WWE Crowns New Intercontinental Champion On SmackDown
'King' Nakamura won the Intercontinental Title on WWE's latest SmackDown.
'King' Nakamura defeated Apollo Crews to become the new Intercontinental Champ on WWE's latest episode of SmackDown.
Shinsuke had earned the title shot last week, and completed the job by being booked to go over Crews on Friday night. That brings Apollo's 125-day reign to an end - he beat Big E to become the IC Champion at WrestleMania 37, but has rarely been written as an important part of SmackDown since.
In fact, WWE seemed to de-emphasise Crews' push terribly towards the end of his run.
This is the latest step on Naka's rise back up WWE cards though. He turned babyface, nabbed Baron Corbin's crown to take the 'King' moniker and now has some more gold to back up Rick Boogs' claims that he's the greatest.
There's no word yet on what SmackDown chiefs have planned for Shin now he's the new IC Champ. It also feels slightly sh*tty that Apollo has been discarded so easily on free TV. Questions remain about whether or not WWE plan to continue his 'Nigerian Prince' gimmick or totally repackage both he and Commander Azeez in the near future.