestling as a member of the Kamikaze stable.

October 2009: Do or Die Wrestling Event

In October 2009, El Generico traveled to Poland to participate in Do or Die Wrestling's event in Warsaw, defeating Michael Kovac in the main event.

2009: King of Trios and Rey de Voladores Participation

In 2009, El Generico participated in the King of Trios with Matt and Nick Jackson as Team PWG, and also entered the Rey de Voladores tournament.

2009: Feud with Men of Low Moral Fiber

In mid-2009, Generico started a long feud with the tag team Men of Low Moral Fiber.

April 3, 2010: The Big Bang! - Generico and Cabana vs Steen and Corino

On April 3, 2010, at The Big Bang!, El Generico and Colt Cabana defeated Kevin Steen and Steve Corino via disqualification after Steen used a chair on his former partner.

May 9, 2010: Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament Win

On May 9, 2010, El Generico teamed with Paul London as ¡Peligro Abejas! and won the Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament, also winning the PWG World Tag Team Championship.

May 2010: Stand Alone Main Event

In May 2010, El Generico competed in the main event of Capital City Championship Combat's show, Stand Alone.

2010: Feud of the Year Award

In 2010, Sebei, along with Kevin Steen, earned the Feud of the Year award from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter for their rivalry.

January 11, 2011: TNA Tryout Dark Match

On January 11, 2011, El Generico wrestled in a tryout dark match for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) at the promotion's Impact! tapings, losing to Amazing Red.

January 23, 2011: Singles Loss to Eddie Kingston

On January 23, 2011, El Generico lost a singles match to Eddie Kingston in Chikara.

January 29, 2011: PWG World Championship Shot

On January 29, 2011, El Generico received his shot at the PWG World Championship during WrestleReunion 5 weekend, but was defeated by Claudio Castagnoli.

March 2, 2011: El Generico Signs New ROH Contract

On March 2, 2011, Ring of Honor announced that El Generico had signed a new contract with the promotion, marking a significant moment in his career.

2011: DDT Pro-Wrestling Appearances

In 2011, El Generico began making semi-regular appearances for the Japanese DDT Pro-Wrestling sister-promotion Union Pro Wrestling.

2011: PWG Battle of Los Angeles Victory

In 2011, Sebei won the PWG Battle of Los Angeles tournament, making him the only person to have won both of PWG's annual tournaments.

January 3, 2012: Loss of DDT Extreme Championship

On January 3, 2012, El Generico lost the DDT Extreme Championship back to Isami Kodaka, ending his reign.

February 26, 2012: Defeat of Ivan Markov in Russia

On February 26, 2012, El Generico defeated Ivan "Locomotive" Markov at a show for the Russian promotion Independent Wrestling Federation (IWF).

March 4, 2012: Wins wXw 16 Carat Gold Tournament

On March 4, 2012, El Generico defeated Tommy End to win Westside Xtreme Wrestling's (wXw) 2012 16 Carat Gold Tournament.

March 17, 2012: PWG World Championship Loss

On March 17, 2012, El Generico re-lost the PWG World Championship to Kevin Steen in a three-way match.

March 30, 2012: Showdown in the Sun - Last Man Standing Match

On March 30, 2012, at Showdown in the Sun, El Generico lost a Last Man Standing match to the reinstated Kevin Steen, leading to his disappearance from ROH.

March 31, 2012: Dragon Gate USA Debut

On March 31, 2012, El Generico made his debut for Dragon Gate USA (DGUSA), defeating Chuck Taylor, Cima, Lince Dorado, Rich Swann and Samuray del Sol in a six-way match.

May 4, 2012: Defeat of Kota Ibushi in Return Match

On May 4, 2012, El Generico defeated Kota Ibushi in Ibushi's return match from a shoulder injury in DDT Pro-Wrestling.

January 12, 2013: Farewell PWG Appearance

On January 12, 2013, El Generico made his farewell appearance for PWG, participating in the Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament with Kevin Steen.

