SPOILERS: Insane WWE Intercontinental Championship Plans For WrestleMania

Spoilers within - huge upcoming SmackDown and WrestleMania details revealed.

by Michael Hamflett
Johnny Knoxville Sami Zayn
WWE.com

WWE are considering Sami Zayn Vs Johnny Knoxville as an Intercontinental Championship programme for WrestleMania 38.

Zayn reclaims the secondary strap on this week's taped edition of SmackDown thanks to victory over now-former titleholder Shinsuke Nakamura, and the rumour mill has sped up at pace that a Royal Rumble angle between Zayn and the Jackass Forever star will continue forward on to WWE's 'Grandest Stage'.

Knoxville and Zayn were in each other's faces constantly before and during the Royal Rumble, which then extended outwards to the former's film premiere. Most assumed this was the end of their interactions, but Zayn kept up the Jackass-adjacent behaviour on the last SmackDown before his title victory, using a rigged microphone to shock Rick Boogs and assault Nakamura during the distrction.

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The match was discussed on the most recent Wrestling Observer Radio, and honestly WWE could do a great deal worse than offer something this wacky on one of the two nights. There's often a lot of pearl-clutching about both the belt and the calibre of performer that used to fight for it, but great wrestling isn't the preserve of WWE and hasn't been since - at the very latest - NXT was chewed up and spat out in a petty attempt to restore a lost monopoly.

Zayn/Knoxville as rooted in WrestleMania's DNA as any poorly-built midcard offering, and there's evidence of buzz from what they've already assembled. The weeks ahead should confirm if the company plan to make it official.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett