Just as the snake tempted Eve, Karrion Kross has been tempting Sami Zayn to bite into the apple of ruthlessness and cruelty for the past few weeks “WWE Raw.” Saturday, Zayn attempted to cut the snake’s head off in singles action, and what was originally a filler match to replace “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio’s match against AJ Styles has, shockingly, established itself on the higher end of Saturday’s matches.

Zayn and Kross’ match dripped with narrative. We all know how emotional Zayn is in the ring: take one look at his work with the Bloodline, or with Kevin Owens, or with GUNTHER. Zayn wears his heart out on his sleeve, and, when you really think about it, Kross was a supreme choice to take crush that hard (or, at least, try to). Don’t let his win-loss record deceive you into taking him any less seriously. What Kross might lack in in-ring prestige, he more than makes up for in villainous behavior: he is a class manipulator whose commitment to verbal assaults more than makes up for whatever he lacks in the ring. Kross was a sleeper choice for Zayn’s opponent; he is the perfect guy to try and crush Zayn’s spirit, and the commitment both of these men took to that in-ring storytelling really showed in their Saudi match.

While Zayn and Kross are definitely more known for their character work (especially the latter), what they did in the ring wasn’t particularly offensive — in fact, it was pretty good, because they are so solid in their character work. Kross’ moves were not brutal — they were straight-up antagonizing. Every strike to Zayn’s chest was punctuated with verbal taunts as Kross beckoned Zayn to indulge in his rage, to claim Kross’ way of violence as the truth, and to admit that his path of temperance was built on the charade of goodness. The early shove of Kross’ face and the uncharacteristically cocky springboard taunt showed an uncommon rage to Zayn — one that Kross has been attempting to elicit — but he is not fully assimilated to Kross’ idea of tyranny, as his babyface resilience ultimately won him the contest.

Say what you want about the referee checking Zayn’s hand three times for consciousness near the end of the contest, but I think the extended checks added to the drama of the moment and made Zayn’s fight out of the Kross Jacket even more impactful. Even when Kross was pinned clean, it didn’t feel like a total loss. Zayn had tapped into ruthlessness, just as Kross has been beckoning him too, and while I didn’t catch what Kross was saying to him as he looked up at his opponent after the match, I’ll bet that it was related.

This match did what it needed to do, and it’s because Zayn and Kross told their in-ring story so well. Both men walked out of this match better than when they went in, and if this story is to continue, I can’t wait to see what’s next.

Written by Angeline Phu