IC title match announced for January 13 WWE SmackDown

The Intercontinental Championship will be on the line on the January 13 WWE SmackDown episode. 

In a match announced during this week’s show, Gunther will defend the Intercontinental title against Braun Strowman on Friday, January 13. 

Gunther and Strowman were involved in an angle on this week’s SmackDown where Gunther and Imperium attacked Strowman. Strowman laid out Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser, but Gunther hit Strowman with a steel chair. Ricochet then made the save for Strowman with his own chair. 

Gunther has held the Intercontinental title since defeating Ricochet for the belt on the June 10 SmackDown show. Strowman had one short reign with the IC title from January 31 to March 8 2020, managing one successful title defense at a house show during his reign. 

The lineup for the January 6 SmackDown:

• Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship: The Usos (c) vs. Drew McIntyre & Sheamus
• Royal Rumble qualifying match: Ricochet vs. Top Dolla

The lineup for the January 13 SmackDown: 

• WWE Intercontinental Championship: Gunther (c) vs. Braun Strowman