WWE Payback Predictions: Sami Zayn VS Kevin Owens
Throughout the years the careers of Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens have been practically identical. Both coming to the WWE after a phenomenal run in the independent scene Owens and Zayn have found themselves stating a brilliant career in the WWE, however the former friends have found themselves becoming bitter rivals and their feud has easily become one of the greatest of the past five to ten years. This Sunday the pair will collide once again as they go one on one at the WWE Payback pay per view. But who will be walking out the victor? In today's blog post we are going to be taking a deeper look into this feud and what both superstars have been up to over the past month and of course I will be making my final bold predictions ahead of Sunday's show. With so much to get through lets jump straight into the post!
The rivalry between Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn over the past year or so has been on to be noted as one of the best to e produced by the WWE in the past decade. A bold statement, but one that I strongly stand by. Being such a big fan of both these superstars it's been almost impossible to choose a side and I have certainly found myself cheering for both men during their past matches. What has truly made this feud is the phenomenal back story and storytelling throughout. I know I seem to be hyping this feud a lot right now but it is honestly so so difficult to see a WWE feud now days with this much in depth story that keep everyone interested, entertained, and completely gripped. It all started around two years ago, well to be fair this is a feud years in the making. After travelling around the world together, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens became close friends. Identical careers, strong popularity, and a resume full of brilliant matches on the indie scene these were two superstars who were destined for great success but it was far from an easy ride. It took both superstars years to make it to the WWE and it would be Zayn that would arrive in NXT first and very quickly he would earn the right to be named one of the top stars on the roster. competing in some of the greatest matches in NXT history, Zayn made a name for himself and would soon easily be noticed as one of the most popular talents not only in NXT but the WWE as a whole. However, despite the phenomenal matches to his name and his great popularity with the NXT universe it took Zayn much longer than expected to capture gold. The WWE told a brilliant story with Zayn and his road to capturing the NXT Championship. The night he was set to face Adrian Neville for the NXT championship was seen as Zayn's last opportunity to get his hands on that prestigious prize. The same night however, an old friend would make an appearance as Kevin Owens finally debuted for NXT.
The hype around Kevin Owens' NXT debut was huge. I remember looking on twitter on the day of NXT Takeover and seeing everyone just as excited as I was to sit back and watch as one of the most popular and talented independent wrestlers finally made their mark in the WWE/NXT. The WWE had announced that Owens would be debuting on the night during the week of Takeover and the kick off show did a fantastic job in hyping his arrival. Debuting in the opening match of the night, Owens stepped out picking up one of the biggest reactions of the night taking on CJ Parker. Making a huge impact, Owens had everyone on their feet and for those who had never seen him compete before they sure were left nothing short of amazed. It may not have been the longest debut match in the world but it was enough for Owens to make an impact and enough to get everyone talking as the entire NXT Universe began to make their predictions as to what could hold for the future of Kevin Owen, however, it's fair to say that no one could have predicated what would happen later on in the night and the impact the actions of Mr fight Owens Fight would have.
To this day Sami Zayn VS Adrian Neville for the NXT Championship at this live special is noted as one of the great matches in NXT history. It's one that I continue to back to and re-watch time and time again and one that I advise everyone to watch who hasn't already done so. Easily one of the most emotional matches in recent years I honestly haven't been as invested in a match as I was this one in many years. As we have already touched on, the road to Sami Zayn winning the NXT Championship was a long one with a brilliant story behind it and because of that this was such a memorable and special match. Everyone I spoke to on that night was fully behind Zayn and the reaction he got on the night from the live crowd was insane! The match itself was phenomenal and the emotional celebration after ended the story of Zayn's road to becoming champion even more special. Now, throughout the night the WWE had shown clips of Zayn and Owens backstage and the commentary team had commented on the friendship between the two superstars. During Zayn's championship celebration Owens made his way to the ring to congratulate Sami on the win, however in a shock twist timed perfectly Owens turnt on Zayn in what was done so so well and so convincingly. It was so unexpected and such a great ending to the show, when I go back and re-watch that moment I get the same feeling I got on the night, an iconic moment in NXT history and the start of one of the greatest feuds I have seen in many years.
Almost two years down the line and these two superstars are still going at it. Throughout their careers in the WWE the two have never stopped talking about one another, even during his feud with John Cena, Kevin Owens would take pride in injuring Sami Zayn. This is a rivalry that we all knew would continue on to the main roster and have the exact same effect and so far the two have not disappointed. Arriving back on the main roster at the Royal Rumble pay per view, the story between Zayn and Owens hotted up even more with Zayn eliminating Owens adding the perfect touch to their feud. Weeks later Sami made another surprise appearance attacking the then Intercontinental Champion. When you look at what the build up looked like and the story being told between the two I think it is safe to say that most people including myself were expecting to see these two collide at Wrestlemania for the WWE Intercontinental Championship. Now, I understand why the WWE didn't end up booking this. To be fair, the two need a championship to feud over because their story is so strong and a ladder match meant that more superstars were able to get on the card plus it follows a new tradition where the IC Championship is defended in a ladder match every year at Mania. However, because of their history and the feud they have been spending so much time building and creating over the years it would have been so special seeing them share their first Wrestlemania together in a one on one match. Of course while I am sad this didn't happen and I believe that the WWE missed out on something special these two have managed to keep me interested in their feud despite the WWE not doing a great job in telling their story as well as they did in NXT, and I can honestly say this is one of the matches am most looking forward to this weekend.
Now, these two have set the bar very very high. Their past matches have bee phenomenal and because of that everyone is expecting something huge from them this weekend. The expectations for this bout are really high, their in ring capabilities, experience and story make this a perfect match and I honestly believe they will be able to live up to the expectations and provide a brilliant match, in fact this could easily be one of the best matches of the night if they are given enough time. While I am very very excited for this match and I believe it will be a truly amazing one I am worried that people who haven't followed their careers for as long won't have as much of an interest. During their main roster feud, the WWE haven't done a brilliant job of telling the story and unless you watched their feud/work in NXT you won't really understand why they are feuding in the first place. Hopefully the
WWE have a brilliant video package ready to show before their match starts on Sunday. I do think this is one of the most unpredictable matches on the card this weekend. If the WWE do it right they could get away with having these two feud for another month or so but the story telling is going to have to be very very strong and if that is the plan than that could change ideas on who should walk away with the victory. I know I have already said it a million times before in this blog post but I am a big fan of both of these superstars so choosing a side is impossible. Personally, I believe the WWE are going to go with Zayn for the win. His new to the scene and has momentum to build I do however feel as though they could carry the story on more with Owens picking up the win. This is a match that really could go either way but one thing that is certain is that with their brilliant chemistry, great back story and history this is sure to be one of the highlight matches of the night and a possible match of the year candidate.As always I would love to read what you guys think, so let me know who you are backing and what your predictions are for this match and every other match on the Payback card by leaving a comment bellow or by tweeting me at @TezangiVictoria.
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