Big Title Match Confirmed For Next Week's WWE SmackDown

WWE announced a bumper title showdown for next week on Friday's SmackDown.

King Nakamura Rick Boogs Apollo Crews Commander Azeez
WWE.com

'King' Nakamura will defend his Intercontinental Title against ex-champion Apollo Crews on next week's edition of WWE SmackDown.

The match was made official after Crews and Commander Azeez ambushed the champ and Rick Boogs following the latter's win over Robert Roode. Interestingly enough, this scheduled bout may be used as setup for something bigger at Extreme Rules on 26 September.

Nakamura defeated Apollo on the 13 August episode of SmackDown to bag the belt in the first place, and Crews has been teasing a rematch ever since. Next week will be his moment, but it remains unlikely that he'll score the win and take the strap from Shinsuke.

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It looks like the 'Nigerian Prince' has had his time in the title spotlight on Friday nights.

There's always a possibility that both Boogs and Azeez will interfere and either Adam Pearce or Sonya Deville will quickly turn the brawl into a non-title tag-team match. That, again, would give WWE the chance to announce a one-on-one redo come the next pay-per-view.

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Nakamura didn't defend the title at SummerSlam - he did, however, get a random entrance on the show.

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