January 2013: Signing with WWE

In January 2013, Sami Zayn, known as El Generico, signed with WWE after passing all medical tests, marking a significant turning point in his career.

January 18, 2013: Final Canadian Independent Appearance

On January 18, 2013, El Generico made his final Canadian independent appearance for Hart Legacy Wrestling (HLW) in Calgary, participating in a four-way elimination match and a ten-man tag team match, where he was pinned by Teddy Hart.

November 2013: NXT Number One Contender's Match

In November 2013, Sami Zayn tied a Beat the Clock challenge with Adrian Neville and then lost a number one contender's match to Neville on NXT.

2013: End of El Generico Masked Era

In 2013, Sebei ended his run wrestling masked as El Generico, which he had done since 2002.

2013: WWE Signing and NXT Debut

In 2013, Sebei signed with WWE, adopting the ring name Sami Zayn and began wrestling in NXT without a mask.

January 1, 2014: Two-out-of-three falls match against Kruger

On January 1, 2014, Sami Zayn defeated Kruger in a two-out-of-three falls match on NXT.

January 14, 2015: NXT Championship Rematch

On January 14, 2015, Sami Zayn retained the NXT Championship against Neville in a rematch on NXT, but was attacked by Kevin Owens after the match.

January 24, 2016: Royal Rumble Appearance

On January 24, 2016, at Royal Rumble, Sami Zayn entered the match at number 20, eliminating Kevin Owens before being eliminated by Braun Strowman.

Loading Video...

January 2, 2017: Last Man Standing Match

On January 2, 2017, Sami Zayn lost to Braun Strowman in a Last Man Standing match on Raw, ending their feud.

Loading Video...

July 2017: Sami for Syria Fund

In July 2017, Sami Zayn set up a fund called Sami for Syria to support the Syrian American Medical Society.

2017: Heel Turn in 2017

In 2017, Sami Zayn turned face for the first time since 2017 after hitting Reigns with a chair at Royal Rumble.

January 28, 2018: WWE Championship Handicap Match

On January 28, 2018, at Royal Rumble, Owens and Zayn were unsuccessful in winning AJ Styles's WWE Championship in a handicap match.

April 8, 2019: Loss to Finn Bálor

On the April 8, 2019 episode of Raw, Sami Zayn returned from injury but lost his match against Intercontinental Champion Finn Bálor.

January 31, 2021: Royal Rumble Elimination

On January 31, 2021, at Royal Rumble, Sami Zayn entered at number 3, but was eliminated by Big E.

January 7, 2022: Feud with Johnny Knoxville Begins

On the January 7, 2022 episode of SmackDown, Sami Zayn entered a feud with Johnny Knoxville, who announced his entry in the Royal Rumble match.

April 2022: Involvement with The Bloodline

In April 2022, Sami Zayn became involved with The Bloodline faction in WWE.

January 2023: Departure from The Bloodline

In January 2023, Sami Zayn concluded his involvement with The Bloodline faction.

January 2023: Tribal Court

In January 2023, Sami Zayn was placed in Tribal Court at Raw is XXX, but was found "not guilty, for now" in regard to betraying The Bloodline.

2023: Drafted to Raw

As part of the 2023 WWE Draft, Sami Zayn, along with Owens, was drafted to the Raw brand.

2023: Umrah Completion

In 2023, Sami Zayn, a devout Sunni Muslim, completed an Umrah during WWE's trip to Saudi Arabia for Night of Champions.

January 27, 2024: Royal Rumble 2024

On January 27, 2024, at Royal Rumble, Sami Zayn entered at number 30 and eliminated Priest before being eliminated by McIntyre.

February 1, 2025: Royal Rumble Elimination

On February 1, 2025, at Royal Rumble, Sami Zayn entered at number 27, but was eliminated by eventual winner Jey Uso.

2025: King of the Ring Tournament

In June 2025, Sami Zayn entered the 2025 King of the Ring tournament and won the fatal four-way match in the first round, but was eliminated by Randy Orton in the semi-finals.