| Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Kevin Owens andSami Zayn in 2023 | |
| Tag team | |
| Members | Kevin Steen/Kevin Owens El Generico/Sami Zayn |
| Name(s) | El Generico and Kevin Steen Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn 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) |
| Hometown | Quebec,Canada |
| Debut | February 17, 2007 |
| Disbanded | February 3, 2025 |
| Years active | 2007–2009 2017–2019 2023–2025 |
Kevin Owens andSami Zayn were aprofessional wrestlingtag team. They are both signed toWWE.
The team originated in 2007 inRing of Honor (ROH), where Zayn portrayed theluchadorenmascarado (or maskedprofessional wrestler) El Generico and Owens wrestled under his real name, Kevin Steen. Nicknamed "Steenerico" by fans, the duo won theROH World Tag Team Championship in 2008. They also teamed up on theindependent circuit, most notably inPro Wrestling Guerilla (PWG), holdingPWG World Tag Team Championshiptwice. Zayn and Owens signed with WWE in 2013 and 2014, respectively, and have since remained in the company, feuding or teaming up several times over the course of their careers in WWE; in the main event ofWrestleMania 39 - Night 1, they won theUndisputed WWE Tag Team Championship.
Kevin Steen and El Generico debuted in Ring of Honor as a team losing to theBriscoe Brothers on February 17, 2007. On April 14,Mark Briscoe returned in the middle of the match between his brotherJay andErick Stevens against Steen and Generico; Mark was beaten up by the duo and was pinned by Steen. On May 11, Steen (as a heel) and Generico (as a face) defeated Jason Blade andEddie Edwards.
AtRespect is Earned in a dark match, Steen and Generico defeatedThe Irish Airborne (Jake Crist and Dave Crist), Pelle Primeau and Mitch Franklin andJimmy Rave andAdam Pearce with Shane Hagadorn in a Tag Team Scramble match. That same night, Steen and Generico brawled with the Briscoe Brothers, ending with Mark Briscoe suffering a mild concussion from a steel chair shot. AtDriven, the Briscoe Brothers defeated Steen and Generico to retain theROH World Tag Team Championship.[2] Steen and Generico then suffered losses to the Briscoes at Caged Rage in a Steel Cage match, at Manhattan Mayhem II in atwo out of three falls match and atMan Up in aladder 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 defeatedGo Shiozaki and ROH World ChampionNigel McGuiness in the first round andChris Hero and Pearce in the second round before losing toJimmy Jacobs andTyler Black in the finals. On September 19, Steen and Generico defeated Jacobs and Black to win the ROH World Tag Team Championship.[3] They later lost the Championship toThe American Wolves (Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards).[3]
On December 19, 2009, atFinal Battle 2009, ROH's first live pay-per-view, after a loss toThe Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson), Steen turned heel by attacking Generico.[4] Steen and Generico's feud ended a year later on December 18, 2010, atFinal Battle 2010, where Generico defeated Steen in anunsanctioned Fight Without Honor match, 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. AtFinal Battle 2012, the fourthLadder War match took place at theHammerstein 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.
On July 29, 2007, at Giant Size Annual #4, Generico and Steen defeatedPac andRoderick Strong to become thePWG World Tag Team Champions for the first time. They successfully defended the belts for almost three months, losing them to the team ofDavey Richards andSuper Dragon on October 27 inEngland as part of PWG's European Vacation II tour. The next night, Steen teamed with Pac in an attempt to regain the belts from Richards and Dragon, announcing pre-match that if he lost, he would 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 andScott 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 annualDynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament to defend the belts in each match they had. In the tournament finals, they lost toJack Evans and Roderick Strong, thus ending their second reign. After Generico had agreed to a deal with WWE, he and Steen reunited one more time on January 12, 2013, by entering the2013 Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament. After wins over theBriscoe Brothers and Future Shock (Adam Cole andKyle O'Reilly), they were defeated in the finals of the tournament byThe Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson).[6]
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Generico signed to WWE on January 9, 2013, where he worked in theirdevelopmental territoryNXT asSami Zayn, while Steen remained signed to ROH. On August 12, 2014, Steen signed with WWE and was also sent to NXT under the ring nameKevin Owens and debuted atNXT TakeOver: R Evolution in the opening match, defeatingCJ Parker. In the main event, Zayn defeatedAdrian Neville to win theNXT 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 atNXT TakeOver: Rival, Owens won the title from Zayn via ref stoppage after continuously powerbombing Zayn.
