WWE Hell In A Cell 2017: 3 Superstars Who Desperately Need A Win

Smackdown Live. Photo by WWE.com

2. Shinsuke Nakamura

When the WWE signed Nakamura in January of last year, it was seen as one of the biggest signings in the history of the company. In New Japan Pro Wrestling, “The King of Strong Style” was one of the very best competitors in that promotion’s history. A 3-time IWGP Heayweight Champion, along with a host of other belts and trophies, not only was Nakamura successful as a member of NJPW, he also established himself as one of the best in-ring performers in the world. Nakamura didn’t take long to prove his skills with the WWE as in his debut, he competed against Sami Zayn in one of the best matches of 2016 at NXT TakeOver: Dallas. Just four months later, Nakamura was NXT champion.

After about a year in NXT where he nothing short of dominant, Nakamura debuted on SmackDown, and not surprisingly, just four months later got his first crack at WWE Championship gold against Jinder Mahal at SummerSlam. However, on a night that many predicted would be Nakamura’s coronation, he was defeated pretty anti-climatically after a distraction from the Singh Brothers. His defeat in just under 12 minutes came as a rather large shock to the wrestling community, as most see Nakamura to be twice the wrestler Mahal is – and that’s being generous to Mahal.

So now we head to Hell In A Cell for Nakamura’s rematch and with it, the stress that another Nakamura loss will leave him out of the title picture for awhile. See, it won’t just be the losses that spell doom for “The Rockstar”, but the fact that Mahal has made himself look terrible in the weeks leading up to HIAC that would make him look even worse in defeat. The champion’s weekly promos targeting Nakamura, are lame, unoriginal, immature, and at times, even racist. If Nakamura doesn’t win against a guy who may just be the most ineffective champion in WWE history, he won’t even sniff the title picture for a long time.