WWE SmackDown: 5 Possible finishes for the Intercontinental Championship match between Big E and Apollo Crews
The upcoming episode of WWE SmackDown promises to be unmissable due to the presence of two huge championship matches. While The Street Profits would be defending their SmackDown tag team titles against the duo of Dolph Ziggler and Bobby Roode, Big E would put his Intercontinental title on the line against Apollo Crews.
During last week's episode of SmackDown, Big E and Apollo Crews defeated King Corbin and Sami Zayn in a tag match, with the former US Champion securing the pin over Zayn. Later in a backstage segment, the reigning champion laid down an IC title open challenge, which Crews quickly accepted.
Crews will be the first challenger for Big E's IC Championship, which he had won in the main event of SmackDown's Christmas episode by defeating Zayn. While not many are expecting Crews to emerge as the new champion, the match itself promises to be great with several possible endings that could make the future interesting.
On that note, let's discuss five possible finishes for the Intercontinental Championship match between Big E and Apollo Crews. Do share your thoughts and predictions in the comments section.
#5 Big E wins cleans despite an impressive showing from Apollo Crews on SmackDown
Considering Big E has just recently won the Intercontinental Championship, it's hard to imagine him losing it so quickly. SmackDown seems committed to present him as a top player, and for that to happen, he must accumulate as many wins as possible against viable challengers. Though Apollo Crews is a tremendous athlete, he hasn't been booked strongly enough that makes him look like he's on Big E's level.
However, SmackDown creative can book Crews to have an impressive showing even while losing cleanly. Having a back and forth clash for nearly 15 minutes with the former US Champion getting enough offense can put him over even in a loss. It can provide him the required momentum to slowly find his way onto the top, culminating in a title win sometime later in the year.
On the other hand, a hard-fought win for Big E would show his fighting spirit and could result in a title reign similar to that of Seth Rollins' IC title run in 2018 and Cena's US Championship reign in 2015.