Sami Zayn is the new WWE Champion after defeating Cody Rhodes and Gunther in the main event of Night of Champions. The victory, which took place last Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, marks Zayn's first WWE Championship and a historic moment as he becomes the first Muslim superstar to hold the prestigious title.

Zayn's win has been met with widespread praise from fans and fellow wrestlers. Speaking on ESPN New York with Don La Greca and Peter Rosenberg, Zayn reflected on the support he has received, describing his championship win as long overdue and well-deserved.

“I think one of the things that overwhelmed me the most about this is the outpouring of support and love and people saying, the words that came up the most were ‘overdue’ and ‘deserved’, like ‘well-deserved’ and ‘long overdue,’” Zayn stated.

Among the many congratulatory messages, a note from 17-time world champion John Cena stood out. Zayn revealed that Cena reached out to him personally after his title victory.

He sent me a message and he just kind of reminded me of the difficulty of attaining this, and that less than 1% of people who ever aspire to do what we do ever gets to this point. And that’s not lost on me, but to hear it from him, just saying congratulations.

Zayn added that Cena's message touched him deeply, highlighting how the veteran champion acknowledged his journey.

And one of one of the things he said that also really touched me is just that this is a genuinely earned, I don’t want to throw out personal stuff that he said to me, but the thing that stuck to me is just that he said ‘you really, you did it your way.’”

Zayn described Cena's text as one of the most heartwarming and touching messages he has ever received. His win has also drawn discussion regarding his fit for the traditional image of a WWE Champion, a point Zayn addressed by stating that judging a champion solely by preconceived ideas limits perspective.