Predictions for Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn at WWE Battleground 2016 and Beyond

Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn is the kind of rivalry that will never truly come to a close—not at WWE Battleground 2016, not anywhere.

Despite Zayn's desire to "put an end to this once and for all," as he told Owens on Monday's Raw, the latest clash between these men won't provide closure. It is too compelling and too electric of a battle for WWE to ever put to rest.

Expect a red-hot match at the Battleground pay-per-view followed by a long pause and breathing space for their bad blood.

Owens and Zayn have been ripping at each other's flesh for years, a fact WWE has not been shy about exploiting. Their feud began at the early stages of each man's career, when they collided on the independent circuit in Montreal. Back when Zayn was still El Generico and Owens was known as Kevin Steen, they fought for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and Ring of Honor.

When WWE signed both men to the NXT brand, the narrative rolled on.  

Owens cracked his former friend's head against the entrance ramp in his NXT debut. The two enemies battled for the NXT Championship before moving to the main roster, where the Intercontinental Championship and Money in the Bank briefcase became the new prizes they denied each other.

Chris Jericho interviewed both men on Monday's Raw, recapping that history and highlighting their enmity.

Zayn challenged Owens to one last match at Battleground. The bruiser accepted.

What will come next is predictable, in a sense. Throughout this saga, there have been a number of constants, including the two enemies delivering when called upon.

A Stunner Awaits

Owens vs. Zayn will elevate Battleground and compose one of 2016's best matches. History says so.

The rivals have a special chemistry. As much as WWE tries to manufacture hatred between wrestlers, it rarely feels as genuine as what Owens and Zayn have produced. As a result, their matches begin with the advantage of surging with energy before the bell even rings.

And both men have shown themselves to be among WWE's best in-ring storytellers. That only becomes more true when they fight each other.

At Payback, Owens and Zayn were faced with one of the toughest tasks a wrestler can imagine. Enzo Amore had just suffered a nasty injury, dropping to the floor concussed, glassy-eyed and motionless. The buzz in the arena died.

Owens and Zayn had to follow that and revive a crowd stunned by seeing one of its favorites stretchered out. 

They did, putting on a moving match. Adam Martin of Wrestleview.com proclaimed it stole the show: 

It was hard to be surprised. Owens and Zayn have been excelling against each other long before Payback.

As seen on ProFightDB.com, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has been quite kind to the pair when handing out ratings:

Event	Match	Match Type	Star Rating (Out of 5)
ROH Showdown in the Sun	El Generico vs. Kevin Steen	Last Man Standing	4
ROH Final Battle 2012	El Generico vs. Kevin Steen	Ladder	4
NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable	Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens	Standard	3.5
NXT TakeOver: Rival	Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens	Standard	3.5
WrestleMania 32	Sam Zayn vs. Kevin Owens vs. The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Sin Cara vs. Stardust vs. Zack Ryder	Ladder	4.25
Payback 2016	Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens	Standard	4
Extreme Rules 2016	The Miz vs. Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens	Fatal 4-Way	4.5

Their Battleground bout will outdo their previous WWE and NXT work. It looks as if WWE is going to make this matchup a high priority and give it plenty of hype. It is just the second match announced for the PPV, and there are still four weeks left to build it up.

That will add up to a special showing. 

Winner

Owens will claim victory in Washington D.C. come July 24. That will open the door for a Zayn redemption story down the road, pulling fans in as the babyface looks to defeat a rival who has dominated him.

To this point, WWE has booked Owens as the more powerful force of the two. During the WWE and NXT portions of this feud, the bruiser has gone 2-1-1 against Zayn in TV and PPV bouts, per CageMatch.net:

• TakeOver: Rival (Owens)
• TakeOver: Unstoppable (No-Contest)
• Payback 2016 (Owens)
• Raw, June 20, 2016 (Zayn)

That stat is misleading, though. For one, Owens didn't just beat Zayn their first time out; he mauled him. 

And their NXT title match at Unstoppable was no real draw. The referee stopped the match after Owens battered Zayn to the point where he could not stand or defend himself.

The story there was that Owens devoured Zayn and that the referee called the action off to protect the fan favorite from having his career end early.

Overall, WWE has positioned Zayn as the underdog and Owens as the alpha male. And with Owens closer to being a top title contender right now, the company is likely to give him a boost here. Zayn can catch fire later.

Battleground will be Owens' launchpad to the world championship picture.

Separate Ways

Owens' and Zayn's paths are set to diverge. WWE will move back to a brand-split model following a draft on July 19, giving Raw and SmackDown their own rosters of talent.

These rivals won't be going to the same place.

WWE knows it can build anticipation for their eventual collision in the future by separating them now. Keeping them on the same show would likely lead to WWE Creative running their rivalry into the ground.

Credit: WWE.com

Billing this Battleground matchup as an end to their story hints at them splitting via the draft.

As Cageside Seats' Sean Rueter wrote, it's a move that will "[let] them spread their wings and grow on the main without relying on their signature feud." The majority of Zayn's stay on the main roster has been focused on his hate for Owens. It's time for The Underdog from the Underground to engage in new stories and find new folks to trade blows with.

Look for Zayn to remain on Raw while Owens becomes one of SmackDown's centerpieces. 

Fight Forever

Even with Zayn and Owens likely headed down different paths following the brand split, they will converge at some point. Theirs is the kind of rivalry that is too perfect not to tap into again and again.

Ric Flair and Sting's feud reconvened through the years. Shawn Michaels and Triple H resumed their tale several times over. Count on the same thing happening with Owens and Zayn.

In an interview with Neil Docking of the Mirror, Zayn said of the rivalry, "There is just something very strange about the dynamic between Kevin and I that people, no matter how many times they've seen it, it seems to always get the fans' attention."

WWE knows that. It has seen it work in WWE, NXT, ROH and elsewhere. 

After each Superstar is allowed to thrive on his own for an extended amount of time, the company will look to pit the two against each other again. The next time they meet will have the benefit of an audience left hungry to see them fight.

Owens vs. Zayn is a match worthy of WrestleMania. Look for them to nab a prominent spot on that marquee card in a few years, their conflict restarting long after the climax we see at Battleground.