Kevin Owens Vs. Sami Zayn Announced For 1/13 WWE SmackDown

Longtime friends/rivals Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn will face off in singles action on next week's episode of WWE SmackDown.

The match was made Friday night, amid show-long tensions between Zayn and Bloodline leader Roman Reigns, over how their match against Owens and John Cena on last week's SmackDown turned out. The friction ultimately came to a head when Reigns admitted his anger toward Zayn should really be directed at Owens, and suggested that Zayn face Owens next week to fix everything. Zayn agreed, and vowed to take care of Owens with the match.

Earlier in the night, Owens challenged Reigns to a WWE Universal title match at the Royal Rumble in San Antonio in three weeks time, which Reigns accepted. During the segment, Owens further tried driving the wedge between Reigns and Zayn.

Previously announced for next week's SmackDown is an Intercontinental title match, with champion Gunther defending against Braun Strowman.

The current card for next Friday's WWE SmackDown, taking place at the Resch Center in Green Bay, includes the following:

* WWE Intercontinental: Gunther vs. Braun Strowman

* Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn