During Friday night’s Christmas Eve edition of WWE SmackDown, Sami Zayn won a 12 Days of Christmas 12-Man Gauntlet match to earn a shot at Shinsuke Nakamura’s WWE Intercontinental Championship.
The finish of the match came when Zayn pinned Ricochet after hitting a Helluva Kick. Zayn will now go on to face Shinsuke Nakamura for the IC title, likely at WWE’s Day 1 pay-per-view event.
Nakamura defeated Zayn in his WWE NXT debut at NXT TakeOver: Dallas in April 2016. The two later feuded on SmackDown.
You can check out some highlights from the match below:
Angel puts away @KSAMANNY in the 12 Days of Christmas #GauntletMatch! #SmackDown @AngelGarzaWwe pic.twitter.com/Fbu47W4xv9
— WWE (@WWE) December 25, 2021
Uh-Oh…@AngelGarzaWwe gets by @Erik_WWE, but now he has to deal with @DilsherShanky! #SmackDown #GauntletMatch pic.twitter.com/Cw1KioIgO4
— WWE (@WWE) December 25, 2021
VIKING SPLASH!!@Ivar_WWE is moving on!#SmackDown #GauntletMatch pic.twitter.com/5YVEi0kwYM
— WWE (@WWE) December 25, 2021
💥💥💥@Ivar_WWE gets taken out with a vicious BROGUE KICK!#SmackDown #GauntletMatch @WWESheamus pic.twitter.com/2PSqMSINSI
— WWE (@WWE) December 25, 2021
SWISS SUPERMAN#SmackDown #GauntletMatch @WWECesaro pic.twitter.com/CMOezHsqdq
— WWE (@WWE) December 25, 2021
Swing is in the air on Christmas Eve! #SmackDown #GauntletMatch @WWECesaro pic.twitter.com/5QO8NyV5mw
— WWE (@WWE) December 25, 2021
.@RidgeWWE steps up to distract @WWECesaro to the benefit of @WWESheamus in the 12 Days of Christmas #GauntletMatch on #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/PIkqy8oxie
— WWE (@WWE) December 25, 2021
🤯🤯🤯@KingRicochet defies gravity! #SmackDown #GauntletMatch @WWESheamus pic.twitter.com/2gOJHKz3aY
— WWE (@WWE) December 25, 2021
THERE ARE NO WORDS#SmackDown #GauntletMatch @KingRicochet @WWESheamus pic.twitter.com/jgce5gHw4v
— WWE (@WWE) December 25, 2021
Merry Christmas, @KingRicochet… 😳#SmackDown #GauntletMatch @WWESheamus pic.twitter.com/mK4UoI8E1Y
— WWE (@WWE) December 25, 2021
RECOIL!
After escaping defeat from @WWESheamus, @KingRicochet takes out @humberto_wwe in the 12 Days of Christmas #GauntletMatch! #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/f19FVtx7aM
— WWE (@WWE) December 25, 2021
Merry Christmas, @KingRicochet… 😳#SmackDown #GauntletMatch @WWESheamus pic.twitter.com/mK4UoI8E1Y
— WWE (@WWE) December 25, 2021
RECOIL!
After escaping defeat from @WWESheamus, @KingRicochet takes out @humberto_wwe in the 12 Days of Christmas #GauntletMatch! #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/f19FVtx7aM
— WWE (@WWE) December 25, 2021
🤯🤯🤯#SmackDown #GauntletMatch @SamiZayn @KingRicochet pic.twitter.com/SfgDiJoh3R
— WWE (@WWE) December 25, 2021
.@KingRicochet turns @SamiZayn’s world upside down in the finals of the 12 Days of Christmas 12-Man #GantletMatch on #SmackDown! pic.twitter.com/sDNMBwywe1
— WWE (@WWE) December 25, 2021
⚡️ blue thunder bomb ⚡️#SmackDown #GauntletMatch @SamiZayn @KingRicochet pic.twitter.com/1pWTxOQYim
— WWE (@WWE) December 25, 2021
.@SamiZayn has earned a shot at @ShinsukeN's #ICTitle!#SmackDown #GauntletMatch pic.twitter.com/d6SyGoRhJ4
— WWE (@WWE) December 25, 2021
