Sami Zayn beat Chad Gable and Bronson Reed in a Triple Threat match at King and Queen of the Ring on Saturday to retain the Intercontinental Championship.

Gable implored his Alpha Academy pupil, Otis, to attack Zayn outside the ring, but Otis was hesitant.

After the Olympian slapped Otis across the face, Otis attempted to clothesline Zayn, but Sami ducked, causing Otis to strike Gable instead.

WWE @WWE

OH NO!!!<a href="">@otiswwe</a> just accidentally took out <a href="">@WWEGable</a> 😬<a href="">#WWEKingAndQueen</a> <a href="">

With Gable out of the equation, Zayn got back into the ring and hit Reed with a Helluva Kick for the win.

Saturday marked Zayn's first title defense at a premium live event since he defeated Gunther at WrestleMania 40 to win the Intercontinental Championship in one of the biggest victories of his career.

Gunther was essentially unbeatable before then, but Zayn found a way to end The Ring General's record 666-day IC title reign.

One of the driving forces behind Zayn's 'Mania win was Gable, who channeled his energy into training Zayn for his match against the Austrian after he himself was unable to secure the No. 1 contendership.

In a show of gratitude, Zayn gave Gable a title shot on an episode of Raw in his hometown of Montreal. The Canadian was victorious in a hard-fought match, but the win came at a price.

While Zayn was celebrating with his wife, Gable hit him with a German suplex. The leader of the Alpha Academy continued to beat down the titleholder in front of the pro-Sami crowd after that, cementing his heel turn.

With Zayn wanting to get revenge on Gable for betraying him, it was clear that they would do battle again for the IC title, but another major factor also got involved in the form of Reed.

During the build toward WrestleMania, Reed beat Zayn in a singles match, and he later went on to win the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.

After WrestleMania, Reed targeted Zayn and Gable on numerous occasions and vowed to continue leaving a path of destruction in his wake until Raw general manager Adam Pearce gave him an intercontinental title shot.

The odds were stacked against Zayn at King and Queen of the Ring since he had to deal with two hungry contenders, but he rose to the occasion in a big match situation yet again to retain the Intercontinental Championship.

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