Sami Zayn Has Been Stripped Of The Intercontinental Title

The news keeps coming from the WWE. Yesterday I recapped the Money In The Bank PPV, which included the news that Becky Lynch had to relinquish her title due to the fact that she was pregnant. Today, there is more news coming from the WWE as they have announced that Sami Zayn (Rami Sebei) has been stripped of his Intercontinental Title.

That’s two titles that have been lost without a fight over the past three days. WWE has stated that wrestlers do not have to participate in the events if they choose not to, due to COVID 19. Still, Sami is a titleholder and WWE does have a rule that you must defend a title at least once every 30 days. I know, that never was the case with Brock Lesnar be he was a special case, I guess.

The news was first broke on WWE’s Backstage, which airs on Tuesday nights on FS1. Zayn won his first-ever IC Title back at Elimination Chamber when he pinned Braun Stroman. It was a three-on-one handicap match with Nakamura and Cesaro being Sami’s partners. The former NXT Champion then retained his title on the first night of Wrestlemania 36 by pinning Daniel Bryan. That was the last time that he wrestled.

Zayn has been critical of the government’s handling of the pandemic and has put himself in quarantine. That is why he was not out there with Nakamura and Cesaro this past week on Smackdown. Zayn has been on the WWE roster since 2015. He has been a good guy at times and a heel at times. He is currently a heel and it probably won’t be any time soon that we see him back in the ring.

"With Sami Zayn currently unable to defend the Intercontinental Championship, it was revealed on WWE Backstage on FS1 that the title has been declared vacant.

"A tournament will begin this Friday night on SmackDown to crown a new champion. Stay with WWE's digital and social channels for more on this developing story."

There will be a tournament starting on Friday night to determine the new Intercontinental champion. The brackets for the tournament have not yet been set. Some names to watch for this tournament are Daniel Bryan, Cesaro, Jeff Hardy, Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler, Gran Metalik, and Nakamura. It should be a fun tournament and the Finals will probably take place at Backlash, which is the next WWE PPV. That is usually how these tournaments finish. Stay tuned.

Info Gleaned From WWE.com and Bleacher Report