WWE SmackDown: 5 Predictions For September 5, 2017

5. Nakamura vs. Orton Will End Inconclusively

Although it would be a great moment to see Shinsuke Nakamura defeat Randy Orton on SmackDown Live mere weeks after defeating John Cena cleanly, I have a feeling that this isn’t in the cards. SmackDown has been incredibly generous with handing the fans marquee matches on free television over the past couple of months, but I have a feeling we are headed for an inconclusive contest between the two biggest stars in wrestling today.

I believe we are headed for a fatal four-way match at Hell in a Cell that will be contested among Rusev, Mahal, Orton, and Nakamura, as opposed to the rumored Mahal vs. Nakamura.

Having four participants in the match would make the likely main event of the show far more interesting, especially since we’ve already seen a flat match between Mahal and Nakamura at SummerSlam before. As always, adding more bodies into a match increases the unpredictability, and that’s what WWE is all about. We haven’t seen Mahal defend his championship in a multi-man environment before, so it would be nice to spice things up.

In order to set that up, the easiest thing to do is to have Rusev involve himself in this match. Although we are still over a month away from Hell in a Cell, this could sow some seeds. It’s unclear if Rusev will turn face or if Orton will turn heel, but, for now, I have a feeling Rusev will make his presence felt in order to finally get the opportunity for a title match that he’s demanded ever since being injured. Shane McMahon never heeded to his demands for a match at Money in the Bank, so we’ll see if he’s able to insert himself into the picture by force.

Whatever the case, I’m not expecting a definitive finish to this match, but we’ll see exactly what transpires in the ring between Nakamura and Orton.