WWE Intercontinental Championship Tournament – 2010

May 4-11, 2010

– Semi-Finals

5/4/10; North Charleston, SC; Coliseum
Smackdown – 5/7/10
– Kofi Kingston pinned Dolph Ziggler at 11:57 with the spin kick to the head after escaping the sleeper; during the bout, Cody Rhodes was shown watching on backstage
5/4/10; North Charleston, SC; Coliseum
Smackdown – 5/7/10
– Christian (w/ Heath Slater) pinned Cody Rhodes at 13:42 with the Killswitch after ramming Rhodes shoulder-first into the ringpost; during the bout, Kofi Kingston was shown watching on backstage

– Finals

5/11/10; Buffalo, NY; HSBC Arena
– Kofi Kingston pinned Christian at 12:01 with the spin kick to the face immediately after kicking out of a roll up from Christian; prior to the bout, Teddy Long – in possession of the title belt – addressed the fans before the entrances of the participants; after the contest, Long presented Kingston with the belt, with Kingston and Christian then shaking hands before Christian left the ring so Kingston could celebrate; moments later, Drew McIntyre came out, with Long then taking the mic and threatening to have security escort McIntyre out of the building; McIntyre then handed Long a note which Long read and then dropped on the mat; Long then asked Kingston for the title belt, which Kingston eventually did, and handed the belt to McIntyre; McIntyre left the ring and held up the title as Kofi looked on; after the commercial break, Matt Striker took the mic and read aloud the note, from Vince McMahon, in which he overruled Long’s firing of McIntyre and stripping him of the title belt