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WWE SmackDown Rankings: Can Shinsuke Nakamura Beat Randy Orton?

By Warsame A

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Smackdown. Photo by WWE.com

The SmackDown Live World Title Picture

Highlights of the Division

Jinder Mahal lost in his main event tag team match but his push as the face of Smackdown remains the same. He wasn’t involved with the deciding sequence of the loss and still maintains his credibility as champion. His promos are still as basic as a 1980s foreign bad guy’s rant. The Maharaja is still the best old-school heel in the WWE in a sense where the fans aren’t cheering for him. He isn’t a guy like Kevin Owens where he’s supposed to get jeered but instead gets applauded for the insults he dishes to the crowd. Mahal is doing his job but is he an outdated champion in the wrong era?

Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura will face each other next week to determine who will be facing Jinder Mahal for the WWE Championship. Nakamura should be considered the favorite since he has unfinished business with the champion. Rusev might cost Orton his rightful shot at the gold, which should add more fuel to the fire in their heated feud. This No. 1 contenders match was the right move to make for the WWE since both men were deserving of a title shot. Here’s hoping that the King of Strong Style gets his rightful opportunity at the title once more.

Meanwhile, for the Rest of the Division

Bobby Roode scored another impressive victory over Mike Kanellis on Smackdown Live. The former NXT Champion is still treated as a babyface for the moment but it won’t be long before he becomes the biggest heel of the blue brand. At the moment, it seems like he’ll be piling up some victories as he raises his profile as a perennial pretender to a main event championship contender in the next few weeks. Is he the long-term solution as the next WWE Champion? Or is the man who might be directionless in the next few weeks?

Let’s see the rankings for the division this week.

WWE World Champion: Jinder Mahal (15 Wins – 12 Losses)

Contenders

  • Top Contender: Shinsuke Nakamura (11 Wins – 3 Losses)
  • Contender No. 2: Randy Orton (13 Wins – 8 Losses)

Pretenders

  • Pretender No. 1: Bobby Roode (2 Wins – 0 Losses)

More wwe: Ranking Every Fastlane Match Since 2015

What are your thoughts on this week’s Smackdown Rankings?