WWE Intercontinental Championship: The Miz [c] (with Maryse) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (with Daniel Bryan)
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This would be built as one of SmackDown’s biggest and most important stories. Miz would be the thus-far undefeated Intercontinental Champion, his reign approaching almost one year in length. He would have defeated many people to retain his title, from Dean Ambrose to Dolph Ziggler, to even Randy Orton. But throughout all of that, there’d be a deeper, underlying feud: the one between Miz and daniel Bryan.
Throughout 2016 and into 2017, these two would have a heated rivalry. Miz would constantly taunt Bryan, trying to goad him into doing something he’d regret. Bryan, meanwhile, would constantly deny Miz’s importance to the SmackDown brand, essentially ‘burying’ him in front of the audience.
Ultimately, this would lead to things getting physical, with Miz shoving Daniel Bryan. Things go one step further when the Miz enters the Royal Rumble match to Daniel Bryan’s music, angering the entire audience and Bryan himself in the process. Bryan would become so mad that he breaks protocol and enters the ring in secret, eliminating Miz from the Rumble match. On the next SmackDown Live, Miz would do the unthinkable and hits his Skull-Crushing Finale on Bryan, sending him to the hospital.
After a month of absence, Bryan returns, and the fans are desperate to see Miz and Bryan fight at WrestleMania. But Bryan still isn’t cleared to compete by WWE’s doctors, but he finds a perfect stand-in. A close friend of his with a similar style and background. The King of Strong Style, Shinsuke Nakamura.
At WrestleMania, Miz would spend the majority of the match attacking Nakamura’s legs, trying to weaken his knees as much as possible. Miz would use as many leg-targeting moves as possible, and would lock in the Figure-4 Leglock as many times as possible, with Nakamura’s legs getting more worn down each time.
But no matter how much Miz tries, he cannot overcome the King of Strong Style. Despite the pain, Nakamura would keep hitting as hard as possible, eventually hitting his Landslide signature move (a Samoan Driver he used as a signature move in NJPW), before setting up for one final Kinshasa to seal the victory.
And with that, the feud between Miz and Bryan reaches its conclusion, and a new King makes his name at WrestleMania.
Winner & New Intercontinental Champion: Shinsuke Nakamura
