WWE SmackDown 5 Predictions For September 19, 2017

5. Shinsuke Nakamura Gets Back At Jinder

Last week, Jinder Mahal was given an offensive promo, presumably written by Vince McMahon himself, that provided yet another example of how dreadful this feud is. Mahal has been booked as a heel champion who is capable of thwarting Randy Orton at every turn, save for his loss on a random episode of SmackDown after their feud concluded, and cheating his way to a win against Shinsuke Nakamura at SummerSlam. He’s been booked as a coward and hypocrite in every sense, but he’s also been given a lengthy reign with the WWE Championship that could even last until WrestleMania.

Like many others, I believe Nakamura will finally take the championship off of Mahal at Hell in a Cell, though it remains to be seen if they get a steel cage match. It is critical for Nakamura to continue to gain positive momentum over Mahal for a number of reasons. Firstly, the WWE needs to book Nakamura as strongly as possible. He’s suffered just one loss on the main roster, and that was the awful finish to his match with Mahal at SummerSlam. Secondly, the WWE is known for changing finishes at the last second, so if they decide to have Mahal retain at Hell in a Cell, they need to make sure that Nakamura was built up before then.

Thirdly, who doesn’t want to see Mahal get his butt kicked? You can criticize his bland promos and even drier matches, but he doesn’t write the promos or book the finishes. He does, however, carry himself like a legitimate villain, and that alone has made him at least a semi-successful WWE Champion. Mahal has real heat from the fans, and the WWE should take advantage of it by having Nakamura get some revenge for Mahal’s classless insults from last week.