Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2018) |
| Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn | |
|---|---|
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| Tag team | |
| Members | El Generico/Sami Zayn Kevin Steen/Kevin Owens |
| Name(s) | El Generico and Kevin Steen The Yep! Movement Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn Team IWS Steenerico[1] |
| Billed heights | Kevin Owens: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Sami Zayn: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Combined billed weight | 478 lb (217 kg) |
| Disbanded | June 17, 2018 |
| Years active | 2006–2009 2013 2017–2018 |
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn were a professional wrestling tag team. Prior to signing with WWE, El Generico and Kevin Steen teamed in Ring of Honor (ROH) and across the independent circuit.
History
Ring of Honor
El Generico and Kevin Steen debuted in Ring of Honor as a team losing to The Briscoe Brothers on February 17, 2007. On April 14, Mark Briscoe returned in the middle of his brother Jay's and Erick Stevens match against Kevin Steen and El Generico; Mark was beaten up by the duo and was pinned by Steen. On May 11, Kevin Steen (as a heel) and El Generico (as a face) defeated Jason Blade and Eddie Edwards.
At Respect is Earned in a dark match, Kevin Steen and El Generico defeated The Irish Airborne (Jake Crist and Dave Crist), Pelle Primeau and Mitch Franklin and Jimmy Rave and Adam Pearce with Shane Hagadorn in a Tag Team Scramble match. That same night Kevin Steen and El Generico brawled with the Briscoe Brothers ending with Mark Briscoe suffering a mild concussion from a steel chair shot. At Driven, The Briscoe Brothers defeated Kevin Steen and El Generico to retain the ROH World Tag Team Championship.[2] Steen and Generico then suffered losses to the Briscoes at Caged Rage in a Steel Cage match, Manhattan Mayhem II in a two out of three falls match and Man Up in a ladder match. Their only tag team win over the Briscoes was at Death Before Dishonor V Night 1 in a non title Boston Street Fight.
On June 6, 2008, Steen and Generico participated in the one night tournament to crown new ROH World Tag Team Champions. They defeated Go Shiozaki and ROH World Champion Nigel McGuiness in the first round and Chris Hero and Adam Pearce in the second round before losing to Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black in the finals. On September 19, 2008, Steen and Generico defeated Jacobs and Black to win the ROH World Tag Team Championship.[3] They later lost the Championship to The American Wolves (Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards).[3]
On December 19, 2009 at Final Battle 2009, ROH's first live pay-per-view, after a loss to The Young Bucks, Steen turned heel by attacking El Generico.[4] Steen and Generico's feud ended a year later on December 18, 2010, at Final Battle 2010, where Generico defeated Steen in an unsanctioned Fight Without Honor, where he put his mask on the line against Steen's Ring of Honor career.[5]
December 16, 2012 marked the final battle between Steen and Generico in Ring of Honor. At Final Battle 2012, the 4th Ladder War match took place at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. What ended up being Generico's final match in Ring of Honor, Generico came up short against Steen after Steen hit the Package Piledriver on a ladder contraption built throughout the match by both competitors.
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
On July 29, 2007 at Giant Size Annual #4, Generico and Steen defeated PAC and Roderick Strong to become the PWG World Tag Team Champions for the first time. They successfully defended the belts for almost three months, losing them to the team of Davey Richards and Super Dragon on October 27 in England as part of PWG's European Vacation II tour. The next night, Steen teamed with PAC in an attempt to regain the belts from Dragon and Richards, announcing pre-match that if he lost, he'd leave the company indefinitely. He was unable to win the bout.
Generico and Steen won the title for a second time, this time from The Dynasty (Joey Ryan and Scott Lost) on March 21, 2008, after Steen returned to PWG for an impromptu match. They became the first team in PWG history to be a part of the annual Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament to defend the belts in each match they had. In the tournament finals, they lost to Jack Evans and Roderick Strong, thus ending their second reign. After El Generico had agreed to a deal with WWE, he and Steen reunited one more time on January 12, 2013, by entering the 2013 Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament. After wins over The Briscoe Brothers and Future Shock (Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reilly), they were defeated in the finals of the tournament by The Young Bucks.[6]
WWE
NXT
Generico signed to WWE on January 9, 2013, where he worked in their developmental territory NXT as Sami Zayn while Steen remained signed to ROH. On August 12, 2014, Steen signed with WWE and was also sent to NXT under the ring name Kevin Owens and debuted at NXT TakeOver: R Evolution in the opening match, defeating CJ Parker. In the main event, Zayn defeated Adrian Neville to win the NXT Championship. After a long celebration with the roster, Owens turned on Zayn, delivering a powerbomb on the apron and re-igniting their feud.[7] On February 11, 2015 at NXT TakeOver: Rival, Owens won the title from Zayn via knockout after continuously powerbombing Zayn.
Main Roster
In mid-2015, Owens was brought up to the main roster, followed by Zayn the following year. On the May 16, 2016 episode of Raw, Owens and Zayn were placed in a tag team match to face Cesaro and The Miz in a winning effort, but Owens would attack Zayn immediately after the match. The two would go on to have a grudge match at the Battleground pay-per-view where Zayn would come out victorious over Owens. Both would be drafted to the Raw brand during the 2016 WWE draft, but were traded to the SmackDown brand during the 2017 WWE Superstar Shake-up.
On October 8, 2017 at Hell in a Cell, Zayn helped Owens defeat SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon in the main event, turning Zayn heel for the first time in his career and reuniting with Owens in the process. On the October 10 episode of SmackDown Live, Zayn said that Owens was right all along and called Owens his "brother". On the October 17 episode of SmackDown Live, Owens and Zayn defeated Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura in a tag team match after Zayn hit a low blow on Orton. On the Survivor Series kickoff show, Owens and Zayn defeated Breezango (Tyler Breeze and Fandango). Later that night, they attacked Shane McMahon during the 5-on-5 Survivor Series interbrand elimination match, which ultimately lead to Team SmackDown's defeat. On the November 28 episode of SmackDown, Owens defeated Orton in a no disqualification match after interference from Zayn, who was originally banned from ringside. On the December 5 episode of SmackDown Live, Zayn lost to Orton with Owens handcuffed to the ring ropes.
At Clash of Champions on December 17, Owens and Zayn faced Orton and Nakamura in a tag team match with their jobs on the line and both Shane McMahon and SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan as referees. After a fast count from Bryan, Owens and Zayn won the match, thus keeping their jobs. Following Clash of Champions, Owens and Zayn would embark on a feud with WWE Champion AJ Styles (who would subsequently refer to the duo as Kami)[8] as Owens defeated Styles in a non-title match after Zayn interfered on the final SmackDown Live of 2017. The following week, Zayn would defeat Styles in a non-title match after Owens interfered. Styles would later demand a handicap match against Owens and Zayn, which was granted by Daniel Bryan for the Royal Rumble who also made it for Styles' WWE Championship. Owens and Zayn said they would become the first-ever co-WWE Champions, but despite the advantage, Owens and Zayn would lose when Styles pinned Owens, who was not the legal man, which Shane ignored when they confronted him. The duo teased breaking up two nights later when Zayn walked out on Owens during a tag team main event against Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura. The following week, Owens and Zayn met in a #1 Contender's match, which ended in a double disqualification after they were attacked by Styles. As a result, Daniel Bryan made a triple threat match between Owens, Zayn, and Styles at Fastlane for the WWE Championship. The match was later turned into a six-pack challenge with the additions of Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, and John Cena. In the weeks leading to Fastlane, Owens and Zayn continued to show signs of dissension, including when Zayn pinned Owens in a fatal five-way including Styles, Corbin and Ziggler on the March 6 episode of SmackDown Live.
At Fastlane on March 11, Owens and Zayn lost the six-pack challenge to Styles when Styles pinned Owens; during the match, Owens and Zayn's rivalry with Shane McMahon intensified when Shane, who was sitting at ringside, constantly interfered and broke up pinfalls attempted by both Owens and Zayn. On the SmackDown after Fastlane, Shane announced that he was taking a leave of absence, but as one last decision, he announced that Owens and Zayn would face each other at WrestleMania 34. They responded by brutally attacking Shane. On the March 20 episode of SmackDown Live, Owens and Zayn were fired by Daniel Bryan as a consequence for what they did to Shane; Bryan, who was forced to retire due to concussions, was cleared to compete again, which he announced earlier that night. In response to Bryan firing them, Owens and Zayn attacked Bryan as well. Bryan would address this the following week and announce that Owens and Zayn would face Shane and himself at WrestleMania 34 in a tag team match where if Owens and Zayn win, they would be reinstated to SmackDown, but if they lose, they will remain fired. At WrestleMania, despite attacking McMahon and Bryan before the match, Owens and Zayn lost after Zayn submitted to Bryan's Yes! Lock. The next night, Owens and Zayn appeared on Raw, asking Raw General Manager Kurt Angle for a job. Angle was reluctant at first, due to Owens and Zayn's reputation on SmackDown, but offered a spot on Raw to the winner of a match between Owens and Zayn, which ended in a no contest. The decision was overruled by Raw Commissioner Stephanie McMahon the following week, as she would award both men Raw contracts. Later that night, Owens and Zayn teamed up with The Miz and The Miztourage (Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas), against Finn Balor, Seth Rollins, Braun Strowman, Bobby Lashley, and another new Raw member Bobby Roode, but their team was defeated. The following week on Raw, they teamed up in an unsuccessful attempt to defeat Strowman and Lashley. On the April 30 episode of Raw, they teamed up with Jinder Mahal in an unsuccessful attempt to defeat Strowman, Lashley and Roman Reigns. Later that night, Angle scheduled Owens and Zayn to again face Strowman and Lashley at Backlash. At the event on May 6, Owens and Zayn were once again defeated by Strowman and Lashley. On the May 14 edition of Raw, Zayn assisted Owens in winning a triple threat match against Elias and Bobby Lashley to gain entry into the men's Money in the Bank ladder match. At Money in the Bank, Zayn was unsuccessful in a match against Bobby Lashley while Owens was unsuccessful in the eponymous ladder match as it was won by Braun Strowman. It was reported that Zayn had to undergo surgery to fix torn rotator cuffs on his knee and shoulder, thus spliting the team.
Championships and accomplishments
- Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
- Ring of Honor
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Feud of the Year (2010) Kevin Steen vs. El Generico[9]
References
- ^ www
.onlineworldofwrestling .com /bios /s /steenerico / - ^ "Kevin Owens".
- ^ a b c "Ring Of Honor Tag Team Championship". Ring of Honor. Archived from the original on 2010-04-12. Retrieved 2010-04-05.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Caldwell, James (2009-12-19). "CALDWELL'S RING OF HONOR PPV REPORT 12/19: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of ROH's first online PPV - Austin Aries vs. Tyler Black". PWTorch. Retrieved 2009-12-20.
- ^ Caldwell, James (2010-12-18). "Caldwell's Ring of Honor PPV report 12/18: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of "Final Battle 2010" - Strong vs. Richards, Generico vs. Steen". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2010-12-18.
- ^ Massingham, Matt (2013-01-13). "Show Results - 1/12 PWG DDT4 tournament in Reseda, Calif.: Complete coverage of new PWG tag champs, Generico's farewell, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2013-01-13.
- ^ Wood, Donald. "WWE Signs Kevin Steen to NXT: Latest Details, Comments and Twitter Reaction".
- ^ WWE (16 January 2018). "AJ Styles has a message for "Kami": SmackDown LIVE, Jan. 16, 2018" – via YouTube.
- ^ Meltzer, Dave (January 27, 2011). "Biggest issue of the year: The 2011 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards Issue". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, CA: 1–40. ISSN 1083-9593.