Sami Zayn Beats Jeff Hardy, AJ Styles to Win IC Title at WWE Clash of Champions

Sami Zayn beat Jeff Hardy and AJ Styles in a Triple Threat ladder match at WWE Clash of Champions on Sunday night to win the Intercontinental Championship for the second time in his career.

The Great Liberator showed tremendous strategy to claim the title after handcuffing Hardy by the ear to one ladder and attaching himself to Styles. As The Phenomenal One attempted to climb for the belt, Zayn unlocked his own cuff and took the championship for himself.

The build toward Sunday's match began on August 21 when Hardy surprisingly beat AJ Styles to win the title on SmackDown despite The Phenomenal One attacking him and targeting his knee earlier in the night.

Styles claimed after the loss that it was unfair since Hardy wiggled out of the Styles Clash by kneeing him with the braced knee, which allowed Hardy to hit the Twist of Fate and then the Swanton Bomb to score the victory.

While The Phenomenal One campaigned for a rematch, Zayn returned on August 28 after taking a few months off amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Upon doing so, he brought the Intercontinental Championship with him and claimed he was the true champion.

Zayn disappeared from WWE programming after retaining the IC title over Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 36 in April, which resulted in the company stripping him of the belt and putting it up for grabs in a tournament that Styles won.

Although Zayn correctly stated he never lost the title, nobody referred to him as the intercontinental champion, including the ring announcer and those in the production truck.

With Styles calling him a cheat and Zayn calling him a fraud, Hardy got fed up and launched an attack on both of them with a ladder a couple of weeks ago.

Hardy challenged them to a ladder match at Clash of Champions, and it was quickly made official, which injected some excitement into the pay-per-view card.

Not only is Hardy synonymous with ladder matches, but all three combatants are also among the best wrestlers in the world, so there was no question that the match had show-stealing potential going into the pay-per-view.

An argument could have been made for any of the three Superstars to win as well, and that unpredictability only added to the enjoyment factor.

Zayn ultimately prevailed and took back the IC title, which could mean he is in line for a singles feud with Hardy moving forward.

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