Sami Zayn wins Intercontinental title on WWE SmackDown

Sami Zayn defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship on tonight’s episode of SmackDown. 

After working over Nakamura’s left leg during the bout, Zayn pinned Nakamura after a simple kick to the leg, winning the IC title for the third time in his career. Zayn’s title win was taped last week in New Orleans, but aired tonight. 

Nakamura had held the title since winning it from Apollo Crews on SmackDown last August in Tulsa, Oklahoma. After dealing with injury issues, Nakamura had made just one defense of the title on television, defeating Crews in a rematch on SmackDown in September. 

Zayn reclaims the Intercontinental Championship for the first time since 2020, after he dropped the title to Big E on a December 2020 SmackDown episode during the WWE ThunderDome era. 

Both of Zayn’s prior runs with the title came in 2020, including a WrestleMania 36 title defense against Daniel Bryan.