WWE: Sami Zayn Should Win Money In The Bank 2018

It Would Give a Needed New Angle to the Zayn and Owens Plotline

From Hell in a Cell to WrestleMania, The Sami and Kevin Show became one of those rare WWE storylines that actually had a satisfying pay-off. Zayn and Owens were the center of an ever-shifting narrative lasagna that veered wildly back and forth, making them best friends and enemies and everything in between.

They were reliable main eventers that went from fighting for gold to fighting to keep their jobs, all while maintaining about six different feuds, being the most watchable part of a potential trainwreck six-man challenge in FastLane, and, oh yeah, bringing Daniel Bryan back to in-ring competition for the first time in two years.

Zayn and Owens seem to do their best work together, and WWE is aware of that, having once more deciding to keep their partnership intact as they moved to Raw. Now that their SmackDown storyline is over, one has to wonder what’s next. Are they going to throw their differences aside and embrace the tag team future predicted by their shared titantron? Are they just going to start hating each other again? (Please no.)

The conflict between Zayn and Owens boils down to titles and opportunities. Owens attacked Zayn in NXT because he was jealous that Zayn had the opportunity to go to WWE first, and he stole the NXT title from Zayn as revenge. More recently, Owens informed Zayn that he was the only one of them that was allowed to win titles, and Zayn responded by tricking him into a near-pinfall for a title at FastLane.

These conflicts never evolve because, well…Kevin Owens is right. He really is the one who wins the titles. Sami Zayn doesn’t. Nothing has actually happened to change that, and until it does, their dynamic is unlikely to shift in a meaningful way. They’ve has a weird run lately but they’re currently getting along again, to the point where Zayn actually saved Owens’s spot in Money in the Bank on Monday by interfering in a match on his behalf.

If WWE wants to keep them working together without things getting stale, there’s a great opportunity waiting at Money in the Bank.

They’re currently getting along well, but MITB will be the next opportunity for them to be in real conflict. They’ve been in MITB together before, but never as allies. If Zayn wins Money in the Bank, he’ll have won something on the main roster that Kevin never has before, and will have beaten him to do it.

It’s hard to imagine the incredibly arrogant Owens taking that news well. Would he stick with his newfound belief in friendship and teamwork, or would his old insecurities reopen their longstanding animosity? Watching them renegotiate the terms of their partnership in the wake of that would open their storyline up to new opportunities, alliances, and yes, even a renewed feud- but with Zayn in a position of power for the first time. And if Zayn actually wins a title? I have no idea what would happen to their partnership after that, but I would really like to find out.

And if one has a title while the other has the briefcase? The possibilities are endless.  If they’re given an angle and the space to work, they will crush it. These are two of the best storytellers working in the wrestling business today, so let’s give them something to work with.