(SPOILER) Intercontinental Title Tournament Bouts Set For WWE SmackDown
The belt was vacated earlier this week...
May 15, 2020
A tournament to crown a new WWE Intercontinental champion will begin on tonight's edition of SmackDown.
Mike Johnson of PWInsider has reported on two tournament matches that are set to air on tonight's broadcast. They are:
*Elias vs. King Corbin
*Daniel Bryan vs. Drew Gulak
It's not clear at this time if these are the only tournament matches, or if a larger bracket is going to be revealed at a later point.
The title was officially announced as vacated on Tuesday's edition of WWE Backstage. Reigning champion Sami Zayn elected not to wrestle any more during the ongoing pandemic, and was therefore stripped of the championship.
Zayn's reign officially ended at 65 days. He won the title from Braun Strowman on March 8 at Elimination Chamber, as part of a three-on-one handicap match where Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro were his partners.
Of the four confirmed tournament participants, Bryan is the only one that has previously reigned as Intercontinental champion. He won the belt in a seven-way ladder match at WrestleMania 31 in 2015, and held the title for six weeks in all, before vacating it due to injury.
