3 Potential Opponents for Shinsuke Nakamura Before Winning the WWE Title
By Adam O'Brien
WWE.com
1. AJ Styles
WWE took immense satisfaction from teasing us at this year’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view, with the sought-after Shinsuke Nakamura vs. AJ Styles match we’ve been clamoring for since these two men were placed on the same brand.
The two had an extraordinary match at NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 10, shortly before Styles’ debut in the 2016 Royal Rumble match, but to see the two re-enact that thrilling affair on the grand platform of WWE would be something truly special.
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It would be a reference to all that these two men have accomplished during their very brief tenures within WWE already, while also serving as a prologue to everything that they could still possibly achieve so far into their respective careers.
If you didn’t think that demand was high for these two to lock up under the WWE umbrella, just listen to the energy of the crowd when they finally came to blows as the last two remaining men on their feet at Money in the Bank.
Make no mistake, this match could easily headline a SmackDown-exclusive pay-per-view for the WWE Championship – or even something bigger if WWE allowed them to take precedence over the likes of John Cena and Brock Lesnar – but there’s really no reason to hold off on the match until either one of them is holding championship gold.
Instead, wouldn’t it be the best endorsement for Nakamura to finally earn his status as No. 1 contender, by ousting a former champion in “The Phenomenal One”?
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No match, no opponent would better showcase Shinsuke Nakamura as a worthy contender, as the two would go to the ends of the earth to weave a story better on par or even superior to the incredible matches we’ve already witnessed this year.