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Shinsuke Nakamura defends his Intercontinental Championship against former eight-time Champion The Miz this weekend at Clash of Champions after it appears that he has found a friend in Sami Zayn.
Nakamura was able to defeat Finn Balor back at Extreme Rules to become Champion but wasn't one of the stars called upon to defend his Championship at SummerSlam last month. Nakamura's WWE status has been up in the air over the past few months with rumors suggesting that the Japanese star wasn't happy with his place on the roster, but that now looks to have changed.
Nakamura has aligned himself with Sami Zayn in recent weeks and has managed to gain the upperhand several times heading into this weekend's title defense which could be a hint that The Miz could become Champion for a ninth time on Sunday night. That being said, there are a number of potential outcomes to this match and here are just a few...
#4 Shinsuke Nakamura retains his Intercontinental Championship
Shinsuke Nakamura defends his Intercontinental Championship against The Miz this weekend at Clash of Champions, knowing that The Miz could easily be seen as the favorite to walk out with the title.
Nakamura hasn't been pushed well as Intercontinental Champion and the fact that he won the title on the kick off show at Extreme Rules shows that the company only wanted to dethrone Finn Balor so that he could step into a feud with The Feind.
In the past few months since Nakamura won the title, he hasn't had a lot of challenges, which proves that the former NXT star wasn't WWE's desired star to become Champion at the time. That being said, Nakamura could have Sami Zayn in his corner, which means that he could come out on top on Sunday night if the match turns into a two-on-one assault and he's able to use Zayn to his advantage.
#3 Sami Zayn costs Shinsuke Nakamura his Championship
Sami Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura joined forces a few weeks ago and decided that their first victim would be The Miz. Zayn requested that he be part of Miz TV so that he could unveil Nakamura as his newest client and he has been on hand to attack Miz numerous times over the past few weeks.
Zayn has had a new attitude ever since he returned to WWE following his double rotator cuff surgery last year, which means that he isn't someone that Nakamura should trust heading into a title defense.
Whilst it's unknown as to whether or not Zayn will be ringside since he was chokeslammed by The Undertaker this week on SmackDown, it is completely feasible that he will try to interfere in the match to help his new friend to retain and this could go very wrong.
If Nakamura is disqualified then he will still retain the Championship, but if Zayn tries to get involved and it backfires so that The Miz can take advantage, he will lose his Championship and it could open up the door to a feud between Zayn and Nakamura moving forward.
#2 The Miz becomes Intercontinental Champion for a ninth time
The Miz could equal Chris Jericho's record as a nine-time Intercontinental Champion this weekend if he is able to dethrone Shinsuke Nakamura and lift the title that he is most associated with.
It is thought that given Jericho's current association with AEW, WWE could be pushing for The Miz to equal the record this weekend out of spite. It is thought that the only reason Miz can't become Champion this weekend is because he is a superstar from Monday Night Raw, but there is a draft in less than a month's time and it could be decided that The Miz will be moved over to SmackDown Live permanently so that the brand can keep their mid-card title.
Nakamura has had the upperhand throughout the build-up to this match, which means that it's likely that The Miz will be able to overcome the threat of The Artist and make history this weekend. Especially if The Underdog From The Underground isn't at ringside to help the Japanese star to take advantage of the numbers game once again.
#1 Sami Zayn helps Shinsuke Nakamura to retain his Championship
Sami Zayn has proved his loyalty when he's part of a team a number of times throughout his partnership with Kevin Owens, which means that it's likely he's able to help Shinsuke Nakamura to retain his Championship this weekend.
Zayn has never won a singles Championship of his own on the main roster which could be why the company has moved him into a position where he's able to help Nakamura to push forward his career instead.
Nakamura has needed a boost for a long time and Zayn could finally be the person to help him push forward as Champion. The duo has only been working together for a few weeks which means that it could be too soon for WWE to plant seeds for a feud between them, but they could in the coming months.
If Zayn realizes that The Miz could be building towards a win then he can get Nakamura disqualified and help him to retain his Championship. The Artist has become the kind of Champion that would take this loss because he's able to retain his title, but it would mean a rematch would be in his near future.
