WrestleMania 36: 5 Reasons why Sami Zayn defeated Daniel Bryan to retain the Intercontinental Championship 

Night 1 of WrestleMania 36 has certainly been an interesting broadcast, emanating from the WWE Performance Center. There were some interesting booking decisions on the show, with one of them being Sami Zayn's retention of the Intercontinental Championship.

The 'Great Liberator' pinned Daniel Bryan to keep hold of his first singles title on the WWE main roster, after shenanigans involving Cesaro, Shinsuke Nakamura and Drew Gulak. Say what you will about the match, but Zayn did heel it up massively and came off as very obnoxious.

The Artist Collective will remain in a strong position on SmackDown thanks to this victory and it seems like WWE will have a plan for them and the IC title for the near future, as long as weekly programming continues after this weekend.

Here are five possible reasons why Sami Zayn defeated Daniel Bryan to retain the Intercontinental Championship on Night 1 of WrestleMania 36.

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#5 He only recently won the title

Sami Zayn defeated Braun Strowman to win the Intercontinental title.

This "reign of terror" that Sami Zayn is on began only four weeks ago. He won the Intercontinental Championship from Braun Strowman at Elimination Chamber, pinning him with major help from Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro in a 3-on-1 Handicap Match.

There is definitely a lot more that the 'Great Liberator' could do as the cowardly heel Intercontinental Champion, with hardly any of the surface being scratched. If booked well, Zayn's first main roster title reign could be one of the stronger ones in recent IC title history.

His act with Nakamura and Cesaro still has a lot of legs and as long as these three are allowed to implement their artistic creativity to this, The Artist Collective stable and storyline will be just fine.

#4 Uncertainty surrounding Daniel Bryan

Daniel Bryan's full-time days could be numbered.

Daniel Bryan would have made for a fantastic Intercontinental Champion. Every story he is a part of is instantly elevated, no matter what it is. Bryan has that rare talent of selling the importance of pretty much anything in WWE, with the Intercontinental Championship being no different.

He also has unfinished business with the IC title, after being forced to relinquish the belt due to a career-ending injury back in 2015. Luckily, Bryan is still an active wrestler on the WWE roster today. However, that might change later in the year.

With all the doubts regarding WWE's regular programming in the post-WrestleMania season, a potential title reign for Bryan might not have gotten going until the early months of the summer. His status as a full-time wrestler is also up in the air, given that he is likely to go on paternity leave in July.

It makes more sense in the long term, for WWE to keep the Intercontinental Championship on somebody who will be present on TV. And unfortunately, Daniel Bryan would not have fulfilled that if he were to hold the title for a substantial amount of time.

#3 Drew Gulak avenges his friend's loss

Drew Gulak could get a major rub.

Daniel Bryan may have lost to Sami Zayn, but his new friend, Drew Gulak, is yet to face the Intercontinental Champion. The former 205 Live man had varying luck against Zayn's allies from The Artist Collective.

Gulak defeated Shinsuke Nakamura on SmackDown but fell to Cesaro on the WrestleMania Kickoff Show. But in the post-WrestleMania season, he could be built back up. After all, Daniel Bryan endorsed him. Gulak and Bryan had an incredible match at Elimination Chamber, sparking the friendship between them.

This entire storyline could end up putting Drew Gulak over hugely. With Bryan's future uncertain, it could be up to the former Cruiserweight Champion to take matters into his own hands. He could avenge this WrestleMania injustice by defeating Sami Zayn and capturing the Intercontinental Championship for himself.

If that is how things play out, Gulak would be made a star by the summer. After all, SmackDown has been referred to as the 'Land of Opportunity' for a reason.

#2 Bigger things in store for The Artist Collective

These three could play a big part on Friday nights.

There are many ways the Intercontinental Championship scene could spark the permanent resurgence of SmackDown. One of the ways is to actually put a purposed focus on Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Cesaro. They are three of the most talented wrestlers on the Blue brand.

WWE should actually allow these three to be artistic in the ring, making them more of a threat than they currently are. Whether they remain a unit or branch out separately, these three should be featured more, even when normal programming resumes.

There is a possibility that Nakamura and Cesaro go after the SmackDown Tag Team Championship, which would make The Artist Collective stable more of a thing on SmackDown.

However, it may be equally likely that the two supporting Superstars could get fed up with Sami Zayn and bailing him out of certain defeat time after time, possibly leading to a mouth-watering triple threat match for the IC title between Zayn, Nakamura, and Cesaro.

#1 The possible evolution of Sami Zayn

Could the 'Underdog from the Underground' make a return?

Sami Zayn has done such an incredible job as the dastardly manager who happens to hold a championship, that you likely forgot just how good he was before turning heel. The 'Great Liberator' was once the 'Underdog from the Underground' and was arguably the second-best babyface under the WWE umbrella, only behind Daniel Bryan.

However, that version of Sami did not have much success on the main roster. In fact, this current Intercontinental title reign is his first sustained taste of success on the main roster.

Zayn's title reign may have begun in a cheap manner and is progressing with him still as an obnoxious villain. But there is no reason why he could not catch the wrestling bug again and slowly evolve back into the Sami Zayn everybody loves. Only this time, he would be a successful champion.

This potentially long-term storyline could begin with Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro turning on him. And if WWE were to execute this stark transition during his current reign, it would truly be a creative masterstroke.

Whether this happens or not, hopefully, Sami Zayn's IC title reign is a satisfying one, now that he has survived Daniel Bryan.