WWE Rumors: Will Sami Zayn Win Intercontinental Championship From The Miz At ‘Survivor Series’?

Sami Zayn hopes to win the Intercontinental Championship at Survivor Series and is confirmed to challenge for the title at Sunday night’s big pay-per-view at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. But Dolph Ziggler isn’t who he will face, as The Miz relied on illegal heel tactics to win the title back from Ziggler on Tuesday night’s episode of SmackDown Live. What does this mean for the “Underdog from the Underground” and his chances of winning the Intercontinental title on Sunday?

As detailed by Cageside Seats, Tuesday night’s SmackDown Live episode, the 900th in the show’s history, featured an Intercontinental Championship match pitting erstwhile titleholder Dolph Ziggler against The Miz. This was reluctantly agreed upon by The Miz when SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan set up the match the week prior, but as it turned out, all Miz needed was a little, or should we say, a lot of help from his friends. After interference attempts from the Spirit Squad failed, Maryse provided the key assist in the end, helping her husband win back the IC belt he had lost a month earlier at No Mercy.

While it may seem shocking that Ziggler’s latest Intercontinental Championship run lasted just one month, it probably shouldn’t come much as a surprise on a booking standpoint. Ziggler, after all, is a babyface like Sami Zayn, and one of the SmackDown brand’s most popular good guys. The Miz, on the other hand, has reenergized his career and become a heel worth booing, and it would seem just right that WWE books a traditional face vs. heel match, as opposed to a match between two mid-card babyfaces.

Heading into Survivor Series, it would seem that some of the latest WWE rumors and predictions point to Sami Zayn winning the Intercontinental Championship from The Miz. This was a prediction made by Bleacher Report’s Ryan Dilbert in his review of Tuesday’s SmackDown Live episode.

“The Miz’s win is likely a setup for Sami Zayn to take the crown at Survivor Series.”

Then again, there are others who expect The Miz to hold on to his Intercontinental title and probably cap off his title feud with Ziggler before the end of 2016, with or without Zayn as a third man in the picture. In a separate article on the IC title feud, Bleacher Report cited a tweet from one of its other writers, Kevin Berge, who expects Miz to beat Sami Zayn for the Intercontinental Championship. The writer of that article, Mike Chiari, laid out a fantasy booking scenario that would feature Zayn in a three-man feud for the title that would further improve the belt’s growing prestige.

“Survivor Series could go a long way toward determining how much longer Miz is part of the blue brand, as conventional wisdom suggests and Triple Threat involving him, Ziggler and Zayn is the best solution to the quandary that Miz’s victory created.

“If that ends up being the case, then the talented trio has a golden opportunity to put on one of the best matches of 2016 and to continue building the prestige of the Intercontinental Championship.”

As for the possibility of Miz retaining the title at Survivor Series and moving to the RAW brand due to his storyline friction with Daniel Bryan, Chiari wrote that Miz’s title win on Tuesday night may mean the SmackDown GM will be “forced to continue dealing with The Miz for the foreseeable future.”

I would love to see this happen at Survivor Series #SamiZayn pic.twitter.com/w7CQPLcMJ5

— Chelsea (Chels) ?????? (@DogWalker512) November 15, 2016

With four days to go before Survivor Series, it’s still anybody’s match. Sami Zayn could win the belt and go to RAW while the Cruiserweights go to SmackDown thanks to a Kalisto win over Kendrick. Miz could retain the Intercontinental title and either go to RAW or remain on SmackDown. And any of the following IC title matches are possible for next month’s TLC pay-per-view: Zayn vs. Miz, Miz vs. Ziggler or Miz vs. Ziggler vs. Zayn.

The possibilities are quite varied, but with Zayn being one of WWE’s most talented in-ring competitors and Miz being one of the company’s most entertaining heels and a much-improved wrestler in his own right, The Miz vs. Sami Zayn for the Intercontinental Championship at Survivor Series should be among the highlights of the evening.

[Featured Image by WWE]