AJ Styles will defend the Intercontinental Championship next week on SmackDown.

During a backstage interview tonight on SmackDown, it was revealed that Styles will defend the title against Matt Riddle on July 17. This will be Riddle's first Intercontinental title challenge.

Styles won the title after going through a tournament to crown a new champion, beating Daniel Bryan in the finals. Since then, Styles, in his first reign as Intercontinental Champion, has defended the title once, which was a win over Drew Gulak on July 3.

Riddle has had a strong start in the ring ever since he made the permanent move from NXT to SmackDown. In his first match since switching brands, Riddle defeated Styles in a non-title match on June 19 and followed it up with a win over John Morrison on July 3.

Fightful will have live coverage of SmackDown next week, airing on FOX at 8 p.m. ET. For full results of SmackDown tonight, click here.

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