“Destined to do this forever”.
That’s what they say about Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn’s rivalry and I don’t think anybody would object to seeing these two do battle for many years to come.
Their bitter feud began way before they got to WWE and many significant incidents have happened at other wrestling promotions that have added to this story and made it as personal and layered as it is.
Before their upcoming match at WWE Battleground, let’s take a look at 5 milestones of the Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn feud:
#1 - ROH Final Battle 2009
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, known as Kevin Steen and El Generico respectively at the time, burst onto the independent wrestling scene as a tag team and went on to win tag team gold together in both Ring of Honor and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.
It was in Ring of Honor where they both began to really make a name for themselves and became one of the promotions most popular acts. However, at ROH’s Final Battle 2009, their partnership came to an explosive end after losing a match to The Young Bucks.
Kevin Steen got on the mic after the match in what first appeared to be a retirement speech and thanked the fans and ROH for their support over his tenure before turning to Generico and embracing him in a hug. It seemed like a genuinely emotional moment which the fans fully bought before Steen uttered the words “I f***ing hate your guts” and low-blowed Generico.
This resulted in a year-long feud that concluded at…
#2 - ROH Final Battle 2010
Kevin Steen vs El Generico at ROH’s Final Battle 2010 was an unsanctioned ‘Fight without Honor’ in which Generico put his mask on the line against Steen’s career.
The match went on for over half an hour and was an absolute war leaving both men battered and bloodied.
Eventually, it was El Generico who won this battle with a brutal chair shot to the head of Steen and, in doing so, got revenge on his former partner for turning on him 12 months prior. As the stipulation dictated, Steen’s ROH career was therefore over, although he would return to the company in 2011.
This particular feud allowed both competitors to showcase their talents outside of their tag team and would be the beginning of two successful singles careers and, as we all know, was far from the end of the Kevin Steen – El Generico rivalry.
#3 - ROH Final Battle 2012
Kevin Steen’s return to Ring of Honor resulted in him eventually winning the ROH World Championship from Davey Richards and it wasn’t too long until he and Generico would cross paths once again.
After a successful Title defence at Glory By Honor in October 2012, Steen was delivered a box as he stood in the ring, he opened it to find that it contained El Generico’s mask, who himself hadn’t been seen in Ring of Honor for 8 months after losing a Last Man Standing match to Steen.
This led to a World Championship match between Generico and Steen at ROH’s Final Battle 2012 in a ladder match which would be Generico’s last match for Ring of Honor before he go on to join WWE. Steen retained his Title in this match but would eventually follow Generico to WWE less than 2 years later.
#4 - WWE NXT TakeOver: R Evolution
Kevin Owens made his WWE debut at NXT Takeover: R Evolution on the same night that Sami Zayn would go on to win the NXT Championship from Adrian Neville.
During Zayn’s post-match celebration a number of NXT performers, including Kevin Owens, came down to the ring to join in the celebrations with the former El Generico who had finally captured the title that had alluded him for so long.
However, after at first seemingly happy for his former friend, Kevin Owens would again turn on Sami Zayn and powerbomb him on the ring apron.
This lead to Zayn defending the NXT Championship against Owens at Takeover: Rival and Owens capturing the title from his greatest adversary exactly 2 months after his WWE debut.
#5 - WWE WrestleMania 32
Both men made their WrestleMania debuts this year in a ladder match no less, a match that has been significant in their careers from their time as a tag team and their singles careers.
Although many fans were hoping for a one-on-one match between Zayn & Owens, they were booked in a 7-man ladder match for Owens’ Intercontinental Championship, which he would go on to lose in this match.
Despite this, the rivals did have plenty of the spotlight in this match and seeing them continue their long and storied feud on the biggest stage that the wrestling business has to offer makes this a significant milestone in their feud.
With the possibility of Owens & Zayn being on different shows after the brand split on July 19th, their upcoming match at Battleground could just be their last match for a while. However, It’s safe to say it won’t be the last time these bitter enemies square off against each other.
