WWE SmackDown Grades: AJ Styles Makes An Elimination Chamber Statement

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4. Rusev And Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Luke Gallows And Karl Anderson

It wasn’t long ago that Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura were bitter rivals competing for the United States Championship.  They were two superstars that weren’t getting along in the slightest, but things can change rather quickly in the WWE as was evident last night.

After the developments last week that saw R-Truth become the U.S. Champion, Rusev and Nakamura both attacked him after their individual matches.  Even though they still were unsure of each other, they teamed up last night to battle Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson in tag team action.  Surprisingly enough, Rusev and Nakamura would make it work.

They had a few chemistry issues early on struggling to figure out who would tag in, but when things broke down towards the end, they were on the same page.  Nakamura helped save Rusev from certain loss and that was all the edge The Bulgarian Brute needed and after a machka kick, Rusev got the pin and the win for his makeshift team that seemed unlikely to succeed initially.

There’s no telling how far this team will go, but it could certainly be something to harder at in the coming weeks.  This wouldn’t be the first time two former rivals teamed up and had success, and it likely won’t be the last time, but it would be a bit unique considering they just had a match at the Royal Rumble and Rusev’s wife Lana was harmed thanks to the issues between these two.

Only time will tell how far Nakamura Day can go, but so far, so good after a big win over The Good Brothers.

Final Grade: B