5 WWE Hot Takes Of The Week: Baron Corbin Deserves A Big Push

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3. Shinsuke Nakamura (Still) Isn’t Ready For A Title

Poor Shinsuke Nakamura. I say that sarcastically because he really has it good in WWE, but a lot of his fans would beg to differ. After being a top guy in both Japan and NXT, the same hasn’t been true on the main roster.

He floundered at first with some lackluster matches and feuds (and losses to Jinder didn’t help). Then, he caught a break and won the Royal Rumble and went on to challenge AJ Styles in a dream match at WrestleMania 34.

The match didn’t live up to its lofty expectations, but low blow by Shinsuke after the match shocked and revealed to the world a new Nakamura. Heel Shinsuke has been a joy to watch, but the fact that his entire feud with AJ Styles revolved around low blows was a bit disappointing.

In total, Shinsuke had four shots at the WWE Championship and failed with every attempt. This was just poor timing for Shinsuke because AJ Styles was just named the cover athlete for WWE 2K19, so it is doubtful that anyone would have taken the belt off of him during this time.

However, Nakamura did get a lot out of this feud. He was able to add a lot of depth to his new character by making himself seem like a sarcastic jerk at all times. So, this kind of progress should be rewarded, and that was the case when he got a shot at Jeff Hardy’s United States Championship.

If Shinsuke wasn’t bit by a dog (yes, that really happened), he would have had his title opportunity on SmackDown, but now he squares off with the Charismatic Enigma at Extreme Rules, and no, I do not think Shinsuke should win yet.

His feud with AJ Styles, although long and tedious, was the first you could really sink your teeth into. He needs another intense feud to lead to his first title on the main roster. I need to be invested in this feud before I can see Nakamura as the US Champion. So, I expect a loss for Shinsuke on Sunday to extend the feud, and then Shinsuke will get the gold.