Every NXT TakeOver Main Event In History: Ranked

Matches like this come by only once in a while: a genuine blood feud that the fans were hungry to see play out. Owens and Zayn genuinely looked like they wanted to maul each other from the outset of this one as well, which only added to the aura of the whole affair.

What ensued was probably the dictionary definition of a mauling. Zayn started the match with some breath-taking intensity, proving once more why he was the original heart and soul of NXT. However, Owens, the despicable heel that he was soon took over with murderous intensity, dumping Zayn on his neck over and over again. Apart from some sporadic, spiriting comebacks from Zayn, Owens held control for the rest of the contest. Officials and doctors hit the ringside area, but unlike other NXT contests, they didn’t interject and slow down the match. Instead, they begged Owens to stop, only adding to the drama of it all.

When the doctors finally pried Owens off Zayn’s lifeless carcass, chapter one in the Owens Vs. Zayn Saga had reached a heartbreaking conclusion. But Owens’ clear sympathetic emotion that he showed for brief moments as doctors treated his former friend, made it clear that the two were destined to come together and break apart again and again forever.