In May 2015, Owens was brought up to the main roster, followed by Zayn the following year. On the May 16, 2016 episode ofRaw, Owens and Zayn were placed in a tag team match to faceCesaro andThe Miz in a winning effort, but Owens attacked Zayn immediately after the match. The two went on to have a grudge match at theBattleground pay-per-view, where Zayn defeated Owens. Both were drafted to theRawbrand during the2016 WWE draft, but were traded to theSmackDown brand during the2017 WWE Superstar Shake-up.
On October 8, 2017, atHell in a Cell, Zayn helped Owens defeat SmackDown CommissionerShane 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 ofSmackDown Live, Zayn said that Owens was right all along and called Owens his "brother". On the October 17 episode ofSmackDown Live, Owens and Zayn defeatedRandy Orton andShinsuke Nakamura in a tag team match after Zayn hit a low blow on Orton. On theSurvivor Series kickoff show, Owens and Zayn defeated Breezango (Tyler Breeze andFandango). Later that night, they attacked McMahon during the 5-on-5 Survivor Series Interbrand elimination match, which ultimately led to Team SmackDown's defeat. On the November 28 episode ofSmackDown Live, Owens defeated Orton in a no disqualification match after interference from Zayn, who was originally banned from ringside. On the December 5 episode ofSmackDown Live, Zayn lost to Orton with Owens handcuffed to the ring ropes.
AtClash 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 McMahon and SmackDown General ManagerDaniel 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 embarked on a feud with WWE ChampionAJ Styles, facing him atRoyal Rumble in a Handicap Match and atFastlane in a six-pack challenge, also includingBaron Corbin,Dolph Ziggler, andJohn Cena, failing both times. During the Fastlane match, Owens and Zayn's rivalry with McMahon intensified, when McMahon, who was sitting at ringside, constantly interfered and broke up pinfalls attempted by both Owens and Zayn. This led to a match atWrestleMania 34 against the team of McMahon and Bryan, who made his in-ring return after years of retirement. At WrestleMania, Zayn submitted to Bryan'sYes! Lock. After they lost, they joined Raw, where they wrestled several tag team matches untilMoney in the Bank. After the event, it was reported that Zayn had to undergo surgery to fix torn rotator cuffs on his knee and shoulder, thus splitting the team and Owens was reported to undergo knee surgery as well.
On the June 4, 2019 episode ofSmackDown Live, Owens and Zayn reunited to faceThe New Day (Big E,Kofi Kingston andXavier Woods) in a losing effort.[8] AtStomping Grounds, they defeated The New Day, represented by Big E and Woods.[9] After Stomping Grounds event, the duo of Owens and Zayn drifted apart again, when Owens turnedface and reignited his feud with McMahon. Zayn then went on to continue his work as a menacing, ruthless heel which helped him to win theWWE Intercontinental Championship on two separate occasions in 2020.
