Sami Zayn unable to compete, forcing WWE to vacate I-C Title

WWE has announced that Sami Zayn being unable to compete has forced them to vacate his Intercontinental Championship.

On Tuesday night’s episode of WWE Backstage on FS1, host Renee Young broke the news that the Intercontinental Championship is being vacated. The news comes after it being revealed that current champion Sami Zayn is unable to compete.

While no reason was given as to why Zayn is forced to vacated the title, it is believed that his status as a native Canadian is prohibiting him to travel due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Canada/US border is still closed, leaving him unable to travel and make any scheduled appearances.

To crown a new champion, WWE will hold a tournament for the title. First-round matches will take place beginning this week on Friday Night SmackDown. WWE’s social media platforms will have more information on this situation over the next couple of days, including possible details on who will be involved in the tournament.

Zayn won the title on March 8 at the Elimination Chamber event, in a 3-on-1 handicap match. Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro were instrumental in Zayn defeating then-champion Braun Strowman, giving him his first main-roster WWE singles championship.

He hasn’t addressed the situation, as he most recently checked in with the WWE Universe on his Twitter account.

WWE is currently running their weekly Raw and SmackDown broadcasts, as well as monthly pay per view events, at the Performance Center in Orlando, as they were deemed as “essential business” by the Florida governor. They run their events without fans being in attendance, in an effort to maintain safe and social distancing in the midst of the current coronavirus situation.

There’s no word on when the border will reopen, as various parts of the United States are slowly reopening. One would assume Zayn would have an immediate challenge for the title when he comes back, as he could claim that he never lost the title and set up a feud with the eventual winner of the tournament.