Shinsuke Nakamura, one of the most artistic Intercontinental Champions in WWE history, does not yet have a challenger for WWE TLC 2019. The following will predict three possible opponents for the Intercontinental Champion on a PPV that is surely not well known for tender loving care.
Shinsuke Nakamura won the coveted Intercontinental Championship from Finn Balor at Extreme Rules in July and is still the current champion. He has successfully retained his Intercontinental Championship against the likes of The Miz, Mustafa Ali and Roman Reigns.
His championship reign became much more interesting in the eyes of the common viewer once he joined forces with Sami Zayn. Months ago, Sami Zayn decided to take a more altruistic approach to his career and speak on behalf of Nakamura due to the language barrier.
Considering that Zayn is always on the losing end of the spectrum in his matches and is still amazing on the mic, it makes sense that he would become a manager for a Superstar who actually needs one. However, it is quite saddening to see that his career has been relegated to merely a manager, especially since his in-ring skills were superb.
Although many WWE fans still have hope that Nakamura will feud with Sami Zayn one day, he has scuffled with some other Superstars in recent weeks that could point to his next challenge at WWE TLC. Henceforth, the following will identify and pontificate three potential opponents for Shinsuke Nakamura at WWE TLC 2019.
3.) Mustafa Ali
Since getting replaced in the Elimination Chamber WWE Championship match by Kofi Kingston in February, Mustafa Ali has had a rough year. He had promised the WWE Universe multiple times that he will rewrite his story and right the wrongs of his past failures, but he has failed to do any of that due to unfortunate circumstances and flagrant booking calls.
For instance, he promised the WWE Universe he would win the MITB briefcase, but part timer Brock Lesnar stole his victory at the last minute. That stolen victory was a waste because Brock cashed in the briefcase on Seth Rollins the next month just to lose the championship on the following PPV while a feud between Ali and Lesnar was never addressed.
Ali also promised the WWE Universe he would win the King of the Ring Tournament, but Elias eliminated him before he could even make it to the semifinals. That victory was also a waste because Elias was injured and could not compete any further in the King of the Ring Tournament.
After all of these misfortunes, Ali then gave up his quest on the WWE Championship and has now focused on an alliance with Shorty G, notably facing Cesaro and the Intercontinental Champion himself in one tag team match. Earlier this summer, Ali actually once defeated Shinsuke Nakamura in a non-title match, but never received his Intercontinental Championship opportunity after the fact.
With a Team SmackDown victory in the Men’s Survivor Series Match at Survivor Series 2019 in his hometown of Chicago, Ali could utilize this momentum to get back into the Intercontinental Championship picture with Nakamura and, hopefully, win his very first and long overdue championship in the WWE.
2.) Shorty G
Speaking of Mustafa Ali, his ally, Shorty G, could also be in the Intercontinental Championship picture when considering his recent tag match with Ali against Nakamura. In fact, even his real illegitimate kayfabe father, Kurt Angle, agrees that Gable needs a push of some sort.
Shorty G’s pseudonym and journey all began in the King of the Ring Tournament when Shelton Benjamin called him too short to become King of the Ring. He proved all his doubters wrong by making it all the way to the finals of the King of the Ring Tournament.
Unfortunately, he came up ‘short’ against Baron Corbin, who is 2019’s King of the Ring. Despite this shortcoming, Shorty G picked his head up and won plenty of matches in the past few months with his most noteworthy victories being on PPV with Team Hogan at Crown Jewel and Team SmackDown at Survivor Series 2019.
With all of these victories, the next step has to be a championship match and the most fitting championship for Shorty G to pursue on his own is the Intercontinental Championship. Many naysayers may assert that Shorty G should just team with Ali to become the SmackDown Tag Team Champions.
However, Shorty G has been relegated to tag teams for his entire career. He has teamed with Jason Jordan, Shelton Benjamin, and even Robert Roode. Having already won both the Raw and SmackDown Tag Team Titles, winning another tag championship is not necessary at all.
His new gimmick was supposed to transform his development into a main event star. In order to slowly build up to becoming a main event star, the Intercontinental Championship is a great start. Besides, Shorty G needs to become champion to showcase to the world why short individuals should not be overlooked and can still be successful and intimidating in their endeavors with heart and determination.
1.) Braun Strowman
Like Shorty G and Ali, Braun Strowman has yet to win a singles title in the WWE. He has had way too many Universal Championship opportunities to count and has lost all of them, even when he cashed in his MITB Briefcase in 2018.
At this point, Strowman’s big count-out loss to Tyson Fury at Crown Jewel 2019 as well as his early count-out elimination in the Men’s Survivor Series match at Survivor Series are signs that he won’t be in the main event scene anytime soon. His main card career will be difficult to revitalize and the mid card may have to be his plan B.
In fact, while Daniel Bryan turned down Zayn’s offer to join his squad, Strowman approached Nakamura and Zayn with eyes hungry for a championship. This is a strong sign that Nakamura’s next feud could be with Strowman.
This match has never been televised in WWE before, so this should be an exciting feud for the Intercontinental Championship. Strowman’s history with Sami Zayn should come into play for this feud as well.
If this were to happen at WWE TLC 2019, expect Strowman to finally win his first singles title in the WWE. Considering that he chokes in all of his singles championship matches, it would be seem hard to believe that he’s winning but it’s foretelling that his dry spell is nearing its end.