10 Last-Minute WWE Payback 2016 Rumors You Need To Know

3. Owens Screws Zayn

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WWE.com

Kevin Owens debuted in NXT at TakeOver: R Evolution, the same event at which Sami Zayn won the NXT Championship. Following Zayn's win, Owens congratulated him... then attacked his best friend. Owens won the belt from Zayn at TakeOver: Rival, then defended it against him at TakeOver: Unstoppable. Around that time, Zayn suffered a shoulder injury, with Owens taking credit for causing it at Unstoppable.

When Zayn returned to action, Owens was on the main roster, so that's where "The Likable One" followed him. Zayn has spent this year trying to get revenge on his former friend, while Owens has done his best to avoid (or maim) Zayn.

WWE has used all of this history - as well as the previous friendship between the men which extends into their teens - to build up a match that's being billed as a decade and a half in the making. That said, there's still mileage left in the feud, and it doesn't need to be blown off quite yet.

The easiest way to prolong the program is to have Kevin Owens screw Sami Zayn out of satisfaction, either by scoring a cheating win or getting disqualified or counted out. They can face off one final time in a stipulation match at Extreme Rules.

Contributor
Contributor

Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried. *Best Crowd of the Year, 2013