In March 2021, Zayn began a gimmick as a deranged conspiracy theorist that believed the WWE was holding him down. Soon after, Zayn reignited his feud with Owens after Zayn tried unsuccessfully to convince Owens to believe in his conspiracy theories. Owens then challenged Zayn to a match atWrestleMania 37, which Zayn accepted. At WrestleMania, Owens defeated Zayn. After Zayn interfered with Owens andBig E's tag team match againstApollo Crews andCommander Azeez on the June 18, 2021, edition of SmackDown, Owens demanded a match against Zayn atHell in a Cell, which Zayn won. On the July 2 episode ofSmackDown, Owens defeated Zayn in a rematch, which was contested as aLast Man Standing match to qualify for the men's Money in the Bank ladder match.[10][11]
After joiningThe Bloodline in 2022 as the "Honorary Uce", Zayn began a feud with Owens by the start of 2023 and wrestled each other on the January 20 episode ofSmackDown, only forThe Usos (Jey Uso andJimmy Uso) andSolo Sikoa to interfere. During theRoyal Rumble main event,Roman Reigns, who questioned Zayn's loyalty in recent weeks, retained theUndisputed WWE Universal Championship against Owens and proceeded to have the rest of The Bloodline attack Owens after the match. Zayn refused to join the beatdown and eventually hit Reigns with a steel chair, prompting the rest of The Bloodline to beat down Zayn and thus ejecting him from the group, whileJey Uso walked out.[12] On the February 3 episode ofSmackDown, Zayn attacked Reigns and challenged him to a match for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship atElimination Chamber, which Reigns accepted.[13] Zayn failed to win the title and was assaulted by Reigns and Jimmy Uso following the match until Owens appeared and saved Zayn.[14] On the following episode ofRaw after Elimination Chamber, Zayn offered an olive branch to Owens and proposed that they team up to bring down The Bloodline together, but Owens rejected it.[15]
On the March 17, 2023, episode ofSmackDown,Cody Rhodes invited Owens and Zayn to hash it out so that they can reunite to fight against The Bloodline, but Owens again declined to team up with Zayn. Later that night, Zayn confrontedJey Uso in the ring and was beaten up by The Usos. Owens ran out to save Zayn and embraced him, officially reuniting in the process.[16] On the March 20 episode ofRaw, Owens and Zayn challenged The Usos to a match for theUndisputed WWE Tag Team Championship atWrestleMania 39, which The Usos accepted.[17] At WrestleMania 39, they defeated The Usos to win the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships, ending the Usos' historic Undisputed Tag Team Championship reign.[18]
Owens and Zayn were drafted to the Raw brand in the2023 WWE Draft. AtNight of Champions, Owens and Zayn retained their Undisputed Tag Team Championship against The Bloodline (Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa).[19] They lost the titles toThe Judgment Day'sFinn Bálor andDamian Priest in a Pittsburgh Steel CityStreet Fight atPayback in September after interference from"Dirty" Dominik Mysterio,Rhea Ripley, andJD McDonagh, ending their reign at 154 days.[20] They were unsuccessful in a rematch for the titles on the September 25 episode ofRaw.[21] Also at Payback, Rhodes got Jey Uso—who was on SmackDown and had quit WWE shortly before Payback—reinstated as a member of Raw and it was revealed that someone was traded to SmackDown for Jey.[22] The following month on the October 13 episode ofSmackDown, new SmackDown General ManagerNick Aldis revealed that Owens had been traded to SmackDown for Jey, in turn putting Owens and Zayn's tag team on hiatus.[23][24] The duo, Owens and Zayn, reunited at ahouse show inTokyo during WWE's tour of Japan on July 27, 2024, defeating The Bloodline'sTama Tonga andTonga Loa in a tag team match.[25]
In October 2024, Owens turnedheel by attacking Rhodes, starting a feud.[26] On the January 27, 2025 episode ofRaw, Zayn went for aHelluva Kick onDrew McIntyre, who moved, causing Zayn to hit Rhodes. Owens stood next to Zayn and then bumped his fist on his chest before exiting the ring.[27] On February 1 atRoyal Rumble, Owens failed to defeat Rhodes for theUndisputed WWE Championship.[28] Three days later onRaw, after Zayn's failure to qualify to theElimination Chamber match againstCM Punk, Owens turned on Zayn for not helping him in his match against Rhodes at Royal Rumble.[29] AtElimination Chamber: Toronto on March 1, Owens defeated Zayn in aunsanctioned match.[30]
