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It may have taken a long time, but Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens are finally on the same page. The long-time friends have finally agreed to fight The Bloodline together rather than individually on last week's SmackDown.
The rekindling of their friendship led Owens and Zayn to challenge The Usos for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania 39 on RAW. Despite that being what everyone wanted, was it the right decision? The friends haven't tagged together in quite some time and have had trouble overcoming the Bloodline.
Both Owens and Zayn have attempted to overthrow the dominant group without success. Kevin Owens was one of Reigns' first challengers after he won the Universal Championship in the summer of 2020. He also unsuccessfully challenged him at this year's Royal Rumble.
Zayn is the last person to battle Reigns for the Undisputed Championship, doing so at the Elimination Chamber event. While each star couldn't topple the Bloodline on their own, they will attempt the feat against the Usos at the Show of Shows as a team.
Many fans and analysts wanted Zayn to face Reigns at WrestleMania 39, but the long-term plans were for Cody Rhodes. Zayn has also had a tumultuous relationship with Jey Uso, so battling the twins for tag team gold also makes sense as a featured match at the event.
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn have teamed together in and out of WWE
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn have surprisingly not won tag team gold in WWE. They have teamed with each other on the main roster, most notably against AJ Styles. They also lost to Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania. That led to their firing from SmackDown, but they later joined the RAW roster.
Before the main roster, the Prizefighter and the Great Liberator fought each other over the NXT Championship. They did not team up with each other in NXT but have a history of doing so before their WWE careers.
The biggest example of their pre-WWE partnership was in Ring of Honor. The duo won the Ring of Honor Tag Team Titles in 2008 as Kevin Steen and El Generico.
The interesting fact about their title win was that they defeated Jimmy Jacobs and current WWE star Seth Rollins. They also battled the Young Bucks in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla before joining WWE.
Even without winning tag team gold in the past, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn might right that wrong at WrestleMania. The stars are two of WWE's most reliable performers, anchoring the mid-card for much of the last decade. Zayn has won the Intercontinental Championship, while Owens has won both the US and the Intercontinental Titles.
Will they be able to add Undisputed WWE Tag Team gold to that resume? The way that the angle with the Bloodline and the Usos has been going, it seems like they could. With a changeover from Mr. McMahon to Triple H as head of Creative, it might be a two-fold win.
The first win is if Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn collect their first tag team titles as long-time friends. The second victory would be if the sets of tag titles are also separated following WrestleMania 39.
The challenge might seem to have been hurried, but the angle has been one of the best in WWE history. The slow-burn story was necessary due to the story being told. It took so long for the challenge to be made that the reaction would be too loud to ignore.
