5 Things WWE Subtly told us on SmackDown: Two-time world champion to return sooner than expected, Popular heel to become champion soon?

#4. The bizarre handling of Sami Zayn on SmackDown and the possibly even-more bizarre aftermath

Sami Zayn faced Rick Boogs on WWE SmackDown this week. Given that Sami Zayn is the new number one contender to the Intercontinental Championship, it makes sense that WWE wanted to extend the feud by having Zayn face the Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura's sidekick.

While the expected result was a win for Sami Zayn, the outcome turned out to be the complete opposite. The Great Liberator lost to Rick Boogs, who seems to be getting protected for some reason.

Either way, this would lead many to conclude that WWE has no intention of Sami Zayn winning the title. However, given that he reportedly re-signed with the company recently and has been doing great work, he might just get rewarded with a third Intercontinental championship reign.

The loss to Rick Boogs was perhaps WWE's way of throwing fans off. We can only hope that Sami Zayn wins the Intercontinental Championship and defends it on pay-per-view (or premium live events) for the first time since WrestleMania 37.