3. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn (NXT TakeOver: Rival)
At Ring Of Honor's Final Battle show in December, 2010, the then-El Generico and Kevin Steen produced one of the best brawls of the entire calendar year. It was a match contested for Generico's mask or Steen's ROH contract, and the masked man would come out on top. Fast forward to 2015, and both men were still ripping up arenas together, only on a much bigger platform. As Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, the real-life friends have been able to show in NXT what everybody on the US independent scene was talking about just under 5 years ago. At NXT TakeOver: Rival (an event also featuring the terrific Finn Balor vs. Neville contest from this very list), Owens and Zayn were given just over 20 minutes to main event the show, and boy did they deliver in a big way. Everything about the bout had fans in raptures, creating a very special atmosphere that nicely differentiates NXT from everything else WWE present. That's a good thing, as is booking Owens vs. Zayn as often as humanly possible! A follow up match between both men from NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable was also good, but it couldn't hold a candle to the one at TakeOver: Rival.
Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.
