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The go-home episode of Friday Night SmackDown opened with an ascension ceremony. Both Jeff Hardy and Sami Zayn's WWE Intercontinental Championship belts were hung above the ring in preparation for their Ladder match at Clash of Champions.
During the ceremony, Zayn attacked AJ Styles and Hardy by sneakily knocking a pair of ladders onto them both. A Triple Threat match between the warring trio was then immediately set by Adam Pearce. The disdain that the trio holds for one another was well and truly on display during the last-minute match.
The match ended with Zayn pinning Hardy, before Styles attacked both of his rivals with a ladder and took both belts off the hook. It was what The Phenomenal One would've hoped is a preview of what is to come at Clash of Champions.
#5 AJ Styles wins at Clash of Champions
Following the ending to the Triple Threat match on Friday Night SmackDown, AJ Styles scaled the ladders to collect both titles. The Phenomenal One reached the WWE Intercontinental Championship Tournament Final after Sami Zayn decided to take a hiatus from WWE earlier this year. He defeated Daniel Bryan to win the title for the first time in his WWE career.
Styles held on to the Intercontinental Championship for 70 days until he was beaten by Jeff Hardy. Since Hardy won the title, the pair have continued their feud, with Styles determined to win it back.
Styles has shown that he is a strong contender in ladder matches recently. The Superstar was fingertips away from becoming this year's Mr. Money in the Bank. He managed to climb to the top of the ladder and unhook the briefcase, but unfortunately dropped it and Otis grabbed it to win.
The high-flying abilities of Styles are a perfect pairing with the Ladder match, and this could work to his advantage at Clash of Champions.
#4 Another Superstar interrupts at Clash of Champions
Jeff Hardy, Sami Zayn and AJ Styles are three WWE Superstars not short of foes. All three performers have been involved in some very intense feuds in their WWE careers. There is a chance that there could be an appearance from another Superstar in the match at Clash of Champions. They could even attempt to grab the WWE Intercontinental Championship for themselves.
After their WrestleMania match, Daniel Bryan seemed to be very frustrated with the antics that Zayn used to retain the title. Is there a possibility that he could make his WWE return at Clash of Champions to steal the championship back?
As well as this, Hardy has made somewhat on an emeny of Sheamus since his return. Sheamus has been one of the most villainous characters on Friday Night SmackDown this year, and it wouldn't be out of character for the star to reignite the feud by preventing Hardy from winning.
Another performer invading the match would be the perfect opening for the next feud for the winner of the match, or the star that is robbed.
#3 Sami Zayn wins at Clash of Champions
Sami Zayn won the WWE Intercontinental Championship from Braun Strowman at this year's Elimination Chamber with the help of Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura. The performer retained the championship against Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 36, where he spent most of the match trying to evade his foe. He will now fight to once again earn champion status at Clash of Champions.
Zayn later took a break from WWE, due to the pandemic, and the championship was taken away from without him losing a match as champion. He later made a return to SmackDown, claiming to be the rightful Intercontinental Champion and dubbing Hardy a fraud.
Since Zayn has made his comeback, he has put in some fantastic in-ring performances, a step up from his recent managerial role of the Artists Collective. Zayn never lost the championship, so in some ways, he still is the rightful Intercontinental Champion.
On recent editions of SmackDown, Zayn has displayed strong skills both in the ring and when cutting his intense promos. He was the winner of the go-home edition of SmackDown, which could signal that Zayn is the obvious choice of winner at Clash of Champions.
#2 Two Superstars take a belt-a-piece at Clash of Champions
Up until this weekend, both Sami Zayn and Jeff Hardy were in possession of a WWE Intercontinental Championship belt. The rules have stated that to win at Clash of Champions, someone must grab both belts. However, what if the two belts end up with different people?
2020 has already seen a controversial end to a ladder match when AJ Styles and King Corbin were fighting over the Money in the Bank briefcase. The contract was then sent through the air after Elias attacked Corbin with his guitar, landing in the hands of unlikely winner Otis.
If the championship belts end up with two different performers, it would be a way to extend the feud between two, or all three of them. The disdain that all three performers seem to hold for one another doesn't seem to be going away any time soon That was documented in their segment on the go-home episode of SmackDown.
This feud is between two heels and a face, so could Styles or Zayn continue feuding with Hardy after a controversial ending at Clash of Champions?
#1 Jeff Hardy retains at Clash of Champions
Jeff Hardy has enjoyed a great showing on Friday Night SmackDown over recent weeks. The Superstar recently became a five-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, winning the title from AJ Styles despite suffering an injury to his knee, and has held it up until Clash of Champions this weekend.
Throughout Hardy's career, he has been renowned for his high-flying abilities in the ring and is somewhat of a veteran when it comes to Ladder matches in WWE. In the Hardy Boyz era of his career, Jeff and his brother Matt had some death-defying moments on ladders, to say the least.
Throughout the year, the Intercontinental Championship seems to have bounced from Superstar to Superstar in predominantly short reigns. Keeping the title on Hardy for a while longer would provide the opportunity to build him up as a strong, fighting champion, as well as his opponents.
Since the summer, Hardy has embarked on a redemption storyline of sorts, rising through feuds with villains such as Sheamus, which ended with a cinematic Bar Fight. Hardy retaining the Intercontinental Championship at Clash of Champions is very much a strong possibility.
