Dean Ambrose beats The Miz to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship

Published Jan. 3, 2017 10:13 p.m. ET

Nick Schwartz

A stellar episode of SmackDown Live ended with a shocking result, as Dean Ambrose defeated The Miz to become the WWE Intercontinental Champion for the second time in his career.

The Miz opened the show by standing in the middle of the ring and demanding an apology from Ambrose's girlfriend Renee Young, who slapped him during an in-ring interview. The Miz threatened to stay in the ring until Young appeared, but Ambrose confronted The Miz - who scurried from the ring and left his wife Maryse to face off with him.

After slapping Ambrose to end the segment, Maryse later found Young backstage and delivered a second devastating slap, warning Young to never touch The Miz again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A27fS2Nz5VE

Ambrose faced The Miz in the main event - but the match nearly ended in a disqualification that would have allowed Miz to keep his title despite losing the match. The action spilled outside the ring and Maryse slapped Ambrose again, but Ambrose pleaded with the referee not to ring the bell, and Maryse was instead ejected from ringside.

https://twitter.com/WWEUniverse/status/816478614107475968

Just a few moments later, Ambrose reversed The Miz's Skull-Crushing Finale into Dirty Deeds to take the title.

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/816479346558803968