WWE star Sami Zayn was stripped of the Intercontinental title
WWE stripped Sami Zayn of the Intercontinental title and will hold a tournament to crown a new champion.
In a post, Zayn reacted to the news and said that no matter what WWE says, he is still the rightful champion:
He wrote: “I disagree with this decision and no matter what anyone says, I am still undefeated and therefore still the Intercontinental Champion.”
The news broke during a showing of WWE Backstage. Official wording from Fox Sports’ WWE Twitter account declared that Zayn was “unable to compete and defend the Intercontinental Championship,” leading to the vacancy.
Zayn last appeared on screen during the first night of WrestleMania 36, when he retained the international title against Daniel Bryan on April 4. He also appeared on SmackDown the night before.
Zayn won his first-ever intercontinental title in March after pinning Braun Strowman in a three-on-one handicap match at Elimination Chamber. Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro teamed with Zayn, who got the title with the pin.
Bryan had Drew Gulak watching his back at WrestleMania, but it was not enough to neutralize Sami Zayn’s cohorts.
It was only a year ago that Bryan entered WrestleMania 35 as the WWE Champion and the most hated heel in all of WWE, but entering this year’s flagship pay-per-view, Bryan didn’t have a clear path to a marquee match on the show.
Gulak defeated Shinsuke Nakamura on SmackDown, which granted Bryan a shot at Sami Zayn’s Intercontinental Championship. Bryan pulled Gulak out of the way as Nakamura was attempting his Kinshasa, and Gulak rolled up Nakamura for the pinfall.
The Great Liberator escaped WrestleMania with the Intercontinental Championship. However, he has now lost the title and no one knows when he will return to action.
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