Tag: Wwe Intercontinental Championship

IC title match announced for next week’s WWE Raw

Posted on by Ethan Renner

An Intercontinental title defense, plus a tornado tag team match have been announced for the Monday, September 4 episode of WWE Raw. 

Coming off a countout victory over Gunther on last week’s Raw, Chad Gable will challenge Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship on next week’s Raw. 

Gable defeated Gunther’s Imperium stablemate Ludwig Kaiser by disqualification on this week’s episode after Giovanni Vinci interfered in the contest. 

A tornado tag team bout is also set for next week. 

Drew McIntyre & Matt Riddle will face Erik & Ivar of The Viking Raiders in a tornado tag match. The match stems from an angle during a Viking Raiders vs. New Day match on this week’s Raw where Riddle & McIntyre were ringside for the bout. McIntyre accidentally hit Xavier Woods with a chair leading to The Viking Raiders defeating The New Day.

Further dissension was teased between McIntyre & Riddle and The New Day, with a slow burn for a McIntyre heel turn continues to be hinted at. 

Next week’s Raw will air on Labor Day and will also feature fallout from Saturday’s Payback pay-per-view.. The announced lineup:

  • Intercontinental Championship: Gunther defends against Chad Gable
  • Tornado tag team match: Drew McIntyre & Matt Riddle vs. The Viking Raiders (Erik & Ivar)

Intercontinental title match announced for next week’s WWE Raw

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Gunther will defend the Intercontinental Championship on the August 21 WWE Raw. 

As announced during this week’s episode, Gunther is set to defend his title against top contender Chad Gable on the Monday, August 21 episode. 

Gable won a number one contender’s match over Matt Riddle, Ricochet, and Tommaso Ciampa on the August 7 Raw to set up the bout. 

The issue between Gable and Gunther intensified on Monday’s Raw as the two engaged in a promo battle. Gable then defeated Gunther’s Imperium teammate Giovanni Vinci in a follow-up singles match, while Gunther defeated Gable’s Alpha Academy stablemate Otis on Raw. 

Also set for next week, Riddle will be in tag team action with partner Drew McIntyre. 

Riddle & McIntyre will face The New Day’s Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods on next week’s Raw after a backstage confrontation on this week’s episode. 

McIntyre & Riddle teamed on this week’s Raw, defeating Erik & Ivar of The Viking Raiders.

The August 21 Raw is set for Quebec City, Quebec, Canada at Videotron Centre.

The current lineup:

  • Intercontinental Championship: Gunther defends against number one contender Chad Gable
  • Drew McIntyre & Matt Riddle vs. The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods)

IC title number one contender’s battle royal added to WWE Raw

Posted on by Ethan Renner

A battle royal to determine the number one contender to Gunther’s Intercontinental Championship is among three new segments added to Monday’s WWE Raw. 

Gunther’s first Raw appearance since being drafted to the brand has already been advertised for the show, as he was announced for a match during this week’s Raw. Now his next title challenger will also be decided on Monday’s episode in a battle royal. No participants have been announced for the battle royal to this point. 

Also added to Monday’s Raw, Cody Rhodes will address the attack from Brock Lesnar on this week’s episode, as the build to their Night of Champions rematch continues. 

In another new segment announced, Becky Lynch will speak on the show. Lynch returned to Raw for the first time in four weeks on this week’s episode, attacking Trish Stratus. Stratus turned on Lynch on the April 10 Raw. 

Already announced for Monday are a Women’s Tag Team title match, plus Shinsuke Nakamura taking on The Miz. 

The updated lineup for Monday: 

WWE Raw, Monday, May 15 —

  • Women’s Tag Team Championship: Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez defend against Sonya Deville & Chelsea Green
  • Gunther debuts
  • Shinsuke Nakamura vs. The Miz
  • Intercontinental Championship number one contender’s battle royal
  • Cody Rhodes speaks
  • Becky Lynch speaks

Triple threat IC title match official for WWE WrestleMania 39

Posted on by Ethan Renner

A triple threat match for the Intercontinental Championship is official for WWE WrestleMania 39. 

As announced during Friday’s SmackDown show, Gunther is set to defend the IC title against Drew McIntyre and Sheamus in a three-way at WrestleMania. 

McIntyre and Sheamus scored simultaneous pinfalls in a five-way match to determine Gunther’s WrestleMania contender on last week’s SmackDown, setting up a one-on-one contest on this week’s show. 

After simultaneously hitting each other with their finishers during this week’s bout, McIntyre and Sheamus were both down in the ring. Gunther got in and exhorted both to get to their feet, but it was a ruse to allow Imperium’s Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci to attack McIntyre and Sheamus. 

On-screen authority figure Adam Pearce then appeared on the video wall to announce the triple threat match for WrestleMania. 

Eleven bouts have been announced for WrestleMania, set for Saturday, April 1 and Sunday, April 2 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. 

Here is the updated card:

WWE WrestleMania 39, Saturday, April 1 & Sunday, April 2, 8 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock & WWE Network —

  • Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns defends against Cody Rhodes
  • SmackDown Women’s Championship: Charlotte Flair defends against Rhea Ripley
  • Raw Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair defends against Asuka
  • United States Championship: Austin Theory defends against John Cena
  • Intercontinental Championship triple threat match: Gunther defends against Drew McIntyre & Sheamus
  • Hell in a Cell match: Edge vs. Finn Balor
  • Brock Lesnar vs. Omos
  • Seth Rollins vs. Logan Paul
  • Trish Stratus, Becky Lynch & Lita vs. Damage CTRL (Bayley, Dakota Kai & IYO SKY)
  • Women’s four-way tag team showcase match: Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez vs. TBD vs. TBD vs. TBD
  • Men’s four-way tag team showcase match: Four teams TBD

Gunther vs. Madcap Moss IC title match set for next WWE SmackDown

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Gunther defending the Intercontinental Championship against Madcap Moss is one of three matches announced for the February 17 WWE SmackDown. 

Moss won a four-way to determine a new number one contender to the IC title on this week’s SmackDown, defeating Rey Mysterio, Karrion Kross, and Santos Escobar. 

Also set for next week, Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler will take on Natalya and Shotzi in a tag match stemming from an angle on this week’s show where Rousey returned to WWE television. 

In another tag team bout, Drew McIntyre and Sheamus will face Erik and Ivar of The Viking Raiders on next week’s show. 

Next Friday’s SmackDown is the go-home show for the February 18 Elimination Chamber event. 

The announced lineup for SmackDown: 

WWE SmackDown, Friday, February 17 —

  • Intercontinental Championship: Gunther (c) vs. Madcap Moss
  • Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler vs. Natalya & Shotzi
  • Drew McIntyre & Sheamus vs. The Viking Raiders

IC title match announced for January 13 WWE SmackDown

Posted on by Ethan Renner

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

Gunther vs. Sheamus IC title match added to WWE Clash at the Castle

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Sheamus is heading to Wales.

On Friday’s SmackDown, Sheamus defeated Ricochet, Sami Zayn, Madcap Moss, and Happy Corbin to earn a shot at Gunther’s Intercontinental title. He will now face Gunther at WWE Clash at the Castle, which takes place on September 3 in Cardiff, Wales.

The story of the match had Zayn, in his hometown, go to the back after injuring his shoulder taking white noise from Sheamus off the top rope. He eventually came back and attempted to pin Ricochet after hitting the helluva kick. Corbin broke up the count, dragging Zayn out of the ring and posting him. The finish had Corbin looking to pin Ricochet, but Sheamus instead came in and hit the brogue kick, pinning Corbin to win.

On last week’s SmackDown, Gunther pinned Shinsuke Nakamura to retain the Intercontinental title.

Here is the current lineup for Clash at the Castle:

  • Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship
  • Liv Morgan vs. Shayna Baszler for the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship
  • Gunther vs. Sheamus for the Intercontinental Championship
  • Seth Rollins vs. Riddle
  • Bianca Belair, Asuka, and Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley, Dakota Kai, and IYO SKY

IC title match, two MITB qualifiers set for next week’s WWE SmackDown

Posted on by Ethan Renner

An Intercontinental Championship bout, plus two Money in the Bank qualifying matches have been announced for next week’s WWE SmackDown. 

New IC champ Gunther will defend the title against former champ Ricochet. Gunther defeated Ricochet on last week’s SmackDown to win the title. 

In a men’s Money in the Bank qualifier, Sami Zayn will face Shinsuke Nakamura. So far, Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, and Sheamus have been announced for the men’s Money in the Bank match on July 2. 

Also announced for next week, Shotzi will face Aliyah in a women’s Money in the Bank qualifying match. To this point, Lacey Evans, Alexa Bliss, Liv Morgan, and Raquel Rodriguez have qualified for the women’s Money in the Bank match, with a Becky Lynch vs. Asuka qualifier also set for this Monday’s Raw.

Here is next week’s SmackDown lineup:

WWE SmackDown, Friday, June 24 —

  • Intercontinental Championship match: Gunther (c) vs. Ricochet
  • Men’s Money in the Bank qualifying match: Sami Zayn vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
  • Women’s Money in the Bank qualifying match: Shotzi vs. Aliyah 

Gunther wins WWE Intercontinental title on SmackDown

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Gunther is the new WWE Intercontinental Champion.

He defeated Ricochet on tonight’s episode of SmackDown to win the title for the first time. In what turned out to be a competitive match, Gunther won the title after cutting off Ricochet and pinning him with a powerbomb.

This ends Ricochet’s run with the championship after 98 days, defeating Sami Zayn on the March 4 edition of SmackDown.

The feud between Ricochet and Gunther started when Ricochet made the save for Drew Gulak during a match on SmackDown last month. On the May 27 edition of SmackDown, Gunther and his associated Ludwig Kaiser defeated Gulak and Ricochet in a match, leading to tonight’s title match.

A former NXT UK Champion, Gunther along with Kaiser were formerly part of the Imperium stable with Fabian Aichner before they made their debut on the SmackDown roster back in April. Prior to the feud with Ricochet, Gunther had mostly been facing enhancement talent.

Ricochet wins Intercontinental title on WWE SmackDown

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Ricochet is the new WWE Intercontinental Champion.

He defeated Sami Zayn on tonight’s SmackDown to win the championship for the first time. The finish had Johnny Knoxville come out to distract Zayn, which succeeded. Ricochet used the distraction to plant Zayn with a hurricanrana into a pinning combination to win the championship.

Zayn’s reign ends after only 21 days. He originally won the title on the February 11 edition of SmackDown, defeating Shinsuke Nakamura. Zayn had won a battle royal at the end of 2021 that established him as the number one contender for the title.

Knoxville and Zayn have been feuding since the start of the year, with Zayn dismissing Knoxville’s ambitions of winning the Royal Rumble, going as far as eliminating him at the Rumble. Knoxville later challenged Zayn to a match for the Intercontinental title, but Zayn balked at the idea. After Knoxville cost Zayn the match tonight, Zayn issued a challenge to Knoxville for WrestleMania.

Sami Zayn wins Intercontinental title on WWE SmackDown

Posted on by Ethan Renner

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. 

WWE SmackDown spoilers: New champion crowned

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Here are spoilers for next week’s SmackDown, taped after tonight’s live show in New Orleans. WWE will be traveling to Saudi Arabia next Friday ahead of their Elimination Chamber event in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on February 19 at the Jeddah Super Dome.

  • The face-to-face between Roman Reigns and Goldberg opened the show. No fighting took place as the two exchanged words.
  • Ricochet defeated Sheamus
  • Sami Zayn defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship. WWE announced the title change on social media during the tapings.
  • Ivar defeated Jimmy Uso
  • There was a promo segment with Drew McIntyre, Madcap Moss, and Happy Corbin.
  • There were also extended promos for the Elimination Chamber match and the Universal title match between Roman Reigns and Goldberg.
  • The show ended with a contract signing between the teams of Ronda Rousey & Naomi and Charlotte Flair & Sonya Deville. Adam Pearce hosted the signing. The teams exchanged words until Rousey threw the SmackDown Women’s title at Flair. The four ended up in a brawl, with Rousey slamming Flair’s face into the table and Naomi kicking Deville in the head. The show ended with Rousey & Naomi flipping the table on Flair and Deville, eventually clearing the ring.

Zayn’s win tonight marks his third run with the championship. He had won a 12 Days of Christmas 12-man battle royal to become the number one contender on the episode of WWE SmackDown that aired on Christmas Eve.

Nakamura had held the championship for 182 days, defeating Apollo Crews on the August 13, 2021 edition of SmackDown.