InZayn Redemption: Exorcising the Demons

Battleground 2016

Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens

I hate to say it, but at the end of what was by far and wide Battleground's finest match; Michael Cole put it aptly. 

Sami Zayn had just managed to exorcise his demons. 

Despite the fact that former best friends turned bitter rivals were headed into the same brand post the draft, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens had a hellacious encounter billed as their final fight...for now. 

We all know Zayn and Owens are just one of those rivals destined to do this forever. 

Still despite whether this is their last encounter, or whether their on the same draft. Their greatest match against one another even since their days as Kevin Steen and El Generico added a sense of release for both competitors as the next night on RAW truly heralds a new era and new direction for both men. 

I'm not going to say much of the match, because I want to save a complete analysis of it for a complete retrospective on the Zayn./Owens rivalry which I might end up writing about forever until the two men obviously end up inducting one another into the Hall of Fame. 

Considering their repetoire around the world and the fact that Zayn and Owens are such fantastic artists and storytellers in a new age of pro wrestling, I am sure to unearth great details and gems within this one match as a call back to their storied rivalry that goes beyond the borders of WWE. 

Whenever these two men step into the ring, no matter who wins [as is the cliche] it is the audience that walks out the winner. But alongside them this night, both men in some fashion walked out champions. 

For Zayn, as he delivered the first of two Helluva Kicks that would down the man he once called friend, he stood tall and stared into the beaten face of his former friend. Owens was too rattled to retaliate, unlike the last countless times; Zayn finally stood up to the man whose shadow he has not only been shrouded by but whose shadow he has chased and been chased by like a demon. 

He showed signs of a man disgusted by what his friend has become, what has happened to their friendship and more importantly how far Owens has pushed him to go to bring out the necessary violence to destroy him. 

Zayn vs. Owens is a spectacular tale of brotherhood and betrayal, one that fits in with the theme of Sunday's Battleground PPV and while this isn't the final chapter, it's definitely the Zayniest for finally Sami Zayn has risen above his demons and both men have been freed from the shackles of this rivalry that threatened to poison their careers. 

Ironically Zayn's victory is Owen's victory and in a New Era the two are bound to move on and one day become champions and hopefully that will add a new dimension to this fight when they inevitably square off at the Grandest stage of them All.