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WWE Superstars Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn seem to be the definition of "fight forever."
The two SmackDown stars, and real-life best friends, have engaged in battle numerous times across the globe. From their humble beginnings in Montreal, Canada to Ring of Honor, NXT and now WWE, Owens and Zayn have been friends and foes a million times.
Their rivalry in WWE also appears to show no sign of slowing down. It was announced this past week that Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn will meet in a Last Man Standing Money in the Bank qualifying match next week on Friday Night SmackDown.
This marks yet another meeting inside the squared circle between the long-time friends turned enemies.
With that in mind, let's take a closer look at five times Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn have wrestled each other in WWE.
#5 Sami Zayn def. Kevin Owens (WWE Hell in a Cell 2021)
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens' most recent encounter inside a WWE ring came at the Hell in a Cell 2021 pay-per-view event.
Zayn and Owens' rivalry had continued coming out of WrestleMania 37. However, Owens had turned his attention to the Intercontinental Championship in more recent weeks on Friday Night SmackDown.
After Sami Zayn had continued to get involved in Kevin Owens' respective encounters against Intercontinental Champion Apollo Crews and Commander Azeez, the match between Owens and Zayn was made official for Hell in a Cell.
Coming into the match, Owens was nursing several injuries. Due to several Nigerian Nails from Commander Azeez on Friday Night SmackDown, the former Universal Champion was already having significant breathing issues.
Sami Zayn was able to take advantage of Owens' obvious injuries and left Hell in a Cell victorious after connecting with the Helluva Kick. Post-match, Sami Zayn declared this was "instant karma" for Kevin Owens' recent actions towards Zayn.
#4 Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn - NXT Championship (WWE NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable)
WWE's second Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn encounter came at NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable in 2015.
Owens had captured the NXT Championship for the first time in his career by defeating Zayn at the NXT TakeOver: Rival event three months prior. After a continued rivalry on the black and gold brand, the NXT Championship re-match was set for NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable in May.
However, plans for the match were altered at a very late stage prior to the match. Sami Zayn challenged John Cena for the United States Championship on an episode of Monday Night RAW prior to the TakeOver event.
It was during the entrance for this United States Championship match that Zayn suffered a serious shoulder injury, putting his NXT Championship match against Owens in jeopardy. While Zayn would eventually be able to compete, the match was significantly altered due to his shoulder issues.
After an explosive start to the match, Kevin Owens hit a pop-up powerbomb on Sami Zayn onto the ring apron. This allowed WWE to recognize Zayn's shoulder injury in the storytelling of the match. Sami Zayn was deemed unable to compete, with the match being ruled as a No Contest.
Despite this, Kevin Owens continued to attack Sami Zayn. Officials and NXT General Manager William Regal attempted to restrain Owens, but the NXT Champion responded by headbutting the NXT General Manager.
As Kevin Owens was about to continue his assault on Sami Zayn with a steel chair, Samoa Joe made his stunning WWE NXT debut. The Samoan Submission Machine squared up to the WWE NXT Champion before Kevin Owens decided to back away as medical officials began to help Sami Zayn by loading him onto a stretcher.
#3 Kevin Owens def. Sami Zayn - NXT Championship (WWE NXT TakeOver: Rival)
WWE's first Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn showdown came during the NXT TakeOver: Rival event in 2015 for the NXT Championship.
Kevin Owens made his WWE NXT debut at NXT TakeOver: R Evolution in December 2014. It was at this very same NXT TakeOver event that Sami Zayn captured the NXT Championship for the first time.
Zayn defeated Adrian Neville in Title vs Career match to become the NXT Champion for the first time. After the match, Zayn and Owens, two long-time friends shared a moment of celebration in the ring.
However, as both men were walking up the ramp Kevin Owens violently turned on his best friend, attacking Sami Zayn in the process. This led to an NXT Championship match between Zayn and Owens at NXT TakeOver: Rival in February 2015.
In the closing moments of the NXT Championship match, Kevin Owens hit a vicious pop-up powerbomb onto Sami Zayn for a nearfall. However, it appeared that the powerbomb had seriously injured Zayn. This resulted in ringside medical officials checking on Zayn, seeing if the NXT Champion could continue.
Kevin Owens then executed four consecutive powerbombs in a row onto the prone NXT Champion. After the fourth and final powerbomb, Kevin Owens was declared the winner by technical knockout.
As a result of winning the match via knockout, Kevin Owens was officially crowned as the new WWE NXT Champion in a shocking outcome and result.
#2 Kevin Owens def. Sami Zayn (WWE WrestleMania 37: Night Two)
WWE WrestleMania 37 Night Two saw Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens clash on the grandest stage of them all in singles action for the first time ever.
On the road to WrestleMania Sami Zayn had grown increasingly manical, deranged and unhinged. The former WWE Intercontinental Champion was convinced there was a growing conspiracy against him within WWE.
Zayn had resorted to being followed around 24 hours a day by a documentary camera crew. The investigative cameramen would reportedly unearth the WWE conspiracy against Zayn, which the former Intercontinental Champion would later present to the WWE Universe.
But Kevin Owens had seen enough. Owens declared that Zayn had become paranoid and delluded. There was no conspiracy against Sami Zayn and the former Universal Champion was going to do his upmost to prove it.
However, Sami Zayn would not listen. Instead, he invited social media and YouTube star Logan Paul to be the guest of honor at the premiere of his conspiracy documentary trailer on Friday Night SmackDown. Thrilled by Paul's attendance, Zayn invited him to be in his corner for his match against Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 37.
The closing moment of the match at the showcase of the immortals saw Zayn hit a Helluva Kick onto Owens. The former Intercontinental Champion attempted a second Helluva Kick but this was countered by Kevin Owens into two superkicks and a stunner for the victory.
After the match was over, Sami Zayn got into an altercation with Logan Paul in the ring. Paul shoved Zayn to the floor as the former Intercontinental Champion left Raymond James Stadium incredulous with rage. Logan Paul followed this up by raising Kevin Owens' hand in victory. However, Owens reciprocated by giving Paul a stunner of his own, much to the adulation of the WWE Universe in attendance.
#1 Sami Zayn def. Kevin Owens (WWE Battleground 2016)
WWE Battleground 2016 saw arguably Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn's most epic encounter inside a WWE ring to date.
Owens and Zayn had squared off against each other several months prior at WWE Payback, in which Kevin Owens had left victorious. However, Zayn would receive another opportunity against his long-term rival at WWE Battleground in July.
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn delivered an absolute masterclass inside the Verizon Center in Washington D.C.
The match saw numerous nearfalls that included Sami Zayn hitting a Blue Thunder Bomb, brain buster and two Half and Half Suplexes all for respective near falls. Kevin Owens seemingly had the match won at one point when he hit a pop-up powerbomb onto Zayn. However, the former NXT Champion was able to get his foot onto the bottom rope to break up the pinfall.
The closing moments of the match saw Kevin Owens seemingly in control. Owens pleaded with Zayn to stay down and give up. Instead, Zayn hit an incredible Exploder Suplex into the turnbuckles. This was followed by a Half and Half Suplex and two Helluva Kicks for the victory.
The match was exceptional for its emotional storytelling and investment from the WWE Universe in attendance. Some thought it would be the end of the Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn rivalry in WWE. However, it proved to only be the beginning.
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