WWE SmackDown: 5 reasons why a new Intercontinental Championship was introduced
Shinsuke Nakamura hasn't exactly set the world on fire as Intercontinental Champion. It's a bit similar to his unfortunately inactive United States title reign a year ago, but the positive aspect of this is that he's had a lot more TV time, perhaps due to his alliance with Sami Zayn.
Moreover, he hasn't had to do much of the talking himself, which has certainly helped protect him. On the go-home episode of SmackDown just two days before Survivor Series, Sami Zayn introduced a brand new Intercontinental Championship. It's a move away from the traditional design that Cody Rhodes brought back five years ago.
In doing so, it's the newest and most far-apart design of the title in the history of the lineage, and although sadly, the old design has gone away, it's not necessarily a bad thing! So why did WWE decide to change up the design? Here's why!
Also read: 5 biggest disappointments that fans should expect at Survivor Series
#5 Fox's new era meant a new design
A lot of things in WWE has changed with the FOX move, particularly on SmackDown. The change in the design of the Universal Championship was one thing and the entire change in the appearance of the stage and presentation was another.
It's natural to want to give a fresh new look to everything and since it is a new era in FOX, it probably called for a change in the Intercontinental Championship as well. Since RAW is on USA Network, we likely won't be seeing a new design for the United States Championship.
It was long-rumored that WWE planned to change the Intercontinental Championship, going as far back as a year or two. The move to FOX was probably just WWE's opportunity to finally make the change that they wanted to in the first place.