5 Opponents for the new WWE Intercontinental Champion AJ Styles

#2 Sami Zayn

Zayn should at least be given a shot at some point once he returns.

Depending on Creative, this one is a no-brainer. Sami Zayn elected to stay home as Intercontinental Champion and was stripped of the title. The tournament started to crown a new Champion and we now have that with AJ Styles.

The two worked a program in 2018 when AJ Styles as WWE Champion. Zayn and Kevin Owens even had a handicapped match for the title against the Phenomenal One. The in-ring product isn't in question but the alignments may be. Both men are technically heels as AJ Styles has acted arrogantly since rejoining the Blue brand. Zayn, on the other hand, has been doing fantastic work as a smarmy and smug heel for the last year or so.

Two guys who will put on a match that will no doubt be a wrestling clinic, to prove once and for all just who is the bigger fraud. -SZ https://t.co/MRvZqVJNcm

— Sami Zayn (@SamiZayn) June 10, 2020

He won his first singles title as a great heel and he was leading the faction with Nakamura and Cesaro. Since he never really lost the title, the feud with the new Champion writes itself. It's a ready-made program that might need a little tweaking once the former titleholder returns from quarantine. But the fact remains, it's an easy angle to write and pull off due to the caliber of both performers.