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WWE NXT TakeOver: Rival – Why Kevin Owens Must Defeat Sami Zayn for the NXT Championship

By Mike Smith

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At WWE NXT TakeOver: Rival, Kevin Owens will challenge Sami Zayn for the NXT Championship. Just two months after his NXT debut, it’s a match that Owens must win.

When Owens and Zayn go to battle on Wednesday night, it will not be the first time. They have done battle everywhere from Montreal to Toronto, from New York City, to Reseda, California, and a bunch of places in-between. Along with the multiple times they have captured tag team gold together, they have fought multiple times over the ROH World Championship and the PWG World Championship. They have broken each other in the past, and I fully expect them to do the same at TakeOver: Rival.

Still, when it’s time for the main event on Wednesday, it will be the first time that Zayn and Owens fight on WWE TV/WWE Network, their first time fighting over a WWE title, and their first match in a WWE ring, so it will certainly be special. It will be Owens’ first big WWE match, and a win for him would benefit both men.

For Owens, it would instantly make him credible, and a top heel, if he shortens Zayn’s title reign. Zayn being the babyface to end all babyfaces.

In the coming months, Owens would then get to show off the skills that make him so great, as he would hold that win over Zayn’s head.

As for Zayn, it would put him back in the underdog role, but not just in a cheesy way that would seem like a cheap ploy. It would put Zayn down to a guy that he has history with, and can tell a great story with. It wouldn’t have to be the same story of redemption that we just saw completed when he won the title from Adrian Neville.

With Zayn possibly staying in NXT for another year, according to reports, this might be the best possible way to add some longevity to his NXT career, considering he is clearly ready for the main roster, and he is already the greatest talent to ever compete in NXT.

If Owens wins, then Zayn would stay in the title picture, deserving a rematch, while they would also be joined by the winner of the #1 Contender’s Match, either Finn Balor or Adrian Neville.

I could see Zayn getting a one-on-one rematch, then the new #1 Contender (I predict Balor) could get his shot, then both men could challenge Owens in an earth-shattering Triple Threat at the next TakeOver.

Zayn-Owens will be a great main event to another great live special from NXT, and both men would do wonders for the product as champion. However, as NXT stands right now, it would be a better place with Owens as champion.

Who do you think should walk out of TakeOver: Rival as NXT Champion? Let us know in the comments section below.

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