Kevin Owens set to get a title opportunity on next week's SmackDown

Kevin Owens came into tonight's episode of SmackDown preparing for his match against WWE Intercontinental Champion Apollo Crews. The match was something that KO was looking forward to. Unfortunately, he would not get much time in the ring thanks to one Commander Azeez.

Kevin Owens looked to have the match in the bag after he hit Crews with a Stunner early on. However, a Nigerian Nail from Commander Azeez ensured that the Intercontinental Champion didn't take the pin.

This obviously left a severely injured KO infuriated, who was being attended to backstage when WWE official Adam Pearce came to talk with him.

After a brief discussion, Adam Pearce made it official. Kevin Owens will face Apollo Crews next week for the Intercontinental Championship. Additionally, Commander Azeez will be banned from ringside.

NEXT WEEK on #SmackDown, @FightOwensFight challenges @WWEApollo for the #ICTitle with @CommanderAzeez banned from ringside! @ScrapDaddyAP pic.twitter.com/pQmFsz2GGP

— WWE (@WWE) May 29, 2021

This will be a match to watch out for on next week's SmackDown. Owens will look to become a three-time Intercontinental Champion. However, he is not the only WWE Superstar interested in the title.

While Commander Azeez may be banned from ringside, other contenders like Big E and Sami Zayn aren't. Perhaps they will cause some havoc, preventing the Prizefighter from claiming his prize.

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Kevin Owens isn't interested in winning the Intercontinental Championship

Despite having a match for the title next week, Kevin Owens has no interest in becoming Intercontinental Champion. The former two-time IC title holder confirmed this on a recent episode of WWE's The Bump.

Owens claims that if he were to win the title he would break a streak he does not intend to break. The Prizefighter is a big fan of Owen Hart, with whom he shares a lot in common.

This includes a shared birthday, holding the IC title twice and the fact that if you were to add the total number of days from both their reigns, they have the exact same amount of days as Intercontinental Champion.

Competing for the #ICTitle this Friday on #SmackDown holds deep significance for @FightOwensFight.#Bump100 pic.twitter.com/5hhk8E0cO9

— WWE (@WWE) May 19, 2021

As such, KO does not want to lose what he has in common with one of his wrestling heroes.

That being said, if given the opportunity, there is no way that Kevin Owens will deny himself some championship gold.

Who do you think will win the Intercontinental Title next week? Would you like to see Kevin Owens challenge for one of WWE's top titles again? Let us know down below.

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