WWE SmackDown 5 Predictions: Shinsuke Nakamura Overcomes

4. Shinsuke Nakamura Joins Randy Orton

Since the WWE has paired Shinsuke Nakamura and Randy Orton in tag team matches a couple of times and clearly positions them as the top two babyfaces on the roster, I have this feeling that one of them is destined to turn heel. Orton would make the most sense as a heel, because he’s obviously more comfortable in that role. But the issue with Orton is always this: he gets cheered as a heel since he’s so damn cool. Meanwhile, would a heel turn help Nakamura turn his character on the main roster up a notch?

Either way, Nakamura and Orton are Shane McMahon’s top two wrestlers on SmackDown Live from a kayfabe perspective, and Nakamura figures to follow Orton onto the Survivor Series team. Last week, Orton thwarted a Kevin Owens run-in to defeat Sami Zayn, hitting the “Underdog from the Underground” (does that nickname still apply?) with a low-blow as revenge before striking with a savage RKO that was reminiscent of his RKOs from his “anger management” stage.

Nakamura isn’t losing this match, even if Owens is portrayed as a superior wrestler to Orton. There’s no way Shinsuke is dropping matches like this on SmackDown Live episodes, and it makes far more sense for him to be an early entrant onto the team than Owens. In fact, I think Owens and Zayn are more likely to have some sort of program with Shane at Survivor Series than they are to be in the traditional five-on-five match.