Shinsuke Nakamura wins WWE Intercontinental title

Image: WWE

A title change took place on tonight’s episode of SmackDown.

Shinsuke Nakamura won the Intercontinental title by defeating Apollo Crews on SmackDown tonight. Nakamura pinned Crews after hitting the Kinshasa.

Commander Azeez and Rick Boogs were both ejected from ringside during the match. Boogs came back out after Nakamura won to celebrate his title win.

This was the second straight week that Crews and Nakamura faced off. Nakamura defeated Crews by disqualification in a non-title match on last Friday’s SmackDown. The finish of that match was Commander Azeez pulling Nakamura out of the ring when he went to pin Crews. Azeez then tried to attack Nakamura, but Nakamura fought back and threw him into Crews.

Nakamura previously held the Intercontinental title from July 2019 to January 2020. He’s now a two-time Intercontinental Champion in WWE.

Nakamura is currently being called “King Nakamura” on WWE television. He won Baron Corbin’s crown by defeating Corbin on SmackDown this June.

Prior to losing the title tonight, Crews had been Intercontinental Champion since defeating Big E in a Nigerian Drum Fight at WrestleMania 37 night two this April.

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Joseph Currier
Joseph Currier

Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.

In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.