Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn are two men with a storied history with one another, with them being best friends in real-life and bitter enemies between the ropes, with their rivalry stretching over several years and in different promotions.

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Owens and Zayn made it all the way to WWE, with their rivalry continuing even on the Grandest Stage of Them All, WrestleMania. When looking at their many matches throughout their careers, some bouts have been significantly better than others, although they can almost always be guaranteed to steal the show. Dave Meltzer’s star ratings provide a good way to see which of their battles have been the best.

10 Number One Contender Elimination Chamber, WWE Elimination Chamber 2021 (4.25 Stars)

SmackDown Elimination Chamber match Elimination Chamber 2021 Cropped

When tasked with trying to put on a match without any live fans in attendance, it certainly proved to be difficult, but the six men involved in this match managed to put in a great performance, and it is of no surprise when looking at who competed.

Daniel Bryan defeated a field of Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Cesaro, Jey Uso, and Baron Corbin. The rivalry between Owens and Zayn reignited during this match as Owens would be the one to eliminate Zayn from the contest.

9 WWE Championship Six Pack Challenge, WWE Fastlane 2018 (4.25 Stars)

John Cena Attacked

Although the winner of this match was never really in doubt, it was still a very entertaining and chaotic multi-man main event. AJ Styles defended his WWE Championship against Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, John Cena, and Baron Corbin.

At the time, Owens and Zayn were aligned in a heel partnership, although they would be thwarted in their title pursuits by an interfering Shane McMahon, which would lead to a WrestleMania showdown against both McMahon and Daniel Bryan.

8 Apollo Crews Vs Big E Vs Kevin Owens Vs Sami Zayn, WWE SmackDown 2021 (4.25 Stars)

Aleister Black WWE Smackdown Return

Whilst the Intercontinental Title was often neglected in 2021, this fatal four-way match was a huge high point during the year. Four talented individuals battled in a non-stop showcase, with them getting over 20 minutes of TV time to work with.

The ending wasn’t great in hindsight, as Aleister Black would cost Big E the match, only to be released from his contract a fortnight later. Zayn and Owens each played their roles well, adding to this fun title match.

7 Money In The Bank Ladder Match, WWE Money In The Bank 2016 (4.25 Stars)

MITB Ladder Match Money In The Bank 2016 Cropped

Like most Money in the Bank ladder matches, this was an insane spot-fest full of great moments, and perhaps the most notable of which was a painful looking Michinoku Driver performed by Zayn onto Owens, right on the edge of a ladder.

The other competitors in this match delivered too, with Dean Ambrose winning the briefcase, also defeating Alberto Del Rio, Cesaro, and Chris Jericho. Money in the Bank matches often work well when they aren’t overloaded with participants, with this allowing everyone with a proper chance to shine.

6 Kevin Owens Vs Sami Zayn, WWE SmackDown 2021 (4.25 Stars)

Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn WWE Smackdown

Following their fun yet peculiar WrestleMania 37 match, due to the outside involvement from Logan Paul, Owens and Zayn continued their rivalry onto SmackDown, clashing in a Last Man Standing match.

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It was slower and more methodical than most gimmick matches in WWE, which provided a nice change of pace to their usual encounters with one another. Given that this was in the ThunderDome era, the pair did a great job.

5 Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match, WWE WrestleMania 32 (4.25 Stars)

owens-zayn-wrestlemania-32

This was the very first WrestleMania for both Zayn and Owens, and they carried forth their rivalry from NXT throughout this match, popping the crowd as they brawled with one another and dished out some punishment.

Owens walked in as Intercontinental Champion, but he would lose his belt to Zack Ryder, who would also defeat The Miz, Sin Cara, Stardust, and Dolph Ziggler, with these men stealing the show in the very first match of the night.

4 Kevin Steen Vs El Generico, ROH Final Battle 2010 (4.25 Stars)

Kevin Steen Vs El Generico

During their time in Ring of Honor, under their previous ring names of Kevin Steen and El Generico, Owens and Zayn battled countless times in an array of different matches, and occasionally with titles on the line.

This match was perhaps their greatest in ROH, with it being high stakes as it had Generico’s mask on the line against Steen’s career. The unsanctioned stipulation allowed them free rein to go wild on one another in one of ROH’s greatest matches. The star rating from Meltzer is surprisingly low given how many people view this as an all-time classic.

3 Money In The Bank Ladder Match, Money In The Bank 2017 (4.5 Stars)

MITB ladder match Money in the Bank 2017 Cropped

Contrary to some other Money in the Bank matches which can feel overly like a spot-fest, this one had several threads throughout, including alliances, injuries, and feuds between those in the match, such as Owens and Zayn going at it multiple times, for example.

Perhaps the only downside to this was Baron Corbin emerging as the winner, although at the time this didn’t feel like a bad decision.

2 The Miz Vs Cesaro Vs Kevin Owens Vs Sami Zayn, Extreme Rules 2016 (4.5 Stars)

Cesaro Vs The Miz Vs Kevin Owens Vs Sami Zayn

The Intercontinental Championship felt like the most important title during this match, as The Miz, Cesaro, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn all seemed hell-bent on picking up the victory.

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This match went at 100mph, bringing together two feuds in Cesaro vs The Miz and Zayn vs Owens. There were several great multi-man sequences, with this being up there with the best fatal four-way matches in WWE history.

1 Kevin Owens Vs Sami Zayn, WWE Battleground 2016 (4.5 Stars)

Sami Zayn v Kevin Owens Battleground 2016 Cropped

Although their feud wasn’t as high-profile as it was in NXT by the time Battleground 2016 rolled around, Owens and Zayn stole the show with a Match of the Year candidate, jam-packing a lot into 18-minutes.

There were call-backs to their older matches in NXT, such as Zayn hitting Owens with multiple Helluva Kicks as he would finally get one over his greatest rival, picking up the victory and elevating this PPV to new heights.