No, Gran Metalik did not win the Intercontinental championship

In a big surprise, Gran Metalik won a Fatal 4-Way match to crown the next top contender to the Intercontinental championship last week. He got his shot at that title on this week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown in the opening match of the night against AJ Styles.

Commentary made clear right away that Styles actually losing to Metalik would constitute a monumental upset. No one really expected it.

That helped them build the match out, with Metalik valiantly fighting with everything he had to unseat the champion, the wily veteran who just wouldn’t be put away. The near falls, despite the challenger, actually worked really well.

Still, the outcome was never in doubt.

In the end, Styles used the Calf Crusher to submit Metalik in the middle of the ring. After, he hit Lince Dorado with the Styles Clash for good measure.

So long, Lucha House Party.

Get complete SmackDown results and coverage of this week’s show here.