WWE Extreme Rules 2018: 3 reasons why Shinsuke Nakamura should win

3. He would give babyfaces someone to chase

With Syles entrenched as the WWE Champion for the foreseeable future, it makes sense to position an antagonist as a reliable secondary champion to balance things out. There are plenty of strong candidates on the SmackDown roster, but I think Nakamura can fill that role the best.

The SmackDown locker room contains a bevy of strong babyfaces: Hardy, Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton (when he returns) and all three members of The New Day. While each of those men could serve as worthy challengers to Styles down the line, they would also be perfect foils for Nakamura should he win the U.S. Title.

As a heel, Nakamura does an excellent job of balancing the playfulness of his promos with his viciousness in the ring. While many fans find his antics entertaining, SmackDown’s strong stable of babyfaces should keep many of the fans invested in their chase instead of ironically cheering for the heel that makes them laugh.

Despite Vince McMahon’s apparent disinterest in the “simplistic”, as he once put it, heel vs. babyface narrative, he still very much prefers that storytelling structure (his dogged determination to get Roman Reigns cheered more than proves that). With Nakamura holding the U.S. Title, he can those traditional “face chases the heel” stories that have historically worked so well in wrestling.