10 Best Achievements By Former NXT Champions On The Main Roster
4. Kevin Owens Vs Sami Zayn – Battleground 2016
This match.
As mentioned earlier, Owens vs Zayn remains one of, if not the, best rivalry in NXT's history.
When it moved to the main roster, many fans were left disappointed by what they saw. Many felt that the two should have clashed one-on-one at WrestleMania 32 for Kevin's Intercontinental Championship, but that match was instead turned into a multi-man ladder match won by Zack Ryder. Woo woo?
The two then had a fairly lacklustre singles match at Payback that year, before butting heads once more in a fatal four-way at Extreme Rules, also featuring Cesaro and Intercontinental Champion, The Miz.
However, this was all just the prologue to the real story, a story told in 18 minutes and 22 seconds of near wrestling perfection.
Owens and Zayn clashed one more time at the Battleground Pay-Per-View and, man, did it deliver. The in-ring action was superb, the near falls were nail-biting and the storytelling was some of the best we have seen on main roster WWE TV in years.
The match reached its emotional climax when Sami hit the Helluva Kick on Owens, but propped him with his body. He then stared at his mortal enemy, the rage rising in his face, before delivering a second Kick, taking Owens out for good and picking up the win. A perfect ending to a damn-near perfect match, this is what WWE can do when they actually pay attention to storylines in NXT on the main roster.
More of this, please.