Huge Spoiler For Next Week's WWE SmackDown
Something big happened when WWE pre-taped next week's episode of SmackDown on Friday.
Sami Zayn bagged WWE's Intercontinental Title during Friday's doubled-up SmackDown tapings.
The company filmed next week's episode ahead of time - they're heading to Saudi Arabia for Elimination Chamber a day or two before Saturday's stadium show on 19 February, so decided to give fans in New Orleans some extra content.
Zayn vs. now-former champion Shinsuke Nakamura had been pre-advertised for next week's show, but leaked photos show that Sami won the secondary prize. Here's hoping his IC Title reign is way better than Shin's. The ex-champ was barely featured on TV, and sometimes didn't even bring the belt with him to ringside when he was.
This is Zayn's third stint with the gold. He previously had two runs with the thing back in 2020, and eventually facilitated Big E's singles push by dropping the title to him on the Christmas Day edition of SmackDown that year.
Now, Sami has his baby back. He's been one of the most consistently-entertaining aspects of Friday night's output lately, so his title reign surely can't be any worse than Nakamura's. That was a dark period for the once-proud championship.