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On the last episode of SmackDown ahead of the Backlash 2020 pay-per-view, AJ Styles defeated Daniel Bryan to win the Intercontinental Championship for the first time in his WWE career. This victory came soon after his move SmackDown was confirmed and the 'Phenomenal One' will now be gracing the Blue brand as a champion.
After AJ Styles won the title, the former IC Champion Sami Zayn took to Twitter to send a not-so-subtle threat to the new titleholder. Clarifying his intentions with simple words, Sami Zayn warned AJ Styles to watch his back -- except he wasn't very polite about it.
You can see Sami Zayn's tweet below, and it reads, "Watch your a**."
AJ Styles as the new Intercontinental Champion
Sami Zayn refused to be a part of SmackDown tapings as a safety measure against the Covid-19 pandemic. This caused WWE to strip him of his title and much to Zayn's disappointment, SmackDown organised a full-fledged tournament to crown a new Intercontinental Champion.
This tournament hosted just one WWE Superstar from, and that was AJ Styles. He defeated all the others in his group to find a spot in the final where he faced Daniel Bryan. After an epic match, AJ Styles finally got his hands on the title. His move to SmackDown was confirmed a few weeks ago and that itself made him the favourite to win the IC Championship.
Recent backstage rumours suggest that AJ Styles was not on the best of terms with Paul Heyman. Heyman was the Executive Director of RAW until two days ago when WWE released an official statement to confirm that the latter has been removed from that role.
The speculations surrounding the backstage between Styles and Heyman indicate that the 'Phenomenal One' was not happy with the fact that Heyman did not fight enough to keep WWE from firing Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. He was also unsatisfied with the way he was being used on RAW.
However, AJ Styles is now back on SmackDown -- a 'house that he built'. It appears that Sami Zayn is also gearing up for his return to action, and when he does, he will go after a championship that he never really lost.